Helictite

The Helictite is a very rare, unusual, and dangerous creature that employs camouflage and ambush tactics to hunt its prey. It feeds only on warm flesh and surprises its prey by dropping out of cavern ceilings and impaling unaware prey items. Although reminiscent of a human sized worm, it is almost indistinguishable from rocky cave stalactites and there is growing belief that these creatures are demonic in origin.

Basic Information

Anatomy

This bizarre wormlike creature has no arms or legs or even a discernable face. It looks most like a long worm that has its thickest part at its rear and tapers to a long narrow point at its head. Inside of the head is a large mouth full of sharp and jagged teach. Its body consists of a thick rocky yet flexible hide that mimics the color and texture of the cavern rocks that it lives in.

Genetics and Reproduction

It wasn’t until only recently that someone has claimed to have figured out how this bizarre creature actually reproduces. This species appears to be asexual and does not need to mate in order to reproduce. After attaining a large size and consuming a large meal, the worm may begin to reproduce on its own if conditions are right. According to the observer, the worm finds a quiet, dark, damp area and appears to begin undulating with muscle contractions that ripple across its body. They appear to begin in the middle of the creature’s body and spread out towards the two ends. Each time that a contraction occurs, the middle of the body pinches in a little more. After an hour or so the body eventually pinches into two separate halves with mucus covering the areas that just broke apart. The top half forms a new bottom and the lower half forms a new head. After a short recovery time the two organisms go their separate way.

Ecology and Habitats

The Helictites live and hunt in deep, humid limestone cave systems. They seem to gravitate to areas where there are many stalactites and stalagmites. Cool humid areas where the water slowly drips from the ceiling into small pools seems to hold many of these strange creatures. They tend to like large open caverns with tall ceilings were they can hang from the ceiling and disguise themselves among the stalactites as they wait to ambush their prey.

Dietary Needs and Habits

This species appears to only eat the flesh of living animals. When hunting it will use its levitation ability to rise to the cavern ceiling and hang among the stalactites there. It uses its color changing ability to match the color and texture of the rocks and then waits for prey to pass below it. When a large animal moves underneath, the Helictite releases from the cave roof and falls at the unsuspecting creature below. When it strikes it impales the animal with its long pointed head. If able to survive the impalement, its great weight will keep the animal down as it begins to feed with its sharp and jagged teeth.

Additional Information

Social Structure

There are appears to be no set social or or hierarchical structure for this species.  They seem to be indifferent to each other and show no signs of acknowledging one another.  There is no apparent interaction even during feeding time.  When more than one is feeding at a time, they will each feed at the location where they arrived at.  When groups are tightly spaced they each try to nudge the other out of the way, but it is always the biggest and strongest that succeeds.

Domestication

This species cannot be trained, tamed, or domesticated at all.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

There are no known uses for this creature at this time.

Facial characteristics

While this creature can stretch and change its size, shape, and orientation a little bit, it always has a very long narrow and pointed head or face made from a very hard, rocky material.  While it it smooth it is also lumpy, misshapen, and usually twisted a bit.  Inside of its mouth are large, sharp, and jagged teeth meant for killing and eating meat.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

So far these creatures have only been found in subterranean caves and caverns deep below the planet's surface, such as the Bos Magara. They are not believed to have originated in this world and studies suggest that they must have come from one of the lower planes. Perhaps this is why they are found in the deeper areas where there are more profound tectonic stresses and the fabric between dimensions is more susceptible to tearing.

Average Intelligence

It is not believed that this worm has any measurable intelligence beyond that of a base instinctual animal.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Helictite does not appear to have any eyes, ears, or nose, so it cannot see, hear, or smell in the conventional sense. Instead it is believed that the worm has special sensors along its body that are very adept at picking up vibrations in the rock and air around it. This would give it the ability to detect any kind of movement in any direction around it as well as determining size, distance, and angle to the creature.
It has also been noticed that there is a ring of tiny indentations around its head area. These small areas are especially attuned for locating heat sources and give the creature an advanced form of heat vision. Together, these unusual senses allow for it to track prey moving around it without having to move itself and give away its own position or startle the unsuspecting prey.

Other Abilities

Aside from its excellent camouflage, and unique vibration sense and heat vision, the Helictite’s tough, flexible, rocky hide provides immunity to poison, acid, natural fire and heat, and takes half damage from magical fire, and bladed weapons. It has weakness towards cold and electricity in which the damage is doubled.
The Helictite also has an innate ability to levitate at will. It uses this skill to move itself slowly to the ceiling of a cavern where it can attach itself to the rocks and hang down appearing as if it is a stalactite.

Scientific Name

Daemonis Speleowurm Helminth

Origin/Ancestry

Scholars and Demonologists agree that this strange and deadly species must have originated from someplace beyond our world.

Lifespan

The life expectance of this species as a whole is completely unknown, although many suspect that it could range in the centuries.

Conservation Status

This rare and dangerous creature is not under any protection status. In fact most people are encourage to destroy it if they can do so safely.

Average Height

They average worm ranges from a few inches across its front end to about 24 inches across its back end.

Average Length

The typical worm most commonly found is about 6 feet in length but the maximum that it can reach is still unknown. Studies suggest that it keeps growing as it ages and there many not be a limit to either its size or age.

Average Physique

This strange creature looks almost identical to a rocky cave stalactite. It hangs from the ceiling in a long pointed form and its appearance matches nearby stalactites in both color scheme and texture.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

This worm has been found to range in color types that are always consistent with the rocks of the subterranean world that it is found in. Most are various shades of grey but others have been found to be brown, black, dull red, and even yellowish. It is believed that they can slightly change their color shading and texture to match the earth tones of the cavern that they live in.

Geographic Distribution

• The Bos Magara