Anyone who has played any Monster Hunter game will have probably noticed at some point that the ways these so called "monsters" act are strangely familiar, with their behavior being more animalistic than monstrous. This is without a doubt the thing...
Dark gray clouds of ash fill the sky over the area, blocking out the morning's first rays of light. As smoke bellows from the local volcano, its molten blood oozes out from wounds on this rocky surface, some streams sliding down the mountain until they reach the nearby ocean, the combination of lava and water creating a hissing curtain of steam spanning across the shoreline.
Further away from the active volcano, an expanse of scorched trees creates a ghostly forest, always transitioning between living plants and burned, rotting mats of vegetation. Within these oases which are encircled by a desert of stone, fire, and mountains, herbivores, uncommon in Erude, find safety here, hidden away from the harshness of the surrounding environment.
However, even in these hideaways, there's no way of fully escaping the scorched mountain's power. Regular tremors and falling clouds of ash remind the inhabitants of these oases of the volcano's looming presence, making sure that they can never get too comfortable.
But not all animals that live here are perturbed by these unsettling occurrences; in fact, some find themselves quite at home in this hostile landscape. Having evolved a variety of incredible and revolutionary abilities, many different species survive, traverse, and reproduce in the region's boiling and broken terrain.
Yet despite the many different tactics that have evolved to allow creatures to survive in this environment, not all monsters are equal in their capacity to make it here. There are plenty of species that are relegated to certain parts of the volcano, either to avoid competition or because they are unable to live in any other section; however, there are others who can survive in any of the landscape's locations, and one particular species claims the entire volcano as its turf. From within an unnaturally made cave atop the rumbling mountain, blasted into existence by some truly amazing powers, Flame, a fully grown Teostra, is awakening from his slumber.
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Lifting his head, Flame lets out a deep yawn before shaking his head, unintentionally dislodging some of the explosive powder his body naturally generates. Stretching himself out across the floor, the Teostra proceeds to stand up and walk out of the cave, the lava's glow illuminating his face, and causing the shadow cast by his large body to flicker over the charred volcanic rocks.
Despite the volcano's intense temperatures, Flame isn't bothered in the slightest, with his own body emitting immense amounts of heat which can build up over time, to the point where he can turn sand to glass just by standing on it. This ability makes the Teostra intolerable to a lot of species, as most are unable to withstand the burning aura that surrounds him; however, this can become even more extreme. If he becomes agitated enough, he can cause certain parts of his anatomy to become coated in fire, raising the temperature to unbearable levels.
Creating this much heat means that the elder dragon uses up a lot of energy. If Flame is to maintain his high body temperature, he'll have to find, and eat a lot of food, especially if he doesn't want to become exhausted or die from starvation. Luckily for him, the volcano and its surrounding areas are full of things that he's able to feed on, despite looking like a barren wasteland.
