Sharpwing

Sharpwing

(Creature)

Type

Animal

CR

8

Environment

Any cold (Aballon or Nejeor VI)

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Source: Alien Archive, pg(s). 102

Sharpwings are a species of large aerial predators native to the Ice Wells of Aballon, one of the few organic species in the robot planet. A quirk of evolution has created an almost identical species on Nejeor VI.

Appearance

Sharpwings vaguely resemble sleek pterosaurs with a long, whiplike tail, and their beaks are filled with teeth. A sharpwing's body and wings are filled with dozens of eyes.

Ecology

Sharpwings are solitary hunters and generalist feeders. They only gather in groups in lean times, and such groups can take down prey much larger than themselves.

Sharpwing breeding season lasts for several months per year. During this time, unpaired males blink their eyes rapidly to signal to potential mates that their sensors are strong and plentiful, gathering in circles around an individual female if the male population is bigger. A female sharpwing chooses a mate by pecking sharply at his forehead.

Each sharpwing clutch consists of three or four eggs. These eggs are covered in eyes, through which the parents can see as if they were their own via quantum entanglement; the parents can't see through their own eyes when doing this. It's unknown whether this is the result of natural evolution in an irradiated environment or First One genetic tinkering. The eggs can also sprout legs and move, either on its own volition or when controlled by the parents, but are neither fast nor stealthy and prone to breaking themselves. The parents remain paired until the eggs hatch.

Society

Because of the numerous research opportunities provided by the sharpwing's unusual biology, they and their eggs have become targets for poachers. Some entrepreneurs have bred them as commodities, leading to invasive sharpwing populations outside Aballon, but the number of sharpwings on their homeworld has sharply declined due to the increasing demand and the anacite urban sprawl. Both problems have drawn the attention of the Xenowardens, who have started discussing about trade sanctions.

One of the most popular products created from sharpwing research is the ocucloak processor, a tiny computer wired to a cloak and attached to the user's brain.