Anyone who has played any Monster Hunter game will have probably noticed at some point that the ways these so called "monsters" act are strangely familiar, with their behavior being more animalistic than monstrous. This is without a doubt the thing...
(I know that the Magala species is hermaphroditic, but since using "it" for the main character will be confusing, I'll use feminine pronouns for all hermaphrodite main characters as in real life all zygotes start as females.)
Everwood, Terosu Region, Old World
Rays of light peek over the eastern horizon as the sun begins to rise, illuminating the varying terrains of the region known as the Everwood. Beneath the dense foliage of the treetops, crystal-filled caverns, sandy ravines, flowing streams, and the remains of a derelict city are scattered throughout the area, turning the already confusing environment into a maze that's nearly impossible to map out, making it seem as if the landscape itself is alive and constantly changing its configuration.
Wrapping around the stone structures, vines and roots slowly rip the crumbling ruins apart as they grow, endlessly chipping away at this once-grand city from a bygone era. Walls, pillars, towers, and other stone structures still bear the carvings etched into their surface, the deepest ones helping the vegetation to continue rising closer to the sun's light by giving them somewhere to take root, coating the monuments in a carpet of greenery.
The city's glamor may be gone, its once-bustling streets and grandiose buildings now empty and falling apart, but they still see plenty of life in and around their walls. Every day, monsters of all shapes and sizes use the abandoned structures for shelter or to facilitate travel, utilizing the constructs in a similar way to the original inhabitants of these lands.
However, not all structures are visited regularly. In fact, some of them are actively avoided, and for good reason. Within the crumbling remains of what may have once been a magnificent temple, a dark purple smog flows out from the gaps in the walls. Composed of millions of nearly microscopic, hair-like filaments, these clouds are an ominous sign to all creatures that danger is near, for they herald the arrival of a monster that should never be provoked. As more pseudo hairs continue to drift around the temple, a black figure rises from the building's shadows as every movement made by it dispels more purple fog. Taking a few steps forward, the sunlight seeping through a crack in the ceiling reveals Fume, a female Gore Magala.
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As her pseudo hairs and scales shed, quickly disintegrating in the air, they coat the temple's surfaces, giving off a unique heat signature and allowing the Gore Magala to paint a picture of her surroundings, something which is especially important for her, as at this stage of her life she's completely blind. She may not look like it, but Fume is still a juvenile, having yet to molt into a Shagaru Magala; but when she does, her skin will become golden, the inside of her feelers will solidify into horns, and her eyes will finally be exposed to the outside world after fully developing, giving her true sight.
But in the meantime, Fume continues using her currently retracted heat-sensing feelers to locate the smog, letting her effortlessly navigate the uneven terrain, climbing and leaping over the damaged parts of the temple. This way of detecting the world is so accurate that the young elder dragon can fly without worrying about crashing into things; however, she still prefers staying on the ground as it's simply easier for her.
