Gladius (WTA)

Gladius (Standing Jaws) is the intermediary form of Rokea. A powerful war form.

Overview
On average, ten feet tall, wickedly sharp talons (don't ask; sharks don't have hands, much less claws), a strong bite - on the whole, much like Fighting Jaws but bipedal. One important difference, though. When in Swimming or Fighting Jaws, our eye roll back when we bite, so we can't see what we're biting. That isn't usually a problem, but when fighting minions of Qyrl, who are so adept at vanishing suddenly, it can get annoying. In Standing Jaws though, our eyes are positioned just close enough that we can judge distance to our prey and keep them in line of sight until the bite.

Did you notice, by the way, that Guards-the-Shoals retained his tail in this form, while I didn't? One of the things that happens if you do the "fish out of water" thing for too long is that your Standing Jaws loses its tail. In the water, we need it for propulsion and to act as a rudder; on land, it just tends to get in the way. You can grow it at will, though, if you concentrate a bit.

Also, our skin is a weapon. Striking a shark barehanded is a bad move, because we're covered in shagreen... In Standing Jaws, it gets tougher. If you can get an enemy into a headlock in this form, you might well be able to cut his throat.

People freak out when they see us in this form, but not as much. It isn't as recognizable to them.