Serpent Nest by EvolutionsVoid on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

Thinking of this species reminds me of all the times that folk have told me about local hydras and hydra sightings. Tales of some hydra in the nearby forest, one dwelling in an old mineshaft or even swimming out in the open sea! The stories are quite endless and quite frustrating. Not only do many people constantly assume that anything big and nasty is some kind of dragon, but the second some beast has multiple "heads" then it is some vicious hydra! Not only is this terrible identification, but it is also obnoxious when you are trying to actually study these kinds of creatures! Which tales are real, which are fake? The amount of times people have gabbed on about a possible new species, only for it to turn out to be some beast we already know quite well! To hike all the way out there to find that it is some crocodile infested with hydra worms, or a shallow dwelling Scylla or even a Slime that liked to have a lot of hands to pick apples! What a ludicrous waste of time! At least take a second to figure out what these "heads" are, because most of the time they are just tentacles, worms or appendages that just look the part. While you're at it, take a moment to actually properly identify the beast as a whole, you do no one any favors giving false information. Especially that poor Slime who was nearly taken out by idiotic monster slayers just for working at an orchard! I guess it was a good thing I was there investigating the "herbivorous hydra," because someone needed to set these people straight! Anyway, all this rambling was for me to talk about a species that gets this "hydra" label slapped on them a whole lot. I would say that ninety percent of all "forest hydra" sightings are actually Serpent Nests that people stumble upon. I can kind of see where the mix up can happen, but they have a pretty distinct look that should be easy to spot. Well, if they are holding still that is...

The Serpent Nest is not some kind of snake or reptile, but actually a plant. Though some who encounter it may say otherwise, it is a rooted species that grows where it is planted and remains there its whole life. It is a rather wide spread species, as it can be found wherever there is seasonal moisture and a healthy dose of sunlight. Bogs, swamps and such are good homes, but they can also grow in forests and such that receive a decent amount of rainfall. Though they are green and rooted, they are not plants that are easily missed, as this species is quite large! In their early stages, they are only about two feet wide and have an arm's length reach, but this changes quite fast! In only a few years, they can reach the diameter of ten feet and their range is even longer! Even at this size, they aren't even done. Serpent Nests seem to grow throughout their entire life, though the rate seems to slow in later years. A lot of this later growth is directed towards its "heads," which make older specimens even more dangerous! While the Serpent Nest is a rooted, immobile thing, it is by no means a helpless vegetable!

To better understand the Serpent Nest's abilities, one should look at its anatomy. A large portion of is mass is concentrated in its base, this is where the Nest is rooted and it serves as the main body. It has many thick leaves that are arranged in a floral-like pattern, where they can open and close like petals around a central opening. This arrangement allows them to open up during good weather and hunting, as well as slam shut to protect itself from the elements and attack. Beneath these leaves, near the roots, are numerous tendrils that branch out into wet droplets. They writhe and sway like snakes, but they lack the bite of these vipers. These are sensory organs, used to detect prey and predators in a method I shall describe later. On the inside of this huge "flower" it is like a shallow pit that is ringed with small tendrils and hundreds of small pores. Within here grows the main arsenal of the Serpent Nest and its most notorious feature, the "serpents" themselves. These long appendages are not separate creatures or even a head, rather they are long tentacles whose shape evokes the image of said serpent. Unlike the main body of the Nest, these limbs are incredibly flexible and move at astonishing speeds. Not only do they look like snakes, but they strike with the same speed and ferocity! Their stems are tough but elastic, allowing them to stretch an incredible amount! This elastic nature makes it difficult to properly measure the length of these "serpents," as their resting position is almost half of their actual range. Regardless, it is easy to see that these limbs can grow ludicrous lengths, especially in the older specimens! There are tales of one Nest whose arms reached over forty feet! Not sure if it is true, but I could believe it due to their continual growth!

