Zahmitar (Zahm-ee-tar)

Summary

Literally, "death itself" in older draconic vernacular, the zahmitar is one of Veltrona's deadliest apex predators, if not arguably 'the' deadliest. It is something that dragonkind as a whole has some awareness of, detailed and recorded encounters with, and several long-standing traditions that unilaterally emphasize the zahmitar's complete eradication. Their hatred of it (some would argue fear, instead) is something that often catches other species off guard, particularly the younger ones. The longer lived and immortal peoples, like jiuweihu, often come to share a similar hatred, or at least a good understanding of it.   Generally found in warm, highly humid regions, the zahmitar largely lives in swampland and jungles. There, it's unassuming form conceals its insidiously deadly nature, making almost all people oblivious if one is nearby. A number of animals, though, have long since evolved some means of detecting its presence. While that doesn't always work, as the zahmitar's fearsome power to consume ever hungers, most can get around its presence without a problem. In many ways, its camouflage and extreme effectiveness spurred on all kinds of evil myths about unseen predators, deadly spirits, and other such problems.   For, as what would be later discovered, the zahmitar uses an almost one-of-a-kind hunting method no other life known utilizes: space-time magic.   Being massively larger on the 'inside' of its body, the zahmitar launches its tongue at prey, then sucks them whole into its gullet. As the tongue launches, it expands to its 'true' size, often enough to wrap around or grab ahold of its chosen prey. When its incredible muscular power pulls them inside, the tongue and prey are 'compressed' by space-time forces into its pocket dimension-like innards. These gravitional forces crunch and shred the unprepared prey, leaving their broken bodies (often dead, but not always) an easily digestible meal.   The only things the zahmitar cannot eat are, themselves, truly titanic in size or massively weighted. Chontzincoatl are one such example of a species unbothered by the zahmitar, and the two simply 'ignore' each other. Even then, the chontzincoatl will make an effort to not crush the zahmitar under its huge body. An easy mistake to make, especially as the zahmitar itself has no real defensive power. It is a supremely delicate creature compared to its voracious appetite, and even a human can easily step on and kill it.   The problem is what happens when it dies violently.   Without the forces controlling its pocket dimension, reality reasserts itself, decompressing its internal space. The incredible energies this releases results in an explosion measured by magnitudes, often annihilating dozens to hundreds of meters around itself in an instant. Squished, cut open, thrown against the ground, burned alive–all these sudden, quick deaths ensure whatever killed the zahmitar, too, will die with it. How large the explosion is, and how much it can eat, are directly correlated: older zahmitar possess more eating capacity, and so greater explosive potential.   The first story of dragonkind's encounter with the zahmitar came from the borderlands of Etzli Cuauhtla, not far from where it used to merge with Lophern before the Tyrant's Sea was formed. Few dragons survived to offer first hand testimony, but their testaments, and recovered records of the conspiracy that caused it, helped construct a plausible narrative.   As it goes, subjects of the lineage of Kar came to pay tribute to their dragon mistresses. One such man, representing poor and overly taxed, failing villages, offered up a humble frog to the Kar's matriarch. At the threat of his life being taken, he assured her if she cut the frog open, it would vomit out crysium jewels. Wanting to prove him a liar, she did so, and so the resulting explosion killed her, him, and most everyone present. The dragons that did survive were, incidentally, mages with magical protective equipment.   The sudden annihilation of the lineage's entire leadership threw the region into chaos as revolution, infighting, and outside powers made moves. However, those who survived the incident vowed to find the truth of the awesome power that caused it all. Their tireless, bloody work eventually found the result: the unassuming, amphibian frog they called 'zahmitar'.   While the lineage of Kar faced truly difficult times, they have ever despised and hated the zahmitar without equal. Wherever it could be found they would go by the dozens, scorching everything into ashes, veltron magic would churn the grounds and crush anything inside them, and then salt the area to die for generations. Their extreme actions eventually caught the notice of other dragons, especially when the Kar showed up unannounced on other lands. Word of the zahmitar spread then, and those who didn't believe them at all would find a reason to when they went looking as well.   Eventually, everyone else caught on to dragonkind's seemingly singular hatred of one specific creature. When they discovered its power for themselves, they tried exploiting it as a possible weapon. While few were notably successful, most zahmitar were 'younger' as a whole, only producing milder but still deadly explosions. It rapidly led to their otherwise small populations to dwindle to nothing, and in many cases, extinction. Yet, the zahmitar remains, unassuming in its deadly nature.   Sporadically through the years cases of mysterious vanishing would arise. While hard to sift out among similar incidents, the fact they happened in known zahmitar regions would draw attention. Random, unknown and sudden explosions can, just as much, be hard to distinguish from a zahmitar dying or something else happening. As they're so difficult to locate and remove safely, it has led to tales of caution, dire warnings, and many more fears about frogs as a whole. Something that has, unfortunately, had some bad results for many 'look-alike' species similar to the zahmitar.  

Small gifts become big problems.

— A proverb associated with the lineage of Kar.