Landshark
The predator that crossed the shore — as dangerous on land as any great shark in the sea.
The predator that crossed the shore — as dangerous on land as any great shark in the sea.
A true oddity of natural adaptation, the Landshark is a shark that traded the ocean for dry ground — and has never looked back. Most are roughly the size of a large dog, with the unmistakable streamlined body and dorsal fin of a shark, but with short, powerful legs replacing the lower fins. They move with surprising speed across land, their bodies undulating in a motion uncannily similar to swimming.
Earth magic has reshaped them completely. Their senses, once tuned to oceanic pressure and current, are now calibrated for vibrations through the soil — they can detect footsteps from hundreds of feet away, making ambushes nearly impossible to set on them, and making them exceptional hunters in open terrain. Their bite force remains unchanged from their aquatic ancestors: catastrophic.
Most Landsharks encountered in the wild are dog-sized and, while aggressive, can be dissuaded with distance and noise. Larger specimens — those over a century old — are a different matter entirely. These elder Landsharks are the size of warhorses and have been known to level farmsteads when cornered. Trackers who follow their paths report that the earth itself seems to churn slightly in their wake.