Cloud Whale

by SamJumisko

Cloud whales are beautiful and extraordinary beasts. Massive in size, they drift above the surface of the sea hiding in their fog clouds and dipping into the waves to feed on schools of fish. Their thick skin is pale white, growing grey in areas as they age. They have small, milky white, practically non-functional eyes, and instead rely on their large and powerful melon (the large, fleshy organ in their heads that makes their foreheads look so large) to echolocate. They have 6 fins and a large tail all of which are thin and lightweight, allowing them to push through air and water alike. Though they dive into water for food, they cannot do so for long as their bodies are less dense than seawater and naturally float. Cloud whales are docile beasts and tend to ignore sailing ships, and most sailors treat them in kind as harming a cloud whale is said to bring bad luck by Cirra's hand.
The most curious feature of the cloud whale are its cloud veins: four specialized organs that look like long, thin, gill-like openings across the whale's sides and back. These veins, through a poorly understood process, can turn water swallowed by a cloud whale into billowing clouds of mist and fog. Indeed, these clouds are where the cloud whales get their name, and they serve as a powerful defensive adaptation, hiding cloud whales from all but the mightiest of predators. Cloud whales can occasionally be seen leaping in and out of their clouds, and when pods of cloud whales migrate, they can cover nearby islands in dense fog for days as they pass by. Interestingly, older cloud whales are able to produce greater quantities of fog from their veins, suggesting that the feat involves a level of skill that can be learned.
There exists a lucrative industry around the hunting of cloud whales. They are more difficult to hunt, for they are hardier than ordinary whales, can be difficult to find, and can fly. Adding to the danger, cloud whales are a favored animal of Miss Cirra, goddess of the clouds and winds, and many a whaling ship has been battered and waylaid by a vengeful storm. For the well equipped and daring however, the cloud whale is a valuable source of blubber, meat, lightweight bones, and rare alchemical reagents sourced from its fog veins.

Classification: mammal.
Diet: carnivore.
Lifespan: 70 - 90 years.
Native Habitat: migratory, found in every sea of Orentia.