Answer:
I fly when I'm on and float coming off.
Ripped from my ancestors home beaten and burned I become a bloodthirsty killer.
My seas have no water, my mountains have no rock, and my land has no grass. What am I?
What has a neck but no head?
In wealth I abound; in water I stand; as a fencer I'm valued all over the land; at Venice I'm famous; by farmers I'm prized; respected by law yet huntsmen despised; consternation and ruin ensue when I break; And the beasts of the forest advantage won't take.
It flows out of the soil, It burns you if it boils, And holds us in its coils, More valuable than gold, As black as it is old.