Daikaiju Bios: Varan - Guardian of the Skies

(Note: This piece is now officially OUTDATED and is NOT the design for Varan to be seen in Leviathan. Bare that in mind when continuing.)

With 's decline as the commissioned official cover artist for my book, I decided to take action with the concept art and models for the characters of Fall of the Evangelions: You Will (Not) Survive. Here is the first Daikaiju I decided to draw for this series, Varan!

As the name hopefully suggests, this is the design of Varan you should expect and think of when reading of this Daikaiju in future Fall of Evangelion: You Will (Not) Survive chapters. This is the first in a line of many bios I shall make for the characters that shall appear in Fall of the Evangelions: You Will (Not) Survive. Daikiaju, people and all shall be included in this series, all with fully-colored pictures and complete bios in accordance to how the character is seen and/or depicted in the book. This design for Varan took aspects from both Matt Farnk's Godzilla Neo design and the original from the 1958 film, Varan the Unbelievable.

And now, for the actual bio:

Varan: Guardian of the Skies

Height: 90 meters
Length: 180 meters
Weight: 20,000 metric tons

Bio:
Not much in known of the obscured and damaged history of the first Daikaiju, but certain key facts were managed to be extracted from the salvaged remains of what is believed to be an entire ancient Japanese civilization's written history, told in the form of legends. One is of the first ever documented Daikaiju, Orachi. This eight-headed serpent was said to have a body that stretched across eight mountain ranges. The front of this massive beast was adorned with eight heads, each having a special elemental property that it could wield in battle. Powerful and unchallenged, Orachi ruled over the Japanese countryside, demanding periodic sacrifices from the natives of a family's daughter, which would be offered to the monster to be devoured. However, this titan was not without weakness. Once subdued by the intoxicating effects of the rice wine sake, Susano-Wo was able to behead the massive beast and end its reign of terror over the lands. However, the legend of Orachi lived on through its offspring. Each one of the severed heads grew into its own entity, each blessed with one of the eight elemental properties Orachi possessed: Earth, Fire, Water, Air, Electricity, Poison, Darkness and Light. Varan was granted the property of Air, and his form took shape accordingly...

... Later evidence shows that these "Oarchi Spawn", as they are called, were not friendly with one-another. A legend written within the ancient texts foretells that the Orachi Spawn are destined to battle each other for dominance. The victor of a duel between two of these titans would result in the relinquishing of the lesser's elemental property to the greater. Once only one of the children of Orachi was left standing, having accumulated the elemental properties of all his or her brethren, this chosen one would be reborn into the new Orachi and plague the world once more. Though the exact date is unknown, evidence suggests that Varan, one of the most aggressive of the Orachi Spawn, challenged his sister, Vagnosaurus, to a fight to the death for the ultimate prize of her elemental property. What exactly transpired can never be told, but it would seem as if the evenly-matched offspring of Orachi fought long and hard to protect their elemental property, but Vagnosaurus inevitably fell to the aerial might of Varan. Defeated, she relinquished her powers to Varan and her life faded. This elemental attribute tipped Varan's massive dorsal spikes and hooked claws with venomous ends, making them even more potent in battle. The venom from Varan's spines is very potent, able to render some of even the most sturdy of Daikaiju almost inert and incapacitated, giving him an edge in battle that no one else has. Unfortunately, this new ability was not enough to save him from defeat by the Japanese. When he attacked Japan in 1958, he was met with a barrage of bombs. The enraged beast was unfazed by this detonating barrage from the exterior, but when the violent monster was tricked into devouring an active bomb, it was subdued. The internal explosions sent the sky demon on full retreat and he was declared dead soon after his disappearance. However, it would take a lot more than human bombs to defeat an Orachi Spawn, and Varan was destined to return...

... In 2001, the bones of the original Godzilla reconstructed flesh to go around them and the nuclear horror that struck Japan in 1954 was reborn. It was once again furious for the destruction of his home in WWII by bomb testing and was now further fueled by all of the souls of those who died at sea during that same war. With whitened eyes of hatred and possession, "Ghost Godzilla" rose from the depths and devastated the coast of Japan, leveling all that was in sight and slaughtering its inhabitance like pigs in a raging nuclear fire. The rising of the once dormant Godzilla caused an imbalance in the forces of nature, something that displeased the Guardians. Baragon, Manda, and Varan, the last three surviving Orachi Spawn, took action to stop Ghost Godzilla from destroying the planet in its blazing onslaught to annihilate mankind. In the hills of Gotenba, Baragon, the Guardian of Earth and one of the first of Orachi's children to be birthed, faced the mighty King of the Monsters. Though usually peaceful, Baragon was forced out of hiding along with his fellow Orachi Spawn to stop this great threat. Blessed with great burrowing powers, Baragon used the earthen hills to his advantage to attack Ghost Godzilla. However, despite his noble efforts, Baragon was no match for the raw fury of Ghost Godzilla and was defeated, destroyed in a fiery nuclear explosion. As Ghost Godzilla advanced through the countryside, his approach to Tokyo, Japan's capital, quickened, but he was soon stopped at one of the lakes outside of the city by Manda, Guardian of the Seas. Manda used her aquatic abilities as best she could on the battlefield but not even the lake's waves could save her from her fate, and she too was defeated in a storm of flames. Ghost Godzilla advanced to Tokyo and destroyed everything in sight. It seemed as if Japan, if not the world, was doomed... Varan was the final Orachi Spawn to battle Ghost Godzilla, descending from the skies to battle him in the city. The Guardian of the Skies fought hard against this new incarnation of Godzilla, lashing out with tooth and claw, but it too was not a match for the resurrected King of ALL Monsters. After several battles, with Varan using vantage points from land, sea and sky to attack, the Guardian of the Skies was finally defeated, blasted out of the sky with a massive nuclear blast, sending bloody chucks of his form raining down across the bay. Though defeated and their bodies obliterated, the Orachi Spawn's souls were captured by the Amulet of Orachi, a sacred artifact that is somehow affiliated with the ancient Daikaiju Orachi. With their souls trapped and their bodies withered away, it was widely believed that Ghost Godzilla had defeated the legend, destroying the last remaining Orachi Spawn and preventing the rebirth of Orachi. However, though defeated, the Orachi Spawn were not completely destroyed. Some even believe they may one day return...

... TBA!

Abilities:
- Armored hide repulses most conventional weaponry, especially that of the back and head area.
- Able to extend fleshy membrane to glide and fly at speeds of mach 1.5.
- Is the second most maneuverable Daikaiju on record, second only to Megaguirus.
- Huge spikes on the back and tail along with claws deploy a horrifically strong venom to subdue aggressors and prey alike.
- Is amphibious; able to maneuver with ease on land and sea, as well as in the air.

Fighting Style:
Varan has a body style very similar to that of a flying lizard, but much more muscular. His head is short but stout, wielding jaws with long, thick teeth. However, his powerful arms are his primary means of attack. Although limited in movement by the membranes that extend to form his wings during flight, these can be retracted for maximum damage output in battle. The long, curved claws are laced with a deadly venom that can be employed as Varan sees fit into fresh wounds, The large spines that run down Varan's spine, which peak in size at midback, just below the shoulder blade, are another powerful weapon this Orachi Spawn wields. Long, sharp and tipped with a similarly potent toxin to those of his claws, these are often used by Varan at the start of battle to weaken opponents.

Varan prefers to weaken his opponents before going all-out. Though he originally was very aggressive, rushing into battle with blind fury and relying on pure strength and speed to outdo enemies, once Varan obtained the powers of Vagnosaurus, he became more tactical. Varan will often attempt to gore or slash opponents first, injecting his venom into them at an early stage of battle.* He will then out-meneuver foes and wait for them to weaken. Once the venom kicks in, Varan goes for a full-scaled assault, striking as hard and as fast as he can to defeat the enemy. If any signs of strength still linger, additional venom is injected until the enemy can no longer take it and collapses. Devouring of the fallen is not uncommon.

*It has been documented that Varan, in fierce combat situations, will imbedded some of his dorsal spikes within an opponent. This is achieved by striking them so hard that the spikes breaks off into their hide. This was first found to be a strange behavior but further investigation showed it to be quite effective. Analysis of the spike shows that though the root of the spike is alive and filled with nerves, the tip is more-or-less dead and void of such living tissues. Further analysis also shows it to have two venom sacks, one at the base and a reserve at the tip. This reserve is believed to be deployed when a spike is broken off, continuously injecting venom into the wound for greater effect. Because of the lack of living tissue at the tip of the spines, this breaking technique harms Varan very little and the spines eventually regrow if lost.