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Difference between revisions of "Skyeel"
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(Created page with "'''Skyeels''' are a flying creature on Roshar. {{stub}} Category:Stormlight ArchiveCategory:Races and Creatures") |
(→Appearance and Anatomy: Tried removing Earth references, needs further work to remove it.) |
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{{lifeform
|image=Skyeel.jpg
|appearance=Eel-like, surrounded by [[luckspren]]
|abilities=Flight
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{update|sa4}}
'''Skyeels''' are a flying creature on [[Roshar]], typically found in coastal regions. Adult skyeels are typically 4-5 feet long, but are known to grow as long as 7 feet.{{file ref|skyeel.jpg|text=Skyeel page from Shallan's portfolio}}
== Appearance and Anatomy ==
{{image|Skyeel by Abigail Barker.jpg|side=left|height=200px}}
{{for|/Gallery|more images}}
They look similar to the moray eels, but have an extra pair of larger flowing fins along their sides with air pouches tucked under them that help the skyeel fly. These pouches deflate as the skyeel dives and are refilled as the skyeel extracts lighter-than-air gasses from its prey during the digestive process. Skyeels possess a second set of jaws, known as pharyngeal jaws.{{ref|name=bens-notes}}
When they fly, small arrow-headed [[Spren#Luckspren|luckspren]] often appear and dart around them and may be the reason skyeels can fly, as "mathematically" they should be heavier than they actually are.{{book ref|sa3|99}}
Skyeels have pale bellies so that they camouflage with the sky from below and dappled skin on their back that lets them blend in with the water they fly over from above.{{ref|name=bens-notes}}
<br style="clear:left;"/>
== Behavior ==
{{image|Skyeels by Eccos.jpg|side=right|width=250px}}
Skyeels are graceful as they undulate through the air, but somewhat awkward on land.{{file ref|skyeel.jpg|text=Skyeel page from Shallan's portfolio}}
Their diet consists of fish, small rodents (such as rats and minks) and crabs. When a skyeel spots prey, they go into a sharp dive and coil around it as they snatch it up. It can take an hour or two for a skyeel to refill its gas pouches after diving. During this time, they usually find somewhere to hide.{{ref|name=bens-notes}} Skyeels are known to fight over their prey.{{book ref|sa2|1}}
Skyeels nest and watch carefully over their young,{{book ref|sa2|78}} and they have a reputation for being vicious and repellant.{{book ref|sa2|1}}{{book ref|sa3|39}}
== Cultural References ==
[[Sebarial]]'s banner has its glyphs stylized to look like a skyeel.{{book ref|sa2|40}}
The [[Wikipedia:Crow's nest|crow's nest]] of a ship is referred to as the eel's nest.{{book ref|sa3.5|prologue}}
=== Idioms ===
{{quote
|Hundreds of arrows split the sky, dimming the sun. They arced and fell, dropping like skyeels upon their prey.
|{{book ref|sa1|1}}
}}
{{quote
|...Szeth moved among them, graceful as a skyeel,...
|{{book ref|sa1|i|9}}
}}
{{quote
|Jasnah's words fought in her mind, like skyeels with only one rat between them.
|{{book ref|sa2|1}}
}}
{{quote
|...watching over her like nesting skyeels with a single pup.
|{{book ref|sa2|78}}
}}
{{quote
|Nearby, Wyndle grew up around one of the bedposts, coiled like a skyeel.
|{{book ref|sa2|i|9}}
}}
{{quote
|In the strange manner of Shardplate, the armor constricted on its own, like a skyeel curling around its rat, pulling to a comfortable tightness around his wrists.
|{{book ref|sa2|14}}
}}
{{quote
|[Re-Shephir] remembered men—an innate understanding, much as newborn mink kits innately knew to fear the skyeel.
|{{book ref|sa3|30}}
}}
{{quote
|Help how? Summon Shardblades and swing them wildly in the air, like a farmer chasing skyeels?
|{{book ref|sa3|61}}
}}
== Notes ==
<references>
{{url ref|name=bens-notes|url=http://inkthinker.deviantart.com/art/The-Way-of-Kings-Skyeels-180124400|text= Inkthinker's notes on the Skyeel page from Shallan's Notebook |site=Deviant Art}}
</references>
{{partial}}
{{Stormlight}}
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