User blog:BannedLagiacrus/Monster Appreciation Week: Vaal Hazak

Hello, and welcome to Monster Appreciation Week!

This week we look at the Ruler of the Rotten Vale, Vaal Hazak!



Interesting Facts About Vaal Hazak

 * When the Third Fleet was left stranded in the Coral Highlands, they began to explore the environment and eventually discovered the Rotten Vale. In the deepest depths of the Rotten Vale, one member of the Third Fleet reported seeing an Elder Dragon wandering in the area, but there was no evidence or a trail to follow. Decades later, a hunter of the Fifth Fleet discovered the Elder Dragon within the Rotten Vale during the latest Elder Crossing.
 * From Vaal Hazak living in the deepest parts of the Rotten Vale, it is hard for the Research Commission to study the Elder Dragon.
 * It is also believed that they weren't able to find Vaal Hazak so easily because it sometimes hides in piles of corpses.
 * Vaal Hazak can fly but this is rarely ever seen.
 * Vaal Hazak's title, Corpse Coat Dragon (Japanese 屍套龍), comes from it wearing the corpses and flesh of dead monsters on its body.
 * Without any of the corpses covering its body, Vaal Hazak has silver scales covering its body.
 * It is believed by researchers that in the past, Vaal Hazak was a predator that fed on corpses filled with effluvium and it kept the bacteria with it for many years, so that it could coexist with it in the Rotten Vale, allowing it to manipulate it with ease.
 * The effluvium makes most monsters more violent, including calm species like the Raphinos, but doesn't affect Vaal Hazak.
 * Vaal Hazak is able to freely use the effluvium in battle, though it has a limit on how much it can use at once. It is able to breathe streams of it from its mouth and able to cover its whole body in the deadly gas, allowing it to use the effluvium as a weapon. If Vaal Hazak takes too much damage or uses too much of it in combat, it will temporarily lose control of the effluvium for a short period of time. If it runs out of effluvium, it will gather some more by sucking another creature dry.
 * Vaal Hazak doesn't directly prey on other monsters rather it uses the effluvium to do it. Vaal Hazak is known to suck up the effluvium so that it can make the bacteria's energy its own. When it takes it from infected monsters, it also drains the monsters of vital energy. Vaal Hazak doesn't kill the monsters when it sucks them dry but greatly weakens them, leaving the victims in a sort of unconscious state. By sucking up the effluvium, Vaal Hazak is able to energize itself without needing to prey on other creatures directly.
 * When Vaal Hazak is in the Rotten Vale, the effluvium gas becomes denser in the area, making it harder to breathe. From the effluvium becoming denser, Vaal Hazak is affecting more monsters with it, causing them to go berserk and attack just about anything they encounter.
 * It is feared that some of the monsters affected by the effluvium will venture out of the Rotten Vale, but chances of that happening are slim.
 * Odogaron is considered to be the apex predator of the Rotten Vale, however, Vaal Hazak is considered to be the ruler of the Rotten Vale.
 * Vaal Hazak has two bioluminescent organs on each side of its face that are often confused with its eyes. Its eyes are small and red in color.
 * Vaal Hazak's fangs and talons are sharp.
 * Its membrane grants dragon element properties.
 * Its wings are light, yet firm.
 * Its gem holds untold potential.