Creature:Aurum/Sea phase

Evolutionary History: The Sea


At first, the Aurix had adapted into a species of parasitic eels known as the hemochelys, and were, for all intents and purposes, known as the eelix. Being hemochelys eels (a taxon of eels not found on Earth), they fed exclusively upon the blood of other animals. The eelix were common parasites to the bottom-feeding Skulker Rays, who in turn were descendants of the far fiercer Loomer Worms.

The eelix were far more cowardly than the Aurix would eventually become, and spent much of their early years hiding within a small, cavernous rock on the sea floor of the green kelp forests that inhabited the more temperate waters off the southern coast of the nearby continent of Zeeon. Here they lived as a small colony, and this porous rock would come to be forever referred to as Colony Rock.

The school of eelix eventually returned to their nomadic roots however, choosing to explore rather than stay put in their cave, sneaking back and forth through the many kelp fronds that grew around them. Despite exploratory tendencies, the eelix were too afraid to attempt anything too risky. After a bit of time, they grew better eyesight (which was their only sense at the time), as well as switching out their vibrant blue shading for monochromatic camouflage and an electrical discharge (see: electric eel).

Although things seemed decently peaceful and prosperous (albeit frightening) in the kelp forest, a disaster struck one day that changed the course of their lives forever. They had gone to visit the nearby red kelp forest, and come across a large dunkleosteus-type fish, known as a  green clacker. Seeing this, they chose to return to their home stalking grounds, only to find it decimated from some unknown force. The kelp was destroyed, and much of the local fauna were found dead. Frightened as usual, the eelix chose to flee the area forever, heading through the insignificant buffer zone until they finally reached the tropical coral reefs closer to Zeeon's shores.

Upon arrival in this new biome, they swiftly (or rather, as swiftly as they could) set up a new colony underneath the tangled "tendrils" of one of the local species of coral, where they fed on poisonous but slow and docile nudibranchs. Living here did not last long either, however, and the eelix soon discovered large, horse-sized eagle rays, called titan rays, swimming just along the outskirts of the coral reef. Sizing the beasts up, many of the pack (known as a cete of eelix) traveled to one of these massive creatures, and began feeding off of it, like the hemophagic parasites they were. Soon they found themselves attaching to the one they had claimed as a permanent host, which the cete had fed off so well by gorging themselves on the excess of blood flowing through the monster's veins, that they finally grew in size without any other provocation.

As usual, it wasn't long however until the neomva (the ancient, swimming ancestors of the now-flying neomwa) discovered the new colony, and once again they exploited it as a food source. Due to this, the eelix eventually evolved from the old parasitic eel forms into a new species not found on Earth called hemovenators, which were the very first species of known spinocephalopods. Finally the titan rays swam as far into the coral reef as they could possibly go, and began to mingle (it is generally assumed they had gone there to breed), and the eelix, which had now begun to go extinct and were being replaced with the hemovenators, more commonly known as the squillix, found the neomva had been feeding on other creatures in the area as well, although it was still uncertain why these neomva were usually not seen around the Aurix ancestral descendant species.

With the squillix only just having left their titan ray, they met up with a curious species of mantis shrimp that became known as the flash shrimp, which let the squillix follow them to a coral trench that led into a shallow tidal pool along the shores of the land. Here they would spend their lives in luxury and relaxation; no predators of the squillix were found to live here, and creatures lower on the food chain were in abundance -- it was a regular paradise for the squillix.

It was here that the squillix split once more, forming both the squillix and the new species, the vrenna, who had grown short shells, remaining as bipods while the squillix evolved into quadrupods. These vrennum also expressed little to no interest in their cousins whatsoever, and due to their camouflage as well as their habits of hiding under the sand for their prey, they were not usually seen.

Although mainly free from predators there in the tidal pool, their curiosity got the better of them and nearly ended in their extinction when the battery went back into and past the reef to investigate water plumes they had recently witnessed arcing from the water's surface. These arcs turned out to belong to the king of swimmers, a very large species of mysticeti whale and the apparent top-of-the-food-chain species of the marine habitats, which didn't hesitate to eat as much of the colony as they could, quickly taking the members down by half. The surivors of this sudden attack fled quickly, but soon were met with yet another offshoot from an earlier era...the zrrmzasha, which had evolved from those in the coral colony that didn't move to the titan ray, having in that amount of time transforming into a race of icthyosaurs. Fleeing, the dwindling survivors also encountered another huge species, the  murkdwellers, but successfully escaped and made it safely back to the tidal pool with very few members remaining. The beginning of the end of the Aurix's days as aquatic beasts had begun.