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Dergaii
 
PostPosted: Sat, May 30 2015, 22:57 PM 

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A copy of the following book is offered to the libraries of the Delta Mage Academy, Cordor, the Seven Stars Academy and Tarkuul to be reviewed and hopefully added to their collection.


Beholder Anatomy

Foreword
This tome contains information on the anatomy of the beholder, more precisely the variant known as the beholder slave-driver. Know that while most of this information can be generalized for any beholder, there might be small differences depending on the beholder race encountered.
The dissection was executed in the Mage Academy of the Delta on the isle of Amia. The specimen was provided by Rania and Meloh and the tools required were loaned by Jarshall.

Outward appearance
The beholder is an aberration that has the from of a large sphere of 8,5 feet wide. The creature has one central eye in the center and 10 eye-stalks with eye on the top of the head; placed akin to a series of pony tails and somewhat reminiscent of the snakelike features of a medusa. Besides the eyes the only feature is a large mouth with tongue and filled with sharp dagger-like teeth.

The slavedriver beholder has a skin that is covered with green scales and the irises of the eyes are colored brass. Around the main eye is a circle of spikes protruding from the body as well as large sets of spikes underneath the chin.

Anatomy

Outward shell
The beholder's scales and the underlying skin is hard as metal and difficult to penetrate without magically enchanted tools. This strength is even present in the flexible skin of the eye-stalks. The deeper one cuts, the more dense this skin becomes. To such an extent that there is no clear distinction, no single transition, between skin and bones. It could be argued that the beholder has no skeletal structure since it is all skin or the inverse can also be postulated. A skin that has the strength to deflect blades is well suited to function as skeletal mass.

There are tiny holes to be found across the surface of the skin at random intervals. Some of these function as ears while others allow the creature to breathe. Beholder skin is surprisingly light, aiding the creature to fly. The skin seems made from is a sort of compact, compressed, but extremely sturdy sponge-like material. There is a reason that beholder 'bone' is not used for armor in the fashion of dragon scales. The day after the initial start of the dissection, the material lost its density to the point of being as brittle as regular bone. This indicates this material needs sustenance, be it magical or a physical to maintain its strength. In that regard it is closer to skin than to bone which is a dead material.

Mouth
The beholder's mouth displays the least aberrant features. It is filled with numerous sharp teeth capable of ripping through most organic materials with the inside of the mouth being made of soft tissue. Inside the mouth is a large and well muscled tongue. Since the beholder has no limbs, it uses its tongue to perform those tasks for wich humanoids use their hands.

Stomach
The mouth opens to an esophagus which transports the food to one, large stomach after which it is transported through a series of intestines. The general function seems to be similar to most animals though there are distinct differences. There are many tiny organs that have an unclear function. The insides portray a range of bright colors, contrasting to the mostly dark outside of these aberrations.

The stomach is unusually large in comparison the to creature's size, It can easily hold 2 full grown men and some more, say an adolescent child, if chewed up properly. The stomach acid is very strong, which allows the beholder to eat about every organic matter. In the dissected specimen, there were traces of roots and plants, mushrooms and small humanoids.

Flight
All of the internal organs are extremely light and if cut loose, will start to float upwards. This airborne capacity disappears overnight at death. The buoyancy of the internal organs and the lightness of the skin aids the beholder to fly. A theory is postulated that some of the unidentified organs and sacs in the intestines process the food to a lighter than air gas that is distributed through the beholder's body, including organs and the porous skin. Upon the death of the creature the gas is no longer renewed and slowly evaporates. This very gas could be the cause of the strength of the skin which is also lost a certain time after death. While this theory offers a physiological explanation for the buoyancy and strength of the beholder, it does not exclude a magical source for these abilities.

Digestion
The beholder has no orifice to remove waste. Once the food is digested, the liquefied nutrients are brought through the smallest of intestinal tubes back the center of the creature where there lies an organ that functions as a lung. In here the digested food liquid is mixed with air to be pumped as a pinkish liquid to each part of the creature's body. The beholder has no heart, blood or veins. The pink liquid can easily be mistaken for blood. The liquefied parts of the aberrant's prey that cannot be used, seep back to its mouth where it exits the mouth on the form of dribble.

Brain
Beholders have large brains to store their magical capacities. One bulbous part of the brain looks similar to the brains of most creatures and perform the same function. The other part consists of two large lobes that fill the upper part of the skull and extend right to the main eye with branches to the eye stalks. This part of the brain is used for the great magical capacities of these creatures as both storage and amplifier.

Eyes
The eyes are the most notorious organ of the beholder. They possess strong magical capacities with each eye capable of casting a spell. These eye rays have different effects and are known to create an anti-magic zone, kill, charm, paralyze and inflict wounds. There is reason to believe the effects can vary from race to race and even among individuals. The eyes are hard as stone. Each of the stalks can be moved individually which gives the beholder excellent vision.

The iris consists of tiny crystal plates, much like transparent scales, that can be moved as necessary.
A beholder's iris can cover the entire outside of the eye. The size of the iris determines the amount of light that enters the eye and causes the creature to be able to see both in bright light and darkness.

Inside of the eye are lenses of different size and positions that can all be rotated and expanded as needed. This adds to the creature's visual supremacy and it also allows it to store magic through its eyes, where it is stored in the brain. Through adapting the lenses and the iris, this creature can aim its eye rays to the desired target. Around the lenses are near transparent fibres that span from the lenses to the optic nerve and to the brain. These fibers are likely the pathways used to transport the magical energies. Either to store the magic or to channel the power for an eye ray to be used.

M. Rindrsen


 
      
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