Lou Carcohl

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Carcolh is a massive creature, a hybrid of a serpent and a snail, with a long, slender body, on the center of which is a large, helix-shaped shell. The Lou Carcolh is capable of retracting its entire body into the impenetrable armour. The shell is made of a hard, stone-like grey substance, covered in sharp spikes. Its eyeless face is terminated by a large, toothy maw, similar in appearance to that of a Lamprey, as well as long tentacles, covered in both a viscous substance and small, hair-like follicles writhing on of its head. Two tentacles of considerably more length are located at the front of its head.

Genetics and Reproduction

The Lou Carcohl is hermaphroditic in nature, possessing both male and female genitalia, similar to common slugs. It is presumed therefore, that their reproduction occurs in circumstances similar to those of their mundane equivalents. This has not been confirmed by any Bediz scholar of repute, as many expeditions into their cavernous lairs do not return.

Growth Rate & Stages

The Lou Carcohl are believed (based on the discovery of discarded shells, to begin, or at least grow into, the size of large dogs. As they feed and progress, they become the size of horses, then Drakes, and eventually, in the cases of the Hastingues Lou Carcohl, the best documented of the creatures, the size of a house.
It is unclear how large the creatures can grow and it is surmised that larger variants can be found in the Faewylde. Reports have indicated that their hunting tentacles have trapped prey and dragged them kilometers back to their supposed lairs. Unverified reports have stated a shell height of at least 18 meters, but it is unclear if this is the case, with most shells indicating closer to 6 meters as the average size.

Ecology and Habitats

The Lou Carcolh inhabit large caverns of twisting tunnels and large chambers beneath the earth. It is believed that these caverns are pockets of Faerie, with some being impossibly large for the region that they are located in. The Hastingues Lair was charted for several kilometers before the surveyors were forced to turn back.
The caverns of the Lou Carcolh are often damp, preferring living caves. It is thought that the Lou Carcolh can use a slime-like substance of regurgitated stomache acid to burrow new tunnels and caves with great efficiency. Depending of the size of the creature, stalactites and stalagmites are often broken off by its passage or greatly warn down. With the larger individuals, barely moving from their lair, stalagmites can form on their shells.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Lou Carcohl are technically omnivorous, capable of eating many things with enough time, but they prefer organic material and are largely carnivorous when the option presents itself. Lou Carcohl extend their "hunting tentacles" as far as 3 kilometers from their main body, their sensitive follicles aiding their tremorsense as they wait for prey to draw near. When it does, these tentacles move with incredible speed, snatching the victim and dragging it back to its lair, trapped by the glue-like slime on the tentacles. The creature can move these with great precision and independently, using both appendages to ensnare prey with surprisingly complex and reactive maneuvers.
In-close quarters, it can vomit corrosive acid from its stomach as a projectile.

Biological Cycle

As they age, the Lou Carcohl grow in size, but decrease in activity, rarely leaving their large central chambers and hunting by extending their tentacles. The growth of stalagmites on their shells suggest extreme longevity and inactivity.

Additional Information

Domestication

Efforts for the domestication of smaller Lou Carcohl discovered in Hastingues and similar caverns has universally failed.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

There are several uses for Lou Carcolh. Its stomach-juice is a potent solvent for alchemy and is highly prized for this reason. Some in Akitania, Anjev and Gallia consider snails a delicacy, and numerous attempts have been made to kill a Lou Carcolh to eat, but this has not met with widespread success, leaving the ingredient largely only found in the most prestigious royal courts. Its venomous nature requires special recuperation.
Dragons of all varieties eat Lou Carcohl..

Geographic Origin and Distribution

The Lou Carcohl largely inhabits the region of Akitainia and is typically found in caverns beneath dome-shaped hills. It favours heathland, as the largely infertile lands favours low brush, rather than dense foliage, allowing it easier hunting across wider distances.

Average Intelligence

The Lou Carcolh is a reactive hunter, ensnaring its prey with its tentacles. Driven by instinct, it is capable of surprisingly adept and clever hunting strategies, but now evidence has been shown for greater intelligence or social tendencies.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Lou Carcohl is blind and deaf, instead sensing its environment with a incredibly sensitive tremorsense, capable of feeling the smallest vibrations within range of its tentacles. The creature can sense something as small as a dog within a mile of its tentacles, including its twin hunting tentacles. These sensations grow weaker in open environments, but stronger in enclosed ones, like caves and canyons.

Lifespan

Unknown

Conservation Status

The fearsome nature and subterranean habitat of the Lou Carcolh has made an accurate count of the creature difficult, with only one confirmed entity, but many others suspected. Evidence, such as discarded shells or caverns of partially dissolved bones, have indicated that the creatures exist in larger numbers than initially thought.

Average Height

6 - 18 m (Shell)

Average Weight

16k, kg

Average Length

10-30 m (Main Body) ~ 3 km (including hunting tentacles at maximum length),

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Lou Carcohl tend to be greys and browns, earthy colours that help it blend in with its subterranean living.