Entry 001: BARAGON HERITAGE

<FAN DESIGN> 

The origin of this design is due to my participation (and winning 2nd place) in a "Superfauna" design contest for the upcoming fan-film, GODZILLA HERITAGE. This was actually my 2nd entry (for the 1st entry was put aside due to a technical issue) for the contest and is personally one of my favorite canon monsters from the Toho Giant Monster films.  The monster is simply known as...BARAGON. I first saw Baragon in the 2001 film GMK: Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah Giant Monster All Monsters Attack as one of three "Guardian Monsters". I then realized that this was the same monster that appeared in one of my favorite Godzilla films Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (1968). His appearance in that film was brief in the background of the final battle of that particular film. But Baragon's true cinematic origins lie in a stand alone Toho Film as the monster that fights quite literally Frankenstien's Creature in the film Frankenstien Conquers the World (1965). I think what I love most about Baragon is that he is this subterrean dinosaur that has just flopsy ears. In this redesign as an entry to the Godzilla Heritage project, I drew inspiration from ancient mammal-like reptiles found in Russia (Most notably the Estemmenosuchus) and had it as an evolved species that adapted to live in the volcanic areas of Sibera. While keeping many of Baragon's original features, I changed up his "ears" to be moveable but now serving more as eleborate shields or warning displays that flap forward when threated. I also made them herbivores, much like their inspiration as a species was. I had a lot of fun with this design with my only pity was in one of the concepts the brown scales on his back was actually fur. But due to this varation of Baragon living pretty much in volcanic regions, I opted for a more heat proof design than a mammalian one. I really like how I did his head. 

FLAVOR TEXT: 

Cuniculusvolcanis terradraco “The Burrowing Volcano Earth Dragon” 

Height: 12 meters (at shoulder) 24 meters (when on hind legs) 
Length: 26 meters 
Weight: 250 tons

Old Slavic legends tell that the entrance to the underworld lie hidden in the desolate tundras of Siberia and is guarded by fierce monsters known as the “Baragon”. These legends where rare and only the nomads of Siberia spoke of them as superstition. Little did anyone know the truth that lay underground would prove this myth a frightening reality.

In the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union began looking for natural resources that would fuel the Soviet Union war machine to compete with the United States and to fuel their defenses against the chance of Superfauna attacks. In their hunt for new fuels, the USSR sent expeditions to look for new fuel reserves deep in the Earth. An area near Koryasky Volcano proved to show signs of a variety of resources for the taking due to the explosive eruption of the volcano that lasted from 1956 to 1957 and the effects of the volcano seemed to be unusual as tremors still seemed to be a frequent occurrence in the area. The mining of the Koryasky area revived the dying town since wildlife populations were starting to dwindle. Operations of the Koryasky mining started in 1962 and last nearly three years. In the beginning, mining accidents were rare and it wasn’t until the mining for fuels and other resources deeper into the earth did tremors and miners disappearing into shafts did people feel that maybe they were digging too deep. People where starting to think that maybe the miners where uncovering yet another Rodan nest, due to the similarities of the Mt. Aso incident being akin to the Koryasky geological activity. As the USSR began their investigations, the truth of what lay hidden deep in the ground came to the surface.

And it wasn’t Rodan.

The USSR team to investigate the mines for superfauna presence uncovered a pack of superfauna that would later be known to the world as BARAGON! These small but dangerous Superfauna, disturbed by the expedition’s activities followed the group to the surface and the pack of ten kaijus hunted and destroyed the Koryasky area, burning it to the ground before returning back to the Earth.

At first, the USSR did not release the information of the Baragon pack and a blackout on the information to the outside world became one of the USSR’s (literally) biggest secret. The USSR kept a tight lid on what was known as “Operation: Dragon Slayer” and it was later revealed that the government used Military resources to try and contain the pack of Baragons to an isolate area in Northern Siberia. Once contained in an undisclosed location, the USSR began to view the Baragon pack as a new defense against the increasing Superfauna tide as well as rivals of the USSR such as America. While the government attempted to “train” these creatures, the pack grew from ten individuals to about fifteen. This increased population made it harder for them to be contained and eventually the Baragon’s burrowed their way out and disappeared. The USSR tried to look for the creatures but they seemed to have returned to the depths of the Earth.

It wasn’t till 1968 that the USSR had to reveal to the world that they knew of the Baragon superfauna due to not one but three packs of Baragon’s appearing in that year. The first pack was kept quite since they had returned to their native territory of Koryasky but the other two packs made a bigger impact. The second pack which consisted for six individuals appeared in Hokone, Japan and the third pack of seven individuals appeared in Anchorage, Alaska. Their appearances caused major damage to the other areas and the international community considered holding the USSR officially responsible for the incidents. The United States viewed it as an act of war, but the UN interfered since the superfauna threat could not be viewed as an act of war between countries and made the USSR a deal for forgiveness. While the United Nation’s task forces worked on containing the packs of Baragons, the USSR would repurpose the Koryasky volcano area as a Baragon preserve and would be run as a joint-nation facility as a way to avoid a war between America and USSR.

While the task force to contain the Alaskan pack met little interference, the Hokone Pack was a little harder to contain due to the discovery that the Rodan flock near Mt. Aso viewed the Baragon pack as a threat to their territory. The “turf war” soon led to damages and in the end the UN forces could recover only one living Baragon while the rest were killed off by the Rodans. It should be noted that the Rodan flock did loose a member due to flying carelessly close and overcome come to the pack hunting instinct of the Baragons. The remaining Baragon was soon transported to the Koryasky preserve with ease due to its exhausted state of surviving the battles with the Rodans.

Since 1969, the Koryasky Preserve has housed a population of nineteen Baragons as the study for the interesting superfauna revealed amazing discoveries. Initially, the animals were thought to be relics of the Mesozoic era, like the Rodans and Godzilla. But analysis of the dead Baragon’s skeletons revealed that this race of superfauna come from a much older lineage. Their ancestors are now confirmed to hail from the mammal-like reptiles of the the Permian and hail from the same family as Estemmenosuchus. It is theorized that their survival was due to their adaptations for living underground and relying on the geothermal energies to keep their bodies warm. It was originally thought that Bargon’s due to their large teeth were meat eaters or at least omnivores, but it was discovered they are herbivores. The notion they eat people is spawned from reports that Baragon’s attacked people. Even though this is true, they do not eat and are simply fiercely territorial and will attack anything they view does not belong in their environment. They also have a habit of eating the dirt and minerals that adds into the Baragon biology and adds minerals into their scales that aid against the extreme heats they face from their burrowing lifestyle as well as a natural defense against their own “lava” spewing behavior. This attraction to heat shows though they do have a relative weakness to cold temperatures. In the years of the preserve, the Baragon’s seem to hibernate in the winter and live deeper underground. When the summer months appear, the Baragons reside more in the surface where they feed, hunt and socialize. Baragon’s usually move on all fours, but when in combat or the defensive they will rise on their hand legs to appear more intimidating and have a more powerful swing with their mighty and hard as diamond claws they use for digging. They also have been noted to have powerful strong hind legs that help them shovel debris from their digging but also, as seen in the battles with the Rodans, have an amazing leaping ability.

The most interesting biological factor of the Baragon’s is the “lava” they can spew from their mouths. This “lava” is actually a very hot bile and is the weapon of last resort for the Baragon. They seem to be able to generate a lot of heat in the stomach during the digestive process and spew it out of their mouths when in a fight as a last counter measure. The attack is relatively short ranged and is more like a “shotgun” like attack. After use though, the Baragon’s usually dig because they become weak and have to feed again.

The Baragons are very communicative and have a variety of bellows and signals that are reminiscent to wolves. The pack is lead by an Alpha Male and Alpha female and they are the only breeding pair. A Baragon litter consists of three to four “pups” that are cared by the females for three to two weeks till the pups can generate enough heat for their “lava’ spew and can fend for themselves. A litter contains usually one male pup while the rest are female. The younger males become somewhat the lackey’s of the Alpha. The Alpha meets with little challenge from the younger males and it is believed to be due to the current males are still not sexually matured.

Population control was a concern at Koryasky when the three packs were introduced to each other and a lot of infighting between the males occurred. In this brief battle for dominance, it was revealed that the the “ears” that the Baragons have are used for display and flush a darker read to ward off rivals. When in battle, these ears also serve as useful shields. Baragon males have a much larger horn than the females and use them for rutting. When the males battled for dominance over the females, the lone survivor of the Japanese pack was the victor having killed the two other pack leaders and their male offspring. Despite the bloody start of the Koryasky Preserve, once the new Alpha of the Baragon pack took control it was revealed that when not hunting, the Baragons are a somewhat peaceful and content species of superfauna. In fact, once they became accustomed to the staff of the preserve, they seemed to be somewhat friendly towards them. Caution is still handled though, for the afore mention fierce territorial behavior of the Baragons. They do not like new things in their environment and if they are not accustomed to something, they will go on the attack. This is lead to a very precise schedule of work at the preserve to help lower the risk of human lives and to prevent the Baragon’s from feeling like they need to expand their territory. The next work of tunnels at Koryasky is still be investigated and it seems they only go down deeper and deeper. The truth depth is still unknown since it is difficult to explore the Baragon’s tunnel network and not be eaten. Baragon’s can be tracked using seismic equipment, for their tunnel movement give off 1.5 magnitude tremors. This came with the realization that the Baragon pack probably awoke from their hibernation from the Koryasky eruption and where the tremors that would plague the area when the town their was still habitable.

It should be noted that ever since the turf war between the Rodans and Baragons in Japan, Rodan sightings have been documented around the preserve. They seem not to be on the attack, merely watching. It is believed that the Rodan and Baragon’s may be ancient rivals since their homes seems to be in the same niche where the Baragon’s are defending their lifestyle and since Rodan’s to them are the invaders.

Baragon is owned by Toho (c) 

Baragon Heritage is to be used soley for the non-profit fan-film Godzilla Heritage 

Baragon Heritage was designed by me, Henry Winston Ball