Schlaftag 2, Fifth Lunar Disappearance, 50 CE | The Owl House
Luz slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelids moved left-right. Looking down at her arm, she saw it was still covered in those cursed brown scales.
"So it wasn't a dream. Great."
Letting out a sigh, she wormed her way off the couch and onto the floor. Looking back at the cushions, she noticed that she had apparently shed a few scales while she was asleep. Hopefully Miss Eda wouldn't be too mad Luz got her couch dirty.
Slithering into the kitchen, Luz let out a loud yawn.
She needed some food.
And coffee.
Lots of coffee.
Hopefully that existed here.
Opening the fridge, Luz then realized that she would have no idea how to cook anything here. It didn't help that she didn't recognize anything that looked edible. Eyeballs and a weird yellow goop were definitely not her first choice for breakfast. She did see a giant jug of something called "Apple Blood", so maybe It was this realm's version of apple juice. That might be palatable.
Grabbing the jug and uncorking it, Luz gave the drink a quick sniff.
It smelled like iron. And it wa smell.
Nope. Back in the fridge it goes.
Just as Luz was about to put the drink away, she heard a shout of "Hey! Hands off my apple blood!"
Quickly stuffing the jug back in the fridge and slamming the door shut, Luz turned to see Eda walking down the stairs with an angry look on her face.
"King, how many times do I have to tell... Wait. You aren't King. Who are you again?" Eda said, picking at her ear and flicking away a stray spider.
For some reason, Luz really wanted to eat that spider. But she didn't, because that would be rude and weird.
"I'm Luz. The weird human-basilisk thing. We staged a prison riot last night. Any of that ring a bell?"
"Look, kid. I'm just gonna need you to repeat all that after I've had my apple blood, okay?"
True to her word, Eda grabbed a mug from one of the overhead cupboards, filled it to the brim with apple blood, and drank it all in one fell swoop.
King then walked down the stairs. Not acknowledging the others, he simply opened the fridge, grabbed the eyeballs and that strange yellow goop, threw them together on a plate, and started stabbing at it with a fork.
"Is he okay?" Luz asked.
"Yeah he's fine. Just isn't very talkative right when he wakes up. Give him a few minutes and he'll start shouting orders," Eda replied before she grabbed a burlap sack and started placing potions and bottles in it.
After watching her gather supplies for a few minutes, Luz slithered over and tapped Eda on the back.
"So, Miss Eda, are we going to be doing anything today?" A blue potion went in the bag.
"Well, today is usually delivery day for me. You see, I run a small business in crafting potions and elixirs and the like for customers. Now, normally I would dump this all on you, but given your current... situation, that won't work." A red and orange flask then got placed in the bag.
"And why is that, exactly?" An opaque green bottle went in next.
Eda tied the bag up and slung it over her shoulder before turning around and looking Luz in the eye.
"Because anyone who sees you will either run away, soil their pants, or try to kill you. That would lose me a lot of precious customers."
"Point taken. So what can I do instead?"
Eda simply shrugged.
"Well, while I'm out on delivery, you could read that book I found. See if that'll help you out."
"I think I can do that. Shouldn't be too challenging." Luz said hopefully.
"Good, good. Oh, and also be sure to watch over King while I'm gone. I don't want him getting into my apple blood. Okay, byeeee." With that, Eda stepped outside and slammed the door shut. Luz was pretty sure she heard a tiny "ouch" from Hooty.
Turning her attention back to the kitchen, Luz saw that King had finished his breakfast(?).
"So... Do you want to do anything, King?" Luz asked while slithering into the kitchen.
"Can I try some apple blood?"
"What? Eda just said no."
"Then no."
Looking around for inspiration, Luz's eyes fell upon the large pile of plushies in the corner of the living room.
"Hey King."
"Yeah?"
"I've just gotten word that Francois is plotting a rebellion in the Great Plushie Army."
"What!? That's preposterous! This mutiny must be squashed!"
"Well then, go defend your throne, King!"
At that, King grabbed a butter knife and charged into (the imaginary) battle.
"That should keep him occupied for a while." Luz said, finally getting a chance to read the book Eda had left out.
After situating herself back on the couch, Luz got her first real look at what she was about to read.
Luz knew that it was cliché to judge a book by its cover, but this book didn't appear that interesting based off first glance. The front cover simply read "Mythical Beasts: From Anati to Zebronkeys" in a old timey font, with the author being one "M. C. Leech". The back cover was completely blank, so that told Luz absolutely nothing about what she was getting into.
Turning the cover page revealed some publication information about the book. This was the first edition of the book, and it was published in 12 CE by KASU Printing House.
"Hey King, how many years ago was 12 CE?"
The diminutive demon took a few seconds to pause his imaginary battle before responding with, "Uhh... 38."
