[Among the many names for Rainbow Serpents in Australian Aboriginal myths, I chose Wonambi because of its paleo connection]
Wonambi
An enormous serpent flies through
the sky, its scales shining with all the colors of the rainbow. Its dragon-like
head bears an expression of smug superiority.
Wonambi
are powerful dragons especially attuned to the natural world. The body of a
wonambi glows with a radiance nearly the equal of the sun, and they have
strange powers over light. Some sages believe that the prismatic spray spell first arose from these creatures and was
given to or stolen by mortal wizards in the distant past.
Many
peoples of the dry wastes consider the mighty wonambi to be gods incarnate on
earth, and the wonambi do little to dispel such notions. The tribes that pay
homage to a wonambi do so with stories, songs and offerings of material goods
thrown into watering holes, and those that earn a wonambi’s favor are blessed
with clean water, frequent rains and favorable hunting. Wonambi are often
demanding taskmasters, however, and may punish those that disappoint them or
break their taboos with disease, transformation or death. Some shamans
willingly sacrifice themselves to the wonambi to gain greater wisdom or to
atone for the crimes of another; such holy men are usually brought back to life
by the wonambi in a new form, blessed with wisdom or strength to return to
their people.
Few are
foolish enough to confront a wonambi in direct combat, and fewer still are
those with a chance of victory. Wonambi like to tease their opponents by
reshaping the battlefield, throwing up obstacle after obstacle in the hopes of
dissuading further violence. If this fails, wonambi are savage combatants,
augmenting their already mighty melee abilities with spells and destroying foes
with blasts of lightning and their searing breath weapons. A wonambi grows to nearly
80 feet long and weighs 60 tons.
Wonambi inhabit the deserts of Riven, preying on large animals and guarding sites of great natural beauty. They are viewed with awe by the sand giants of that land, who worship them as embodiments of sunlight’s majesty.
Shores of Swords 