The Spawning - Baskings

In the ancient days, the Rideis fought dragons, and brought them to submission. No dragons trouble Mandoral or Numore today.
The Rideis, however, live in fear of the spawning.
Deep underground, the baskings burrow in the mountains' stony foundations. (Once the baskings were greater beasts, and they made tunnels which defied comprehension through the roots of the mountains. One of these is The Rideis Passage today.) In these passages the baskings lay their clutches of eggs and sing to them.
Basking eggs may take years, decades, or longer to hatch. The hatching is driven by a complex set of weather conditions, and the hatchlings, approximately the size of a small donkey, do not emerge until a specific pattern has triggered their growth and release. Once hatched, these young baskings flood to the surface to feed.
In some lands marked by great, flat plains, farmers complain of hordes of locusts which appear unexpectedly and ravage the fields. In Mandoral, there is a similar concern, but with carnivorous basking hatchlings and cities of people. It is common for thousands to die in a spawning year. Often the best course of action is to flee the city, moving through the mountains to escape the spawning, often taking refuge in the neighboring land of Numore—which, being a hostile country, must be fought into and a foothold seized to provide a space for refugees.
Baskings are noted for their particular danger of vision; a victim, once he has locked eyes with a basking, will find his will to run faded. There are many verified reports of this The Freeze, in which men and women stand as if in a trance before an advancing monster, only to be hamstrung when it reaches them and devoured at leisure. While all know in principle to avoid the eyes of these creatures, the power of will necessary to avoid looking at the beast chasing you is more than most can produce under pressure or when surprised. Some protection may be granted by shielding one's eyes, blunting the effect, but of course it is important to keep enough vision to safely make an escape.
Eventually the young baskings end their first feeding frenzy and return to their mountainous origins. The Rideis resettle in their cities and homes, safe for some years to come but never knowing when the next spawning will take place.