"Cool, thanks." After that sufficient response, King went back to protecting the Kingdom of Plushieland from the invading Francois-ites.
If Luz did her math right (and her assumption that Earth years and Boiling Isles years were roughly the same length was correct), then the current year was 50 CE, which meant that the Boiling Isles calendar started around 1971 in Earth time, and that this book was essentially published in 1983.
Hopefully the information was still accurate. If Luz had to read a textbook from 1983 back in school, she would have probably questioned the education she was receiving.
Flipping to the table of contents, Luz noticed that the entries in the table of contents were all in alphabetical order. That was convenient. Skimming ahead to the B section, Luz found Basilisks sandwiched between "Barmanou" and "Batibat", and the dot leaders pointed towards page 53 as where she wanted to look.
Turning to that page, Luz began reading.
53 | Basilisks
Basilisks (Basiliscus terrentis) are a potentially extinct1 species of beast demons known for their abilities to shapeshift and to drain magic from witches and demons.
Potentially extinct? Obviously, they don't know about me. Luz thought smugly.
Appearance
In their natural form, basilisks are snake-like in appearance, with their bodies being covered in scales. The upper half that contains the head and arms is usually held upright, in a similar posture to that of a witch or a bipedal demon, while the lower half is kept on the ground most of the time, used mainly for locomotion. Their teeth consist solely of cuspids on account of their carnivorous diet. (See Diet section for more details.) Their ears are large and leathery in texture, sometimes accompanied by small tufts of hair. They have two arms, located about halfway up their torso, which end in webbed hands with long, thin, finger-like claws. Basilisks are capable of growing hair, although this is mainly restricted to the top of the head and down the spine.
Giving herself a quick once over, Luz confirmed that the book was right about how she looked.
Shapeshifting
All basilisks have the ability to shapeshift, allowing them to change the appearance of their body to match whatever they wish. The innards of the body also change to accommodate for the new outward appearance. For example, a basilisk could gain a third stomach if the creature they are shapeshifting into has one, or a second pair of eyes, or whatever they so desire if they are skilled enough. Most young basilisks are only capable of copying the forms of others that they see, but more experienced basilisks could create an entirely new form of their own.
When a basilisk does shapeshift, whether it be from their natural form to another or vice versa, that process expends magic, though the exact amount used up varies from basilisk to basilisk. Some basilisks, known as neertse (or colloquially as "morph dancers"), are renowned for the grace and finesse in which they shift from form to form.
Closing her eyes tightly and picturing herself in her human body, Luz hoped to feel any sort of change that would indicate she was morphing.
No luck. She was still a glorified slug.
Magic Draining
To power their shapeshifting abilities, basilisks are required to drain magic from other creatures, as they have no bile sac of their own to draw from. Basilisks are capable of draining magic from both living and deceased creatures. Magic can be drained either directly from the witch or demon, or indirectly via consumption of a spell circle. Magic that hasn't been used for transformation by the basilisk is stored in both of its two stomachs. The upper stomach is used to digest both non-magic foods and magic, while the lower stomach is used more as a reserve for the unused magic. The magic that is digested by the upper stomach is mainly used to keep the basilisk alive and allows for small shifts in appearance to quickly be made, while the magic held in the lower stomach is saved for when large-scale changes need to be made. On that note, some basilisks have shown the ability to passively absorb "background magic" without draining any creature of its magic, though whether this is some form of defect is yet to be fully studied.
When a creature is drained of its magic, the afflicted individual is usually left sluggish and with a skin tone that is paler than normal. Basilisk's are capable of killing a person by draining them completely of magic, but this is a very rare occurrence and is usually only seen in cases of self defense.
While basilisks are naturally aggressive when it comes to magic draining, some have shown significant restraint. One notable example is Illim and Aftran Yrk, co-founders of the Basilisk Peace Movement, where members only siphoned the magic of deceased or near-death creatures. Unfortunately, the BPM only lasted for approximately 4 years, unofficially disbanding after Illim and Aftran were killed by rogue demon hunters.
Luz thought back to the night before. Draining the warden had come so easy to her, and yet she had never done it before. She wondered if those other basilisks had found it that easy, or if they had to go through some kind of magic draining boot camp. That was a funny visual.
Habitats
While they can be found all across the Isles, basilisks tend to prefer the hotter, wetter climates found in areas such as the Ribs and the swamps of the Toes due to their cold-blooded nature. Basilisk settlements could previously be found in places such as the Hips, though they have since been destroyed. Local records suggest that basilisk populations for the larger settlements reached as high as approximately 30,000.
Luz had always preferred the summertime over winter, so that seemed to add up. It was sad that the little basilisk cities had been destroyed, though. She would have loved to visit one in its heyday.
