The green asp (S."Amgalen") was the only venomous serpent indigenous to Calenardhon and the northern White Mountains. It was a sociable creature (for a snake), making it's home with as many as fifty of its fellows in empty rabbit or ground squirrel burrows. On sunny days, the green asp community would come out to sun themselves en masse on the slopes near their subterranean home.
Green asps had dull green skin and were usually fat and torpid, with puffy poison glands below their eyes. They were considered unattractive even by those fond of serpents. Their fetid odor, reminiscent of rotting strawberries, did nothing to relieve this unpleasant impression. The bite of this snake was rarely fatal, but the area surrounding the wound generally became necrotic, turning awful shades of violet and yellow-green before sloughing off, usually exposing the bone. These dreadful afflictions could take months to heal. In some cases the snake's injection could even cause the entire limb to turn gangrenous and fall off. Regardless of the primary effects, however, the victim was in any case incapacitated for 3-6 days with a high fever and hallucinations.
see also[]
- asp venom
- asp glands
References[]
- Retrieved from [Realms of Arda]; original reference: [ICE MERP 2012]