Warchitins

"It was just one at first. A scout, maybe. Then the drums started. You don’t hear them with your ears, not really. You feel them in your ribs, like your bones are being counted before you're cracked open."

The Warchitin is among the most terrifying and efficient predators across the Three Lands, a towering, insectoid centaur-behemoth clad in jagged soil hued armor, weaponized by nature with mantis-like foreblades, carried upon six scythe-shaped legs capable of scaling stone, trees, or fortifications with equal ease as the barbed stinger at the end of it's tail can kill half-a-dozen men. Towering almost two-stories tall and moving with a hive’s purpose, these monsters function in small but deadly groups, coordinated war packs called 'Thornhosts' driven by pheromonal pulses and leg-chirp signals so precise they strike with the unity of a trained phalanx. Warchitin clutches do not war with each other, in fact, they seek one another out, combining forces into larger, more overwhelming hosts that can dominate entire ecosystems. In most regions, Warchitin are culled whenever possible to prevent them from reaching critical swarm mass, for if left unchecked, they do not merely compete with apex predators, they replace them. Found across Everwealth, Kibonoji, and the borders of Kathar, their numbers are greatest in jungles and deep forests, where their carapace coloring blends into canopy shadows. But Kathar fights back the hardest, its beasts larger, its warriors harsher, its gunpowder more plentiful. Even so, outside of disciplined cannon regiments or rare magickal support, there are few weapons capable of piercing Warchitin armor. And fewer still survive the first contact.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Warchitin resemble a twisted union of mantis, scorpion, and armored centaur. The lower body is entirely insectoid, six heavily armored legs tipped in curved, cleaving talons support a heavily segmented thorax capable of lifting the front half into a combat rearing posture. The upper body resembles a brutal mockery of humanoid form: two serrated mantid forelimbs rise from shoulder sockets behind a plated chest cavity, each capable of slicing clean through bone and bark. The head is low-slung, faceless but flanked by twitching antennae and chittering jaw-fans. Along the back arches long, jagged tail, ending not in just a concealed scorpion-like stinger, but in a web-spitting gland used to immobilize prey or bind structures in place. Simple yet striking compound eyes allow it to see it numerous directions wile their exoskeleton is composed of tiered, obsidian-hard chitin, resistant to steel, fire, and nearly all non-magickal projectiles. Only gunpowder-based weaponry, such as rifled cannon fire or high-powered alchemical shot, has proven consistently capable of penetrating their armored hide.

Genetics and Reproduction

Warchitin reproduction is prolific and terrifying. A single clutch-bearing Warchitin can lay up to fifty larvae, typically deposited in hollowed corpses or fungal incubators along forested ridgelines. These larvae hatch in under a week and immediately begin feeding, often on each other, until only the strongest six to twelve survive. These survivors form the foundation of a Thornhost, a war-clutch of hive-bound hunters that remain psychically attuned for life. Each Warchitin Thornhost is self-sufficient and acