Nightmare Bat
From Mizahar Lore
| Falyndar Fauna | |
 | |
| Frequency | Uncommon |
|---|---|
| Threat level | Medium - High |
| Major features | Sharp fangs, keen nocturnal senses |
| Abilities | Hallucenogenic venom |
| Most common in | jungle wilds |
Contents |
Appearance
The Nightmare Bat is larger than the average bat. Their wingspan ranges from 4 - 6 feet in length, though they are relatively light in weight, ranging from 15 - 25 lbs. They have wings that when caught by Leth's light appear blood red, and possess midnight black fur. Their hands and feet are equipped with long curved claws, enabling them to hook onto the rocky roofs of their cave dwellings, as well as helping them latch onto unfortunate prey. Another unique feature of this particular bat is that it's fangs dispense a potent venom that creates powerful and terrifying hallucinations in its victims.
Frequency
Because of their size, Nightmare Bats cannot simply hide under plants or in trees during the day, so instead they tend to hunt and habitate more mountainous regions where they can retreat to safe and deep caverns during the daytime. There is also a clutch of these creatures that resides within Zinrah's ruins aboveground and can be a terrifying encounter for Dhani or Myrians.
Social Structure
Nightmare Bats gather in large groups within caves that allow them access to the jungle so that they can forage once night has arrived. Nightmare Bats will not, however, leave the cave together or hunt together. Nightmare Bats will stream from the cave at nightfall in a chaotic flow, and then proceed to hunt anything from small mammals, to birds, and occasional people if hungry enough. Nightmare Bats do not mate for life, and in fact will procreate with a variety of mates. In the average lifespan of a Nightmare Bat (20 years) they will produce about 6 offspring.
Venom and Hunting
A Nightmare Bat's venom is quite powerful, though it doesn't reach full potency until a bat has reached maturity at the age of 3. A Bat can control the dispensation of venom depending on the size of its prey, and though the bat's generally hunt alone, they will occasionally band together to take down larger prey like tigers or Tskanna. The nature of their venom allows the hallucinations to tire, weaken, and confuse their prey until the bats can return and take advantage of their disoriented state. They feed off meat not blood, though they are able to subsist off insects and fruit to an extent.
Additional Information
The Nightmare Bat's poison is harvest-able, though this is a trial in and of itself given that the bat needs to be subdued. The poison can be applied to any weapon to produce the same effect that it would produce normally. In large concentrations the poison can cause such vivid and prolific hallucinations that anyone who has the poison injected into their blood stream will often die as a result of cardiac arrest. On the opposite side of the spectrum however, in mild concentrations the poison can be injected as a hallucinogenic drug. This is risky however, because if the dosage is off even minutely it will result in either blissful hallucinations or terrific ones. Prolonged use of the drug will result in horrible and consistent nightmares.