Giant Fire Beetle

I swear, dwarves are strange. Do you know they breed these things? Bah, I don't see the point. They'd have to be more trouble than it's worth to get any real value. Twelve Gods, what if ... do they actually eat these things? I swear, dwarves... always something weird with them.

Insects are usually overlooked as dangers in the wild, as they rarely achieve a size greater than a medium-sized dog. Among these, a large number are beetles with various types of defense mechanisms to deter predators. The giant fire beetle is one such specimen, though it is more notable for being raised as 'livestock' by the Stonefire Clan dwarves. Otherwise it is considered a fairly dangerous pest, and nests are subject to extermination before it can threaten anyone. Adult fire beetles can be quite aggressive, swarming with little to no provocation if hungry.

The reason these are called 'fire beetles' is due to a rather unique gland which exists inside the thorax and feeds a thick, caustic fluid out through the mandibles when the beetle bites. The fluid has several properties which are of interest, one of which is a persistent glow for up to twelve hours when exposed to open air. Secondly, a spark can ignite this fluid as readily oil with a more intensely focused heat and lower flame. When the fluid is burned, it lasts only six hours but at its brightest it can rival a sunrise; one must use protective eyewear or risk temporary blindness. (This is why they are called 'sun beetles' by some, and the fluid is commonly referred to as 'sun tears' in alchemical notes.)

Beetle Farms

The Stonefire Clan farms these beetles with stone pens to keep them in, and coating the interior walls with various compounds their alchemists create. These compounds are used to render it impossible to climb by the insects - or any other type of mundane climbing aids, for that matter. Great care is taken to keep the beetle population consistent, though not necessarily constant, so as to not risk an unfortunate accident or disease wiping out an entire farm. The beetles eat any organic compound by breaking it down with their 'sun tears', meaning almost anything can be used to feed them. Primarily, this is any organic trash collected from the farm; some farms also farm fungi and use byproducts from their processing to feed the beetles. These farmed beetles tend to produce sun tears which have a slightly blue tint to the light being emitted, due to a subtle change in chemistry from the beetles' diet.

Sun Tears

If extracted from the glands soon after the death of the beetle, a series of chemical reactions can turn the fluid into a non-caustic coating which lasts for ten hours and can be recharged by exposing it to sunlight and open air. Once recharged, it will last only partly as long, and this cycle can be repeated up to a dozen times with increasingly significant loss of the active time. Furthermore, the raw fluid can be used as an easier means to start a fire, and alchemists have derived further compounds for this purpose. These is commonly referred to as "alchemists' fire", or "sunflasks" depending on the culture. As with most cases, the strength of the compound varies by batch in accordance with ambient conditions, and the skill of the alchemist who created it.

The caustic property of the fluid also can be used to etch metal, and due to the thick consistency it is not nearly as problematic to use as more common acid. Alchemists have found ways to increase the caustic property, but doing so mutes the light-emitting property to a point where it simply is more worthwhile to use acid in many cases. The Stonefire Clan remain one of the few groups who have a means to create a full-strength acidic compound from sun tears, which they call 'brightburn'. It is primarily used for artistic etching, or as one step in a multiple-part formula for greater potions and oils.