Tirichik

The tirichik was one of the most feared monsters of the Great Glacier, second only to white dragons.

Description
Tirichik were strange creatures that some described as a cross between a dragon and a centipede, but they had no true relation to either. A tirichik had a long, white-scaled, tube-shaped body about 30 feet (9 meters) in length, with a stumpy tail and a roughly dragon-shaped head. A bony ridge extended the whole length of the monster. It had two open, horn-shaped ear appendages, two pale pink eyes sunk deep in its skull, and two retractable, 20-foot (6-meter) tentacles that extended from two holes on the top of its many-toothed jaw. A tirichik had four pairs of stubby legs that ended in broad, saucer-shaped and clawed feet, which gave it good maneuverability over ice and atop snow.

Tirichik were completely immune to the hazards of cold, whether natural or magical.

Tirichik were more intelligent than common animals but not by much. They could not speak and made no sounds.

Combat
Tirichik preferred to ambush their prey, bursting out from under snow or popping up from out of a crevasse in the glacier. They could sense food from as far as 300 feet (91 meters) away with their sensitive tentacles. One could also use its tentacles to probe cave openings or even snowhouses.

When attacking, a tirichik would either snap with its sharp teeth or first attempt to impale its food on the sharp ends of its tentacles. It also had the ability to disconnect its skull from the top of its spine extend its neck an additional five feet (1.5 meters) to make sudden bite attacks.

Ecology
Most tirichik lived in the most desolate areas of Alpuk and Nakvaligach.

Tirichik did not make permanent lairs, but they tended to rest attached to the sides of icy crevasse walls.

Tirichik were carnivores and loved the taste of human flesh, and legends claimed that they had the appetite to consume entire human villages. They also ate caribou, polar bears, wolves, kupuk, and even young white dragons.

Tirichik were asexual creatures that could reproduce by giving birth to live spawn. A middle-aged tirichik would burrow deep into the snow and produce its spawn there, usually between one and four clones. The foot-long offspring would remain below the surface of the snow until they reached adulthood in about a year's time.

Tirichik could live for about 100 years.

A particular species of moss, called ring moss, was poisonous to tirichik and put them into a state of unconsciousness. On the other hand, tirichik were immune to the poisonous waters of Umaylu Lake.

Uses
Iulutiuns used tirichik hide to make waterproof boots, which provided excellent traction in the snow.

Tirichik meat could be eaten. It was sometimes made into stew, which was chewy but sweet. It was known to be difficult to digest. Tirichik organs were poisonous to humans, however, especially the liver. Four pounds (two kilograms) of tirichik meat was equivalent to one caribou hide in typical trade on the Great Glacier. Tirichik was one of the favorite meats of the frost giants living on the Glacier, and yeti ate their meat as well.

History
In the legends of the Ulutiuns, it was an encounter with a tirichik that caused the ancestors of that arctic people to become lost in the Great Glacier. Unable to find their way back to their homes in Sossal, they settled permanently.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Ruin