Magma Ducks

Magma ducks are a variety of mallard that is corrupted with the aether of the dragon lord Xiralgus The Nova. They are immune to extremely hot temperatures and are able to use their own fire magic. For the most part they are similar to normal mallards, but the corruption has given rise to different habits depending on the situation. They have very similar coloration, with mostly mottled brown feathers. Males have the characteristic green heads, though the feathers are darker than normal.

They are a dabbling duck that spend most of their time floating on calm waters. In the case of magma ducks, they can also swim in lava. They will dive in water and lava to graze on food underneath. They normally aren't aggressive animals, but during mating season or if threatened, male ducks will spread their wings out and cast fire magic to defend the flock from intruders and predators. They can be quite fearless animals, though they still have a number of predators.

Scientific Name: A. platyrhynchos Ignis

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Length: 50-75 cm long
Wingspan: 80-110 cm
Weight: 0.7-2 kg

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Lifespan: 20 years
Age of Maturity: 18 months

Habitat and Range

While their greatest concentrations are in the lava fields of the Red Towers and the Xiral Islands, Magma ducks can actually be found in the waters across Tornor Bay and the Boiling Sea. While some are always found living in lava lakes like the one at Mount Cendi, most magma ducks will migrate with the seasons.

During the spring months, magma ducks will gather around ponds and lakes across North Cassel. Here they will breed and lay up to 12 eggs. Females will burrow into the ground and with her fire magic, create a natural oven to stay warm and keep the eggs toasty for some time. Smoke can be seen rising all over the region for several weeks because of these ovens. Males spend a large amount of time gathering wood and grass to keep the fire going for longer when the female runs out of magic. The ducks can breathe in this smoke just fine and be unharmed and it helps with keeping uncorrupted predators away.

Regardless of where these ducks nest in the spring months, in the winter they will always migrate to the boiling islands in northeastern Cassel, or to the Red towers in northwestern Cassel. They can be seen in very large numbers around recent lava flows and especially the lava lakes. On some years, tens of thousands of magma ducks have been seen covering the entirety of the mount cendi lava lake.

Similar to other corrupted animals like the Phoenix, magma ducks have been observed diving into the lava lakes and disappearing for long periods of time. Sometimes they don't return at all. While this might be because they were captured by a predator like a giant fish, many scholars believe these animals are entering a portal between worlds, from Vreathe to The Moon Izi. It would help explain why there are so few magma ducks some years and on others there seems to be a nearly endless supply of them.

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Diet

Magma ducks are omnivores and will eat just about anything it can fit in its mouth. This included grasses, berries, various leaves, as well as insects, small frogs, fish, other birds, and more. They will eat both corrupted and non-corrupted plants and animals. Being a variety of mallard, magma ducks have been observed dabbling, both in water and in lava lakes. They can spend several minutes with their heads just below the water/lava line grazing on the grasses underneath.

Magma ducks don't really have a preference for what food they eat, but they will drop everything they are doing to chase after Spark Flies, a variety of corrupted dragonfly. Most animals with the corruption of Xiralgus will do this. There is speculation that spark flies are the most corrupted animal in the region and thus have the highest concentration of aether of any creature with this type of dragon corruption, even more than phoenixes.

Ducks that live off of a diet of spark flies are able to cast more powerful fire magic and can even match an experienced human mage in power. A male duck with the most powerful magical ability is often the leader of the flock. They have mating preferences but they are also expected to protect the flock when predators are near.

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Spark flies are about the size of a human fist and will explode in a spectacular fireball if threatened. As magma ducks are immune to extreme temperatures, this defense mechanism doesn't affect them.

Predators

Outside the corruption of Xiralgus, magma ducks have few natural predators. As the heat of their bodies are just under the boiling point it would be quite painful for any animal to bite into. Also, many ducks are able to protect themselves with fire magic. Because of this, many natural predators of a mallard don't bother with a magma duck, including large fish, lizards, snakes, turtles, and most species of birds.

Some mammals are smart enough to kill a magma duck with a sneak attack, then they wait for the body to cool and the magic to dissipate before feasting on the kill. Some animals even have a preference for hunting magma ducks as the partially cooked insides are quite a bit tastier to them. Felids and Canids are the largest non-magical natural predators but magma ducks can also be hunted by eagles and herons.

On the corrupted side of things, Phoenixes are the apex predator. They are often seen dive-bombing the hapless creatures. Blaze Foxes are a variety of corrupted red fox and have a similar range as magma ducks and account for most magma duck deaths. There are also corrupted cats known as Spark Lynxes and dogs known as Ash Hounds that hunt these ducks.

Inside the Lava Lakes are two different species of large fish that are predators of magma ducks: Lava Pikes and Obsidian Catfish. Obsidian Catfish are especially large and can swallow almost a dozen ducks at the same time whenever they surface.

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Humans and elves use a type of dog known as an Ash Hound to hunt creatures infected with the corruption of Xiralgus. These dogs are themselves infected with dragon corruption and can spend hours chasing the ducks across the lava fields.

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As Pets

Keeping a magma duck as a pet is no different than keeping a regular duck as a pet, though several things should be noted:

Magma ducks like to cuddle with their owners, preferring to be near the meager body heat humans and elves give off compared to the surrounding environment. The heat magma ducks generate is quite uncomfortable in the summer, but in the winter there are few better ways to stay warm than owning one of these creatures.

Aside from their owners, magma ducks have a preference for sleeping in fireplaces and ovens, and females will attempt to build a nest there.

If you don't have an oven, you need a fire proof box for them to sleep in. They have been observed gathering rocks and large chunks of wood and arranging it before setting all of it on fire and they will do this regardless of if the area around their nest is fireproof or not.

Magma ducks poop obsidian, literally they poop volcanic glass. Obsidian is a powerful type of Aethercite crystal. It starts off as round pellets, but can easily shatter into very sharp shards. Clean up after your duck or you're going to be stepping in glass everywhere you go!

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If a magma duck is curled up inside your oven and refuses to move, there's a good chance it is sitting on eggs. If you need to cook something, you can cook around it, or even just put the pan on top of it. The duck won't move. Just, don't try to move the duck or attempt to remove the eggs, unless you want a nasty bite and burn at the same time! It's best to wait for it to move on its own.