Heway

Heway were huge Zakharan snakes that poisoned oases and wells with their deadly venoms.

Description
Unlike ordinary snakes, heway were much larger, and their scales were covered in slimy, fatal poison. These reptiles had huge eyes that allowed them to hunt in dim light. Heway also had very keen senses of smell that allowed them to detect prey in water from several miles away.

Behavior
Such snakes hated all inhabitants and nomadic tribes of the desert.

Combat
While these snakes instilled palpable fear, they were generally cowardly combatants, preferring to kill weakened animals. However, as with most other animals who were always seeking out food, they would attack also attack healthy prey.

The main danger from heway comes from their ruthless poisoning of fresh water oases, which may only have taken a few hours, depending on the size of the oases. The poor souls which drunk from such oases often died in terrible agony, unless antivenom was ingested immediately. Even very hardy animals that usually withstood the fatal effects of poison would succumb, unless another source of fresh water could be found, or the animal was able to vomit. The fatal nature of the poison was always guaranteed, though the time it took to be fatal could vary. Interestingly, heway themselves were not immune to their own poison.

The hypnotic gazes of heway were also very dangerous and could put their victims into trance-like states, allowing them to bring their now pliable victims to their lair with minimum difficulty. Heway could also be tactical when necessary; if the snakes realized they were outmatched or preferred not to fight against odds, they would use their gaze to neutralize situations, whereupon they could flee to safety.

Heway jaws are not overpowering and their bite is not poisonous; the poison is introduced through the scales of the snakes. The main tactic of heway is to follow the watering patterns of various species that visit oases and prepare accordingly. If the serpents anticipate risks, they would either use their gaze to subdue the enemy, or flee.

Habitat/Society
Usually, the lairs of these serpents were large enough to accommodate a single heway and several of victims. Heway would abandon their lairs when they are detected by other predators.

Ecology
Heway are cowardly animals and thus prefer to attack from behind. They are nocturnal, using their excellent dim-light vision to their advantage. If other animals are aware of heway, they would usually leave the area immediately. Even other deadly predators would give the heway a wide berth, as even the slightest touch could be fatal. Many of the wild tribes of Zakhara use the poison of these snakes in combat.