Short monster ecologies - Monster hunter fan fiction

Battle of the lava giants

At the base of the volcano…parched, unfertile soil borders a lake of magma flowing from the flaming peak. A cavern is located at the side of the area leading to the centre of the volcano. Ceanataurs forage for any food around the area. These bizarre creatures resemble hermit crabs but their dirt covered carapace is azure and are surprisingly the size of a sofa. Even though their long sharp pincers look capable of dissecting a fully grown man (which they could…if they wanted to), they are used to picking meat from carcasses and foraging for any plants and shrubs they can find in the barren wasteland in which they live in. They gather and take cover by a huge, intimidating creature, the shogun Ceanataur. These rare invertebrates are elder Ceanataurs that live much longer than average Ceanataurs. The cause of these abnormal growths is unknown. This shogun is old and moves sluggishly, it uses a huge dragon’s skull instead of the shell it has outgrown.

Slowly, a pair of eyes submerges from the lava…watching the group of Crab like creatures. Suddenly, a shrill roar pierces the air and a laser of lava blasts across the riverbank, roasting several Ceanataurs. The shogun Ceanataur turns to face the threat...nothing. Silence. All of a sudden, a crack forms under the large crab and begins to spill lava. The shogun rapidly crawls forward…CRUNCH! A large, magma covered animal spirals out of the ground and takes off half of the shoguns skull-shell. The large Ceanataur crumples to the ground, blood seeping out of its now exposed abdomen. The intruder is revealed, an Agnaktor. This bizarre creature has the body of a lizard, an elongated neck and a long, sharp beak used to burrow under solid rock. Its tail is long and ends with a shark-like fin; lava covers its entire body but doesn’t scold the leviathan because of its tough, plated scales. The Agnaktor doesn’t risk coming too close to the Shogun; even though it is wounded, its claws could pierce even the Agnaktor’s rock hard armour. The large leviathan turns away from the Shogun and begins to feast on the dead Ceanataurs.

Minutes later, the Agnaktor’s lava has cooled and hardened into a thick layer of rock. It senses movement and begins to look left. Too late. The wounded shogun Ceanataur shoves its elongated claws into the leviathan’s rock hard armour. The Agnaktor yelps and shakes, trying to free it from the crab’s vicious embrace. The Shogun climbs onto the large reptiles back, pulls his blood covered claws out of the Agnaktor and raises them. Just before it can shove them into the leviathans back, the Agnaktor rolls on its side and knocks the Shogun off its rear.  The leviathan grabs the Shogun by the leg and twists its head and body (similar to crocodiles) and snaps the leg, making it useless and spill more blood across the ground. The large Ceanataur shrieks and smashes its skull/shell into the Agnaktor’s face, stunning it. The crab swivels round and slices the reptile across the face several times. The Agnaktor shrieks and rolls to the side, it then moves towards the lava and swims off. The battle is over but the Shogun isn’t celebrating. It too is mortally injured and is noticeable when it walks. The elder Ceanataur begins to limp, blood draining from its wounds, towards a safer area…although it may not survive the night.