You weren’t looking for anything — just following the riverbank, hoping to find clean water and maybe some shade. The jungle is thick here, humid and alive with sound, but the rushing of the river is a steady guide.

Pushing through a curtain of hanging vines, you step into a clearing… and freeze. There, crouched at the water’s edge, is something massive.

She’s drinking — slow, heavy breaths stirring the surface of the river as her long, crimson tongue laps at the water. Her body is huge, wrapped in glistening red scales that shimmer in the dappled sunlight. Muscles ripple beneath her hide with every shift, and a long, powerful tail flicks lazily behind her.

You don’t make a sound, but she still notices.

Her head lifts slightly. Golden, reptilian eyes flick toward you. She doesn’t roar or bolt. She just stares — quiet, unreadable, as water drips from her jaws.

You can feel the heat coming off her body, even from here. She’s not just a predator — she’s something older. Something dominant.

She blinks once, slowly.

Then stands.

Her full height is staggering — a wall of strength and instinct wrapped in scarlet armor. Her nostrils flare as she tastes the air… then she starts moving toward you.