Further examination of these "serpents" will lead you to their "heads." In truth, there are no fangs or mouth to be found in this part, just a whole lot of sticky slime and hairy barbs. At the ends, the tentacle will end in a flexible paddle-shape. On top will be stiff spines and underneath is a whole mess of hooks, hairs and pores. Here is where the "heads" produce a sticky slime that practically drips from their arms. This is no ordinary gooiness, this "dew" is quite adhesive and quickly turns into glue when it makes contact with prey. The bond is quite powerful, making escape from its grip quite difficult. Not only is it incredibly sticky, it also has a nasty little weapon hidden inside. This glue-like substance also contains digestive fluids, which can slowly eat through flesh. Now don't think that it will sear through a limb like powerful acid, because it isn't that strong. The glue that drips from their arms has only a low dose of this digestive fluid, so brief contact will only give you a slight sunburn. Now this does not mean this stuff isn't dangerous, because I should mention that this dew is not all the same. In fact, the gluey dew this plant creates has various mixtures depending on the body part. For these "heads" the dew is primarily an adhesive, meant to create an inescapable grip. A small dose of digestive fluid gives this dew a slight burn to wound prey and obtain a better grasp. On the lower sensory tendrils and at the stalked tips of the "heads" are globs of dew that are very watered down. These drops contain zero digestive fluids, and are held together by a delicate mucous skin. These are not meant for capture, but instead to detect prey. The fine film that holds the dew drop together is sensitive to sound and air movement, and any disruption causes the glob to ripple. With this, the Serpent Nest can "hear" prey approach, as the noise they create will set off the sensory tendrils. The tips of their "heads" also possess these delicate drops, and they use them to better target prey. The running and thrashing of a victim creates a disturbance they can zero in on, and they will lash out to snare them. The other different mixture they possess can be found inside their flowery base. The tips of these opening and closing leaves are covered in glue gobs, which are used purely for adhesive. The further you go in, the higher amount of digestive fluid is present in this fluid. In the central opening of the Serpent Nest, the dew is so soaked with acid that it will indeed burn through flesh. It also has the sticky properties mixed in, meaning that it latches on and eats away like an voracious Slime. With all these different compositions of their dew laid out, it is time to show how they all work in tandem.

Though they are rooted in place, Serpent Nests are hunters. Their long reaching limbs are what allow them to snare prey and bring them to their immobile bodies. First, they use their sensory tendrils to detect the presence of food. Once that happens, their central blossom will open up so that the "serpents" may uncoil and rise. Using their own sensitive dew drops, these arms will slither towards prey and determine if they are in range. When they are in striking range, they lash out with lightening speeds, snaring the victim in their gooey embrace. The barbed "heads" of these limbs easily hook into flesh, and the adhesive slime makes the grip even stronger. They will coil around prey and constrict them, mainly to keep them from escaping. Depending on the size of the prey, multiple heads will help to subdue them. For smaller creatures, the arms may crush or strangle them, their coils squeezing the life right out of them. Human-sized prey can also meet this fate, as the limbs may get a hold of their neck and crush their windpipe. In some places, people refer to this species as "Noose Plants," as they can dispatch victims just as efficiently as any execution. Horrible as this sounds, it may be a more merciful end. When prey is killed or subdued, the arms will reel them into the central bloom. The victim will be dropped inside and the leaves will snap shut. Sealed inside the Nest, the adhesive slime will pin them down and make movement sluggish, all while the powerful acid begins to digest them. For some unlucky souls, they will be alive as the digestive fluid melts their flesh into a bloody soup, which the plant's pores greedily suck up. Some may asphyxiate in the thick glue, while others will perish as their bodies are broken down. What remains when the plant opens back up is a sticky skeleton, which will remain in its maw for some time. A Serpent Nest will leave the corpses of its victims inside the main body for a few days, as it can attract scavengers who will become stuck in its gooey stomach. After the hungry crowd realizes the trap, the bones will be picked out and tossed away. They need to make room for the next victim.

Due to their predatory nature, Serpent Nests self-pollinate, as any insect that encounters them is often eaten. They develop their seeds within the central bloom, and will pick them out with their serpent arms when they are ready. Coating each seed in dew, the arms will stretch out to their max length and adhere these seeds to any piece of vegetation or debris they can find. The hope is that some creature will trundle by and get the seeds stuck on them. If this same creature is lucky to avoid the Nest's hunger, they will carry this cargo until the dew dries and the seeds fall off. Wherever they fall, they will take root. Hopefully, for this species, the conditions will be right for it to germinate. If it succeeds and sprouts, the young plant will use its sticky dew to catch and eat bugs, building up for the day when it will be able to snare bigger, meatier meals.

With a love for meat and an aggressive nature, Serpent Nests are quite reviled by most communities. They are quick to lash out at any movement, and they will eat anything they get a hold of. Their dew can easily gum up the limbs of human-sized creatures, and their strength can overpower these trapped individuals. With lightening fast strikes, they are hard to predict and fight against, especially since they only need one good shot at your throat to finish you off. The older individuals of this species can snap a neck or crush a windpipe with a single limb, which is worse when they possess a dozen of them! Slicing these "serpents" in half isn't even helpful if you don't kill the central body, as they will just regrow. Dryads aren't even a fan of these plants, as their aggression is based on movement and we tend to move around! An intruding dryad will be dispatched like any other beast, though the Nest will be aggravated when the dew doesn't digest us. When they find our corpses unpalatable, they will just dump them on the ground and hope scavengers come in so they can catch a tastier meal. With even us plant-lovers against this species, it should be no surprise that these creatures are destroyed whenever they take root near a settlement. Unfortunately, this species is quite wide spread and are fast growers, meaning there are plenty of hidden swamps and darkened forests where they dwell. When people vanish in these places, many are quick to blame the beasts of the land, but it may easily be that they just became fertilizer for a very hungry plant.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

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Feels like forever since I posted a species entry, so I figured now was a good time as any! Trying to give some other carnivorous plants of the world some love here!