Dune Snake

*Note, name may be changed*
The apex predators of the central region of the Shifting Sands, Dune Snakes are a source of awe and terror for those that dare to travel into their territory.

Appearance

Long bodies that range from a few inches (newborn) to a monstrous 130 feet long, ten feet high and 8 feet thick. Their heads are shaped similarly as a sharks: triangular cone shape with their jaws at the base of the 'cone', said jaws are lined with many needle like teeth. Most of their head is covered with a large, smooth Akesa and their hide is leathery, with older specimens growing hard keratin scales. There are no visible eyes.
Dune snakes start out a sandy tan color with some mottling for better camouflage, this changes to a darker brown as they age.

Abilities

Their akesa are earth-aligned of the manipulation type, which enables them to swim through their sandy environment with ease. This also aids them in being able to 'see' what kind of ground they are swimming through, thus avoid rocky and other similar environments their akesa cannot affect. Sometimes an individual dune snake learns to use this manipulation ability to entrap prey to prevent it from escaping, such as making a pit of quicksand.
They also very sensitive to sound/vibration, thanks to their bodies being lined with specialized sensory organs.

Food Sources and Hunting

Young dune snakes are filter feeders like the Sand Eaters, but once they are big enough, they turn into ambush predators that will try to eat anything they can catch. Some actively patrol the sands, while others lay in wait for prey to pass by: all use their sensory organs to detect the slightest vibration to alert them to possible food. Once detected, they slowly approach their target before erupting from the ground in burst of speed, their mouths open, leaving their target very little time to avoid the attack.
Their method of attack and limited senses results in Dune snakes being 'messy eaters'. If the victim was not swallowed whole or only partly hit, then 'parts' of the unfortunate victim may be left behind when the hunter goes back underground. The dune snake is usually unable to locate the body parts to clean up after itself and so is left behind for scavengers and opportunistic predators to do it for them.

Reproduction

Little is known about how Dune Snakes reproduce, in part due to how dangerous it is to walk travel in their territory and a general lack of interest in finding out in general. It is not even certain if they have different sexes or are hermaphrodites.
What is safely assumed is that breeding season is likely during the rainy season, as shortly after thousands upon thousands of baby dune snakes can be seen swimming near the surface of the sands.

Enemies

Newborn dune snakes are at constant risk of being eaten by predators, such as the Great Arcer and Desert Drakes. It is not unheard of for even larger dune snakes to consume them, if they are not quick enough to avoid their ambush. This threat decreases as they grow larger, until they become large enough to become the predator instead of the prey.
Adults generally have nothing to fear in terms of being predated upon, save for the rare attack by an especially large specimen that is desperate to sustain itself. The only other threat is the yearly Great Hunt conducted by Daulka belonging to the Sand Walkers, where members from at least two Grands join up to hunt one the beasts as a Rite of Passage for their newest adults.

Geographic Distribution

• Shifting Sands