#zahnenzaun

[tsyllaes]

The zahnenzaun, or fence of teeth, is a semi-mythical creature living in the Llayan Great Lake. It's seen rarely enough that nobody knows what it looks like, just general impressions of brown fins and the holy shit teeth fencing off that gaping maw. It has been known to attack people, lending credence to its existence, but it still has almost Loch Ness Monster standing among those who don't live on the Great Lake.

In reality, the zahnenzaun is a freshwater shark, a bit smaller than a great white and a bit of a cross between a wobbegong and an eel, not much more than a mouth with a tail. It lives on the lake bottom where it feeds on other bottom feeders, out where the water is quite deep. It's mostly an ambush predator, hiding amongst the seaweed before launching itself in that way sea creatures do and taking down its prey. Very occasionally, when it hasn't eaten in a while and it's REALLY hungry, it'll pursue its prey up to the surface and breach the surface with a great gnashing of teeth before disappearing back to the depths. If it sees a fisher's legs standing there in the shallows, then so much easier for the zahnenzaun. As with saltwater sharks, though, they don't like the taste of humans so they'll invariably spit them out and swim away.

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