(Artwork and description by player Regina Carey)

Verren

The Verren is a small, light reptile found in any forests. Incredibly fast, these little creatures are not exactly courageous. When faced with anything even the same size, as they are, their reaction is to turn around and run. Or dive into the nearest body of water and swim for it.

A uniform green in color, the Verren have yellow stripes all down its body. And its underbelly is a pale fleshy pink. These little lizards have crests pulling back from their heads, which afford their necks some protection from predator's bites. And theVerren's long whip like tails are an added bit of safety. Any animal grabbing a Verren by its tail will soon be holding onto only a tail. As the Verren's tail can tear easily away from the body, giving the creature an added chance to escape. Between their long toes on all four feet, the Verren have webbing, which allows them to swim easily through the water. Though the little fellows prefer to be dry.

The Verren is around 6" tall at the shoulder, and are 16" long, 10" of that being their tail. There is very little to tell a Verren male apart from a female, other than the fact that the females are a bit darker green in color, and their crests are a little smaller. Verrens are all egg eaters and go through great lengths to try and steal snake and bird eggs. When they can't get eggs, they eke out a living as best they can on insects, worms, and decaying leaves.

Cold blooded, when fall sets, they band together for warmth, staying close to any food source they can gain. In the final days of winter, the females come into season and the males beginning jostling for mating rights. The males flush blood into their crests, creating interesting patterns on their hoods. The most intricate designs, and the most insistent of the males gets to mate with the best females while the losers have to make due with less healthy females. Four days after Early Spring starts, the Verren females lay 6 to 10 eggs in a nest as well hidden as they can manage, which they have to protect not only from snakes, but other Verrens. The females stay near the nest, trying to lure away any predators until the young hatch. After that, the baby Verren are on their own.