Diet
Besides consuming magic, basilisks usually eat a carnivorous diet, consisting mainly of smaller rodents (echo mice, rats, chipmunks, etc.), fish, and insects. There have been claims of exceptionally hungry basilisks eating witches, but there is no evidence to support them.
Here, the book was flat out wrong, although some of it was probably due to Luz being a weird Basilisk-Human hybrid. Sure, she didn't love eating her vegetables, and fish wasn't her go to entrée of choice, but she could force them down whenever Mom gave her The Look™.
Courtship
Aside from their shapeshifting and ability to drain magic, basilisks are also well known for their elaborate courtship rituals. While the exact processes aren't well documented, it is known that courtship is usually made up of numerous "trials", where one partner has to prove themselves worthy of being mates with the other. In recent times, these practices have fallen out of favor.
Glad I won't have to do all that. Sounds kinda messed up, not gonna lie, Luz thought, letting out a mental sigh of relief.
Reproduction/Naming of the Child
Basilisks are oviparous, meaning that they lay eggs when they intend to reproduce. It is theorized that basilisks are capable of reproducing with witches/demons, but as of publication there are no known instances of this happening. Over the course of 7-8 lunar disappearances, an embryo grows inside the egg, feeding off the nutrients inside the yolk, before eventually breaking through the shell and entering the outside world. Once the baby basilisk emerges from its egg, it is traditional for the parents to give the child two names. The first name the child receives is their "common name", which is used in almost all circumstances. Examples of "common names" include Dak, Aldrea, and Jagil. The second name they receive is their Dralag name, which is used exclusively by the child's immediate family members. Examples of Dralag names include Shamtul, Corrass, and Isthill.
Huh, I wonder what my Dralag name would be?
Known Subspecies of Basilisks
Ooh, this looks interesting. I wonder what type I am.
Common Basilisk (B. t. vulgaris)
The majority of basilisks fall into this category. When a creature is referred to as simply a "basilisk", this is the subspecies that is implied.
Common basilisks account for approximately 85% of the total basilisk population.
Greater Basilisk (B. t. dominis)
The greater basilisk is similar to the common basilisk in appearance, except for the fact that a greater basilisk is typically 3-4x larger in size. This increase in size means that greater basilisk also need to consume much more magic if they want to transform, and they likewise consume magic in larger quantities than a common basilisk. It is rumored that common basilisks are able to sense the presence of a greater basilisk, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Greater basilisks account for approximately 10% of the total basilisk population.
Unless Luz was due for a massive growth spurt soon, she was pretty sure she wasn't a greater basilisk.
Twin-tailed Basilisk (B. t. scindus)
A two-tailed variety of basilisks is also known to exist, though in much smaller quantities than common or greater basilisks. The extra appendage has no known impact on the health or wellbeing of the basilisk, and the two tails is actually purported to help the basilisk maintain stability while in a more upright posture when compared to its single-tailed counterpart.
Twin-tailed basilisks account for approximately 5% of the total basilisk population.
Looking behind her, Luz all but confirmed that she was a common basilisk when she only saw one tail swinging back and forth.
Luz then noticed that there was only one more type of basilisk left.
Roko's Basilisk (B. t. notia)
Only one instance of B. t. notia has ever been confirmed, when a cave in the Left Foot was being explored by an amateur spelunker, identified only as "Roko", who said they were a witch in the Beast Keeping Coven on a mission to discover new species of demons. They described the basilisk in the journal entry below:
Saw an odd-looking basilisk while exploring that new tunnel system today. Stands about 10 hands tall, with gray scales covering its entire body. Has no arms to speak of, and it was slithering around a large pile of bones. It was incredibly thin, and looked like it hadn't eaten in weeks. Would have taken a picture, but there wasn't enough light, and didn't want to risk scaring it with a flash photograph. The demon seemed to be feral and/or insane, only muttering to itself about "creation" and "the singularity". I'm going to go back tomorrow and offer it some leftover food. Doesn't feel right letting anything suffer when I can help it.
It is presumed that Roko died after approaching B. t. notia, as there were no further entries in their journal, and skeletal remains were found nearby. When other spelunkers explored the same cave system at a later date, evidence of B. t. notia could be found in a series of scratches carved into the rocks that would be consistent with Roko's observations when considering a basilisk of that size and the proportionate claw length and width.
Okay, I am definitely not that, was the only thing that Luz could glean from that subsection.
Notes
Due to their ability to shapeshift and maintain that shifted form for an indefinite amount of time, it is highly probable that basilisks are still alive today in disguise as a witch or demon. Therefore, they are classified as only being potentially extinct, and as such, they will be referred to in the present tense.
The book did bring up a good point with that footnote. There could actually be other basilisks out there! It was just a matter of finding them that would be the hard part.
