Picture something that moves like a snake but stands on six legs, each one ending in talons that could gut a man in a single swipe. The hyva is enormous — large enough to coil its bulk around a stone column and still have body to spare. Its hide is a deep indigo-black that shimmers in moonlight, stretched over coiled muscle and crowned with a ridge of spines from skull to tail-tip.

The head is the worst of it: purely reptilian, ringed with backward-curving horns and split by a jaw that holds far too many teeth. You'll know one is watching you by the gold glow of its eyes in the dark. You'll know it's about to attack when the bulging sac at its throat starts to pulse and that clicking sound picks up speed.

Hyva are solitary, territorial creatures that tolerate no company — not even their own kind. They roam the Dying Wilds alone, and when two cross paths, the result is almost always a brutal, screaming fight that can be heard echoing across the forest for miles. There is no pack structure, no cooperation, no hierarchy beyond whoever wins the next brawl.

Hyva are apex predators built for killing. They're explosively fast despite their size, capable of bursting through dense undergrowth and closing distance before prey has time to react. Their strength is staggering — a single lash of the tail can crack stone, and those sickle-curved talons shred through almost anything.

They hunt using a three-part vocalization: a low, throaty clicking that accelerates as they close in, followed by a warbling roar that signals the attack is committed. Sometimes, though, they skip the announcement entirely and arrive in silence, which is arguably worse. They can also climb, slithering up boulders and rock faces with unsettling ease for something so massive.

While not intelligent in any reasoning sense, they possess a sharp animal cunning — circling to flank, attempting to leap over barriers, and assessing threats before committing. They are relentless once they've locked onto prey, and pain alone won't stop a charge — only enrage it further.