Engorfa

Basic Information

Anatomy

An Engorfa's body is incredibly long, often measuring 30ft in length. Its body is a leaf-green, allowing it to blend in more easily with surrounding trees to give the appearance of vines. Usually the illusions it casts mask its presence, but the natural camouflage is important for when its digesting food. It devours food in a similar manner to serpents, with a large mouth on one end that resembles more the mouth of a lamprey eel. Its muscles are incredibly strong, allowing it to hold onto trees to help its navigation through its territory, which it will use to constrict prey.

Genetics and Reproduction

Engorfa's are an egg-laying species. They lay their eggs in corpses of their prey to allow the young Engorfa an early meal upon hatching. These eggs are fertilized by a male Engorfa.
Male Engorfa's travel to a female Engorfa's territory. If the female accepts the male, she lets it pass into her territory to fertilize eggs. If she does not accept the male, she will likely devour him. During the reproductive season, female Engorfa's are far more hostile.

Growth Rate & Stages

Engorfa's spawn in the corpses of the parent's prey until they are large enough to capture small animals on their own. They start by luring small animals into illusory dwellings similar to what that animal would inhabit to devour them.

Ecology and Habitats

Engorfa's inhabit wooded areas with lots of cover. They prefer locations near well-traveled roads. When an Engorfa finds an ideal area, it creates an illusory trap that takes up a large region of space. This illusion can appear as a branch in a road, an animal trail, or something to convince creatures off of their normal paths. As the Engorfa grows hungrier this illusion becomes harder to detect. This territory can grow in size the longer the Engorfa remains in the area. Some have reported areas as large as several square miles.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Engorfa's are carnivores, willing to eat any animals that enter their territory. They often only need a few animals a week, however, as they become more hungry their illusions get stronger. Once it leads an animal into its territory it will ambush the creature, attempting to strangle it by constriction.

Biological Cycle

During the winter months, an Engorfa enters a state of hibernation where it masks its presence with a small illusion.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The internal organs of an Engorfa are commonly used in potions that are strong in illusion magic.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Engorfa's inhabit regions that are closer to natural fonts of magic. This includes areas of Wild Magic, natural portals, or elemental fallout.

Average Intelligence

Engorfa's are quite intelligent, being able to pick up on the magical abilities of its prey and focusing on them. They have been known to strangle prey such that they don't alert other members of its group. They will also use illusions to separate members from their groups.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Within the Engorfa's territory, it has the ability to know the location of all creatures that are in its boundaries. An Engorfa does not have eyes. When it does not have a territory set up, it can detect the presence of creatures within a smaller area.

Lifespan

30-100 years