#chameleos

Chameleos

Species Name: Chameleos

Average Length: 22 meters

Classification: Grade I Elder Dragon

Perhaps one of the strangest of an already strange group, Chameleos is an elusive, mysterious Elder Dragon well-known for its intelligence, bizarre appearance, toxicity, and seemingly supernatural ability to turn completely invisible.

Chameleos is, indeed, very chameleon-like in appearance: it has a long, sticky tongue that extends significant distances at incredible speeds in order to snatch up Neopterons and smaller insects, and its uniquely structured eyes can move independently to watch for danger from two directions at once--or work together to lock onto prey. It has also, however, been compared to some species of gekko: its clawed feet have adhesive toe pads that let it cling to most surfaces, and its tail is broad and vaguely leaf-shaped, terminating in multiple coiled protrusions. These coils, along with the spikes along the side of its head and the long nasal horn, glow with a noticeable bioluminescence that, combined with its oddly textured hide, lends it a haunting and almost ghostly quality. It is no surprise, then, that many cultures near Chameleos territory compare these monsters to spirits and phantoms of their humid jungle homes.

Though territorial, Chameleos are surprisingly docile and calm monsters, moving slowly and almost comically through the forest. They fan their tails in the underbrush to stir up insects to lick up, and will supplement this diet with mushrooms and even particular ores; they rarely try to eat anything bigger than a Vespoid, and do not consider humans to be prey. At best, they would rather chase off someone intruding on their home than actually pick a true fight, and to do so, they take advantage of their most remarkable ability: apparent invisibility.

It took several generations for Guild researchers to actually figure out how this fantastical ability worked: Chameleos are naturally elusive to begin with, and one cannot simply observe invisibility. The first hint is in the skin: after many trials and experiments with a Chameleos skin sample, Scriveners discovered that it changes both texture and color when exposed to an electrical charge--though how the monster itself generated such a charge was unknown.

It was also observed that a Chameleos only turned invisible after exhaling a strange, pale mist from its mouth, and would always prioritize producing more if the mist ever dissipated. As it turns out, this mist is made of an evaporated neurotoxin that, when inhaled, causes mild hallucinations and sensory disruption--the Chameleos does not produce a concentrated enough form of this toxin to do any real damage beyond these side effects, though condensed samples can be lethal.

The final clue that helped figure out what was going on was the study of a Chameleos' blood vessels, which are connected to a secondary system beneath the skin that contains small amounts of powdered Fucium ore which can be injected into the bloodstream. As it turns out, Fucium ore produces an electrical charge when mixed with the blood of an Elder Dragon. This is a well-known fact among experienced blacksmiths--Gemma was able to clarify as such for me--but it also seems integral to the Chameleos' incredible vanishing act:

The Chameleos releases traces of Fucium ore (obtained by licking and consuming ore deposits) into its bloodstream, creating a weak electrical current that spreads to the skin, causing it to change color and texture; the Chameleos modulates the current in order to look as close to translucent (by mimicking its general surroundings) as possible.

The Chameleos exhales its hallucinogenic mist, interfering with the sensory perception of everything in a wide area; there is no known limit to how much mist a Chameleos can produce, but they generally only emit it in a localized area around them.

Finally, the weak electrical charge in the Chameleos' skin jumps into the mist, causing it to refract light and render the monster effectively invisible.

As a side note, a Chameleos' horn and tail coils seem to be 'command nodes' for control over this complex system, as damage to either significantly impedes the monster's ability to vanish from sight.

With this ability, a Chameleos can easily ambush foes; while they are not perfectly invisible while moving, it's still difficult to track them until they strike, and most opponents quickly find the Chameleos not worth the effort to deal with. As intelligent as they are mischievous, Chameleos have a penchant for kleptomania, hiding in plain sight and stealing supplies such as potions and rations from Hunters and their camps with their long tongues. At first regarded as simple curiosity, it's now understood that Chameleos who regularly deal with human encroachment into their territories realize that these supplies are what allow them to do so in the first place, and if they don't have any, they will quickly leave. They use this intelligent behavior in direct confrontation with Hunters as well, stealing potions out of their hands and, in the case of Kamura Hunters, even stealing the empowering Spiribird pollen from their Petalaces, all in an effort to frustrate their enemies into going away. Because of their preference for peaceful (if annoying) resolutions to conflicts, people can often live near a Chameleos in relative peace, as long as they leave it alone.

Of course, sometimes violence is unavoidable, and it is an unwise Hunter indeed who would mistake a Chameleos' peaceful disposition for harmlessness. They are tremendously strong monsters, with sharp claws, powerful tails, and lashing tongues, all supplemented by flickering in and out of sight nearly constantly. It also moves erratically, deceptively slow and shockingly fast in a seemingly random rhythm, making it almost impossible to predict what one might do next. On top of this, its oddly-textured hide is not only surprisingly tough, but a Chameleos has, effectively, no blind spots: on top of its strange eyes giving it a nearly 270-degree field of vision, but the uniquely curled portions of the tail help guide sound waves into a currently unknown organ within the tail itself, acting as an extra ear that more easily picks up sounds behind the Elder Dragon.

Of course, anyone who has faced an angry Chameleos knows that its physical prowess is nothing compared to the mind-boggling variety of toxins and poisons the dragon can produce--far beyond its hallucinogenic mist. A unique toxic sac connected to the Chameleos' digestive system allows it to extract certain chemicals from its food and convert them into one of nearly a dozen different toxic substances that it can then spit at threats in either liquid globules and streams, or as clouds of deadly gas that it manipulates with its wings (it's believed that ultrasonic frequencies and vibrations produced in the dragon's chest create this gas). Because their toxicity is determined by diet--and Chameleos are omnivorous--exactly what toxins an individual Chameleos produces varies based on habitat and overall region, from caustic acids to chemicals that trigger lactic acid buildup and fatigue, to simple but deadly neurotoxins and necrotoxins; there is even one toxin that constricts vocal chords in humans and prevents them from speaking or yelling. Even poison-resistant monsters like Raths cannot stand up to such incredible toxicity, and the Chameleos itself is all but immune to essentially all known poisons and venoms.

This is why, despite being a peaceful and docile creature, the Chameleos is treated with the same awe and caution as any other Elder Dragon--there is absolutely nothing stopping an angry Chameleos from simply dousing an entire populated area in toxic gas and essentially wiping out a village in minutes--or, in a worst case scenario, an entire ecosystem. So far, this is purely hypothetical, but the danger is always there, and puts the Chameleos in the same category of potential threat as a Kushala Daora or the Stra Dragons. It is as they say: never judge a book by its cover... especially when you can't see the book sneaking up on you.

Attached: one of the few known photos of a Chameleos, taken while it was distracted. The unfortunate Hunter who got this incredible shot was subsequently smacked around by the annoyed monster's tongue, already mid-extension here.