Fleckwing Striders
“Where the Fleckwing treads, still waters lie no more.” -Fisherman’s proverb from Lough Icewind
The Fleckwing Strider is a sleek, predatory water-walker native to the cursed stillwaters and inland loughs of Everwealth. Resembling a glass-winged spider with oil-slick hues and uncanny agility, it skates across surfaces with unnerving silence, using acute sensitivity to track blood, vibration, and warmth. Despite its ethereal beauty, it is a predator of chilling precision, capable of downing fish, rodents, and in rare instances, bleeding humans. Named for the “fleck” pattern along its translucent wings that shimmer like shattered obsidian under moonlight, this creature is as feared as it is prized. Its parts serve a wide range of alchemical and artisanal uses, making it both hunted and respected in Everwealthy lore.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Fleckwing Strider measures approximately 10 to 12 inches in legspan with a thorax the size of a clenched fist. Its limbs are impossibly thin but reinforced by a cartilaginous marrow structure that is both lightweight and spring-loaded. The tarsi, or foot-pads, are coated in hydrophobic bristles and minute sensory hairs, allowing the creature to skate silently across water surfaces without breaking tension. Its wings, which fold neatly over its thorax, are long and featherlike, thin as parchment and layered with refractive nodules that cause a flickering “flecked” effect in light. The creature’s mouthparts are modified into a sharp, curved proboscis capable of piercing skin and delivering a paralytic venom.
Genetics and Reproduction
Fleckwings are hermaphroditic, though their breeding behavior is ritualized and seasonal. During the first heavy fogs of spring, pairs will engage in mirrored dances across pond surfaces, creating rhythmic ripples used to identify one another. Fertilization is external: one strider deposits a cluster of eggs beneath a lily pad or stone shelf, where the other coats it in a fertilizing gel that hardens against water pressure. A single clutch can hold 50–80 eggs, though only a handful ever survive to maturity.
Growth Rate & Stages
- Hatchling (0-1 month): Microscopic water-skimmers, vulnerable to even frogs.
- Juvenile (1-6 months): Legs elongate, and wing buds form. Feeding begins on larvae and minnows.
- Mature (6 months-2 years): Reaches full size and coloration. Gains blood-scent tracking capability.
- Elder (2-4 years): Few reach this stage. Slightly dulled iridescence and longer reaction time.
Ecology and Habitats
Fleckwings are solitary and extremely territorial. They mark their territory by dragging their venom across reeds and rocks, a signal that deters others of their kind. They are highly reactive to splashing, bleeding, or abrupt changes in temperature, which they interpret as prey presence. Despite their eerie appearance, they rarely engage with humans unless provoked or wounded. However, when blood enters the water, especially during dusk or fog, Fleckwings become alert, circling silently before either retreating or striking. Folk stories describe them as “grief-trackers,” said to appear near drowned lovers or murder scenes. Whether coincidence or instinct, they are uncannily drawn to sorrow.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Carnivorous and opportunistic, Fleckwings feed on insects, amphibians, carrion, and occasionally fish. They inject paralytic venom through their needle-thin mouthparts and siphon liquefied tissue within minutes. In wounded prey, their venom numbs pain so thoroughly that most victims drown or bleed out unaware. This trait, though gruesome, has made Fleckwing venom highly valuable in surgical alchemy.
Biological Cycle
They are most active between spring and early autumn. In winter, Fleckwings burrow into mud or tree hollows above stagnant water and enter torpor. During this state, their bodies slow to a crawl, conserving energy until warmth and prey return.
Behaviour
Fleckwings are solitary and extremely territorial. They mark their territory by dragging their venom across reeds and rocks, a signal that deters others of their kind. They are highly reactive to splashing, bleeding, or abrupt changes in temperature, which they interpret as prey presence. Despite their eerie appearance, they rarely engage with humans unless provoked or wounded. However, when blood enters the water, especially during dusk or fog, Fleckwings become alert, circling silently before either retreating or striking. Folk stories describe them as “grief-trackers,” said to appear near drowned lovers or murder scenes. Whether coincidence or instinct, they are uncannily drawn to sorrow.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Fleckwings are virtually blind, relying on vibration, scent, and air pressure to hunt. Their tarsi can detect surface tension changes within 200 feet, and their chemoreceptors can distinguish blood types and hormonal stress. They are eerily accurate trackers of fresh wounds, often trailing injured creatures from one bank to another. Some scribe-alchemists believe they can detect emotional energy, citing their increased aggression during funerals held near loughs.
Scientific Name
Stridoflexa lunaris.
Origin/Ancestry
Fossil studies suggest the Fleckwing is an ancient cousin of both aerial dragonflies and water striders, diverging during the Schism when lakes and magickal boundaries expanded. Some claim they are naturally occurring, others suspect fae corruption-partic
Conservation Status
Considered Rare and Spirit-Touched. While not endangered, Fleckwing numbers are in sharp decline due to overharvesting of their wings and venom sacs. Some wetlands have enacted superstitious bans on killing them, claiming misfortune follows their destruction. Others ignore these warnings entirely, driven by profit or desperation.
Geographic Distribution
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