Drake, Earth

''This monstrosity is easily mistaken for a large mound of rock – until it moves. Only then do you realize that you stand face to face with an enormous reptilian beast, seemingly composed entirely of hunks of rock and stone.''

Tactics
Earth drakes prefer to start combat by using their concussion and animate object powers to trap their enemies in caves or box canyons and then engaging in melee. Earth drakes charge their target and attack with their powerful front claws first, then rend the target with their gaping maw. Earth drakes are the only drakes that will fight to the death, convinced that they are stronger than any opponent. An earth drake's elemental attack allows the creature to gate solid matter in the form of dirt, stones, and boulders from the elemental plane of earth.

Description
Earth drakes are the largest, most physically powerful of the drakes. Their massive bodies and extremely rough hide often made them look like large outcroppings of rock. Earth drakes love a good fight. They will often dig in along major trade routes in the hope that they will find someone that can challenge them.

Earth drakes prefer rocky areas and mountains to the open sands. When selecting a lair, an earth drake will usually choose a cavern or cave that is almost too small for the creature. It then spends its time closed in on all sides by rock and earth, something that the creature finds very much to its liking. Whether they dig into the bedrock beneath the sands of the Athasian desert or into a hillside, earth drakes always cover the front of their habitat with loose dirt, creating a collapsible front entrance which the earth drake uses to defend its lair. Earth drakes especially dislike any type of permanent buildings and think nothing of traveling many miles in order to destroy man-made settlements.

Covered with thousands of small, spiny scales, an earth drake has massive limbs designed for digging through solid stone. It has a short tail, which forces it to walk with a swaggering gait, and a wedge-shaped head. Scales protect the drake's ears and a double eyelid prevents the creature from being blinded when burrowing.