Cecaelias
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Cecaelias are another chimerical cephaloid race, and are a tauric cross between a human and a squid. They typically measures 80-90 feet from head to base (the length of their tentacles is excluded from this measurement and some species of Cecaelia have tentacles twice as long as their body!). They are mostly found in the the oceans of Felarya, particularly the Topazial sea, however cecaelias are drifters and wanders, and have been known to roam far and wide; one might pop up in the places you’d least expect to see one.
Unlike their chlaenas cousins, cecaelias have a semi-rigid internal shell and more bone-like structures, although not nearly as widespread as in vertebrates. This makes them significantly less flexible than their cousins, but also much sturdier. Cecaelias are still capable of fitting into tight spaces like chlaenas are, but not nearly to the same degree. Typically, a cecaelia is capable of compressing themselves up to 40%-50% the size of their entire body. Cecaelias also have ten tentacles instead of eight. Their primary pair are much longer and stronger than the others, which are roughly equivalent in strength to those of a chlaena, perhaps slightly weaker. A blow from one of a cecaelia’s main tentacles can strike with devastating force, and they are capable of cracking them like a whip; dealing a strike as powerful as a giant naga’s tail! Unlike a chlaena’s tentacles, the tentacles of a cecaelia usually only have suckers at their tips, but with barbs and hooks made of the same horn-like material as their teeth and fingernails protruding along their length.
Although very similar in behavior to their cousins in some ways, cecaelias are much more active and aggressive, cruising the oceans and hunting prey in a shark-like manner. Practically anything that catches a cecaelia’s interest winds up in their mouth at some point. This, along with the fact that they roam far and wide, often causes problems with other aquatic species when the cecaelia wanders into their territory. Being non-territorial, cecaelia have difficulty understanding such a concept, and often inadvertently start conflicts when all they wanted to do was investigate something interesting. Not even chlaenas understand them completely. They often act in a similar manner, but there are times when a cecaelia just does or says something that leaves the chlaenas around them completely baffled. Needless to say, it can be rather difficult for a human to comprehend their motives and thinking patterns as well. Cecaelias are excellent and speedy swimmers, able to cut through the water with seeming ease due to their jet propulsion and streamlined bodies. They are much faster than chlaenas in open water, and some are capable of keeping up with Mermaids (who are among their favorite prey). All cecaelias are also capable of changing their color to reflect their mood, although the ability to fully blend into their backgrounds is not nearly as common among them as it is among their smaller cousins. Cecaelias have excellent senses and are able to hunt efficiently in conditions where there is only the faintest glimmer of light. Their tentacles help them sense nearby vibrations and water currents, and their eyes are capable of perceiving even the tiniest amounts of light against the pitch-black background of abyssal zones.
Powers and abilities
Their powers and abilities are roughly the same as a chlaenas. However, cecaelias are capable of shattering stone with one of their primary tentacles, with the same amount of effort one would use to lightly smack a friend upside the head. The muscular strength of their two primary tentacles is immense, and a matter of great pride among cecaelias; seriously damaging or severing one of these two tentacles will always anger a cecaelia, and make you a dangerous enemy. Their venom is much weaker, and it takes quite a bit of time, or several bites, to have a discernible effect. They usually use it to slow down their prey, or an attacking predator, rather than paralyzing them outright.
- Credits goes to TheQuantumMechanic, Zoekin, Shaman, Xeno the hedgehog, and Fish for the design of Cecaelias and their subspecies.
