Skivers are New Eden’s great wildlife mystery. Sightings of these oversized shrimp were first recorded ten years ago, along the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula. What little we know about the Skiver tells us, definitively, that they are native to Earth. Additionally, their genetic makeup shows no sign of contact with the Melding, lending credence to the hypothesis that the Skiver is a previously-undiscovered species of life.
One commonality in their environmental selections is that each one gives the Skiver a prime defense against potential predators. This includes underwater coves, hollow rocks, and buried in sand. It’s also theorized that some Skivers will even hide inside the carcasses of larger beasts, or even inside living organisms.
A single Skiver is known to be highly skittish, often fleing from creatures half its size. When in numbers, however, these creatures are fiercely aggressive and highly opportunistic. Only leaving the relative safety of their ocean habitat to hunt, groups of Skivers will swarm older or weaker prey. The Skiver’s bite injects their enemy with a small dosage of neurotoxin which, while not especially dangerous in a single dosage, can quickly become fatal when applied via multiple bites. Skivers are also excellent jumpers, able to leap high into the air and drive passing Storm Kestrel, Culex, and other airborne creatures to the ground, where the rest of the swarm can quickly overwhelm it.
The best defense against a swarm of Skivers is a solid offense. Keep moving, and attack from a distance.
