Happy Dracones Monday! As we're in the depths of winter I decided to do a polar serpent for today's monday art, admiring the northern lights. The polar serpent is based on the tiz-her-uk or pal-rai-uk from Inuit folklore; a creature that stalks and hunts humans. I remember reading somewhere that banging on the side of your boat can deter them... or summon them? I was about to write fun factoids about tizheruk before stumbling and realising that I might be advising people to summon giant man-eating serpents to their boats - I've found some good resources for Inuit folklore ( the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Native Languages websites) but neither of them touch on tizheruk/pal-rai-uk, I will have to research them again before I accidentally say anything incorrect!
In my dragon field guide project Dracones Mundi, the polar serpent is long and serpentine, with paddle-like limbs and stubby wing structures used as hydrofoils. While many dragons have osteoderms, sea serpents lack this armour to reduce weight. Their skin is thick and blubbery like that of a leatherback turtle.
