Gritskull

Gritskull grit-skul pl. gritskulls
Fact File
Classification:	Fronima-based
Frequency:	Very Rare
Size:	Colossal
Lifespan:	2 minutes - 5 hours
Domesticated?:	No
Diet:	Unknown
Biome(s):	Desert, Fronima, Ocean

Gritskulls are the untamed temperament of the desert: a unique balance of water and earth elements. The Gritskull is a water elemental in origin, but is also blessed with the earth elemental properties. With the imbalance of Ramathians using Fronima to their own advantage, the natural balance of Fronima in nature sometimes causes quirks. One such quirk is the physical manifestation of a Gritskull. Gritskulls are often large and ferocious. They vary greatly in size and weight depending on the anger, power, and past lives of the Fronima that they possess. The largest record size for a Gritskull has been thirty feet in length, ten feet in width, and fifteen feet in height with a horn span of twenty feet. They often resembles the large, four-legged dragons of ancient lore, and often have mountainous horns that double their girth. A Gritskull almost always has cracks and fissures located on parts of its body. Rushing water commonly is seen flailing around inside, occasionally splashing out. Gritskulls are easily tracked by large clods of soaked sand, usually spaced apart as if leaking from a poorly carried container.

Gritskulls are not intelligent and their primary motive is to move toward whatever is warmest. They instinctively seek out their own deaths by attempting to find a source of heat that will dry them up the quickest. This is usually the centre of desert regions. If something gets in their way, they will either stomp on it or swat it aside. When attacked, a Gritskull will become slightly more defensive regarding its movements, but will still attempt to move forward toward its goal.

Reproduction

The creatures are a clash of two elements, and often die of natural causes within two seasons depending on the heat if left undisturbed. Although they are asexual, they can reproduce by chance if a Gritskull gets far enough into the desert to encounter a dust devil. The Gritskull can then multiply and increase the amount of water available only at that point in time. The amount of moisture in the air directly reflects how much water it is able to acquire and spread to its young. Usually ten to fifteen of the beasts are spawned at a time, and they are often very small compared to their parent due to the lack of available water in the desert zones.

Boss Battle

Gritskulls only exist to destroy, and as such, they are often targeted by adventurers as soon as they appear. Gritskulls must be defeated in two separate phases. First the Earth portion of the Gritskull must be targeted and destroyed.

After defeating the initial Earth portion, an equally powerful Water portion is left behind. Since it loses power while in the desert, the easiest way to defeat this second form is to simply wait. Depending on their size, it can take anywhere from five minutes two five hours.

Habitat

Unlike the Totobenki which often spawn in frigid areas of Ramath-lehi, the Gritskull often spawns just outside of deserts that are close to large bodies of water. Gritskulls have been spotted frequently in the Pwa Desert, Uhai Desert, and very rarely in the Tmu Desert.

Insane water Fronima being reborn too far from the sea, usually near the violent Hrishikesh Ocean, often births a Gritskull on land. The nomadic clans of the Pwa Desert often hunt the Gritskull in reservoir caravans to produce salt and increase their water supply.