World: Alfheim
Diet: Meat, preferably burned
Length: 13’02”
Lifespan: 80 years
Habitat: Burning places
Activity Cycle: Cathemeral
The salamanders are the undisputed champions of their lands largely by default, for they only thrive where fire constantly reigns. Magically sustained fires forever rage, forming spectacular blighted landscapes of heat and light where few creatures can survive. As such, the actual living spaces of salamanders are limited. They can only live for long in flames, but they have a specific love for burned meat. The other animals of their lands are immune to fire by default, so they must range outside to hunt for their gourmet meals.
Most salamander lands are based around a central volcano, or a whole series of them in the case of their greater kingdoms. These provide an impregnable fortress for resting and raising young, whose eggs are laid in heated pits. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of the offspring, but salamanders rarely purposefully alter the heat to choose their children’s sex. Able to climb easily with their 6 limbs, salamanders casually enter and leave their volcano lairs as needed.
Salamanders do not have the natural control over fire that they are often rumored to, but instead can absorb the heat of anything they touch. They use this ability to hunt the fire-resistant prey of their environment, and it forms a core competition of salamander society. Rival salamanders will lock their hands together and each attempt to drain the heat from the other. This usually ends before the death of either competitor, but fatalities do happen and are widely considered acceptable. As such, these competitions are only undertaken for deadly serious reasons, such as challenges for leadership. Male and female salamanders are identical in size and equally qualify for these duels.
