Khepri Scarab
Racial Magic
☀️Rithaldis' Diet
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They are able to consume or absorb radiant energy as sustenance, to heal or to replenish their magic energy. This particular species has the rarer variation which allows them to grow larger by consuming radiant energy but require immense quantities to do so.
☀️Rithaldis' Pocket
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Able to create small portals into Rithaldis's Plane big enough to reach inside and can extract miniature suns which exist within.
This is a sacred beast in northern Alkelbulan, heavily associated with Lithmor and her aspect Rithaldis. Much like their ancestors, these beetles collect dung and roll them into balls to eat. However, this particular species collects radioactive dung of species like Shamsi Camel, Gazhaal al-Raqs, Azru Aoudad and al-Qafz Jerboa.
They consume the dung itself as food but they also consume the radiant energy within for healing and growth. Once they have consumed enough radiance, Khepri Scarab can summon miniature suns from Rithaldis' Plane, plucking them out and rolling them outside. After rolling the sun into a barren region of the desert, they will burrow inside and slowly absorb their energy using their Diet manifestation, the larger the sun the longer it takes—some of the largest suns remaining for more than a century. These scarab grow significantly larger by the time their sun peters out. They repeat this process throughout their lives and are the main source for the miniature suns interspersed throughout the Shamsi Desert, younger specimens preferring to do so underground which causes the sand to emit sunlight even at night!
Khepri Scarab grow larger with each star they consume, extending their lifespan. The largest of these are revered, crafting new solar oases in desolate regions of the desert, bustling with new plantlife and animals capable of thriving on the direct radiant energy. Some of these include Khisbat Palm, Mashe Lovegrass, Satie Drinn, Jari Tamal, Shamsi Camel and solar moths.
by Lee Stepp
Original Ancestor
Sacred Scarab Beetle
Lifespan
Size
Width: 15-24 mm width
Height: 9-14 mm tall
They grow larger with each sun they consume,
some legends claiming they can grow to monstrous proportions.
Coloration
but their magic form makes them almost entirely white.
Habitat
While their ancestors were most at home in coastal dunes and marshes, these beetles prefer the radiant environment of Sahra Shamsi, Dawn Ahrayn and Kemet. They might even be found in Kna'an. The largest specimens live within the most volatile depths of Saha Shamsi, at times responsible for the intense radiation of these regions.
Diet
As a species of dung beetle, Khepri Scarab collect feces for food. They fly around during the day, following any scent of fresh animal waste, and roll feces into balls. Larger specimens prefer to burrow through the sand instead. They then push their balls to an underground burrow, capable of rolling balls 50 times their body weight! They hide their dung balls underground and will consume these over the course of several days. After absorbing enough radiant energy from the radioactive feces, they are able to summon a miniature sun from Rithaldis' Plane, absorbing these to grow.
Reproduction
These are a polygamous species, ordinarily solitary beetles coming together and competing for a mate, and eggs gestate for one month. Females collect only the most radioactive dung, shaping it into a ball with her head and legs before rolling it into a large burrow. She will then reshape it to resemble a pear, hollow on the inside, before laying a single large egg inside. Finally, she seals the chamber before departing to repeat this process. A single female usually only lays about six or so eggs in her entire life. The larvae will consume the dung after hatching, using the radiant energy to summon their first tiny sun which they use to become fully mature by 6 months.
Mythology
Considered a symbol of Khepri for which they are named, the Masryeen name for Rithaldis with particular emphasis on dawn. They beleive Khepri rolls the sun across the sky every day in the same way a scarab rolls their dung across the sand. They are considered sacred for this reason. They also beleive these creatures are all male, injecting their sperm into a dung ball for reproduction.
In hieroglyphic script, they represent xpr or hpr which mean "to come into being", "to become" or "to transform". As Khepri renews the sun every day before rolling it across the sky, the scarab too represented transformation, renewal and resurrection. They take the waste of larger creatures, consuming and transforming it into a new, life giving form and they themselves transform and grow. They are common features in funerary rituals and iconography for this reason, significant to Masryeen funerary cults.
In hieroglyphic script, they represent xpr or hpr which mean "to come into being", "to become" or "to transform". As Khepri renews the sun every day before rolling it across the sky, the scarab too represented transformation, renewal and resurrection. They take the waste of larger creatures, consuming and transforming it into a new, life giving form and they themselves transform and grow. They are common features in funerary rituals and iconography for this reason, significant to Masryeen funerary cults.
Domestication
At first only occuring in myths, Ilnid's court in Kemet have managed to tame these creatures as transport for divine descendants and even Ilnid himself, urging them forward by manipulation of radiant magic. Despite their size, they aren't particularly dangerous or aggressive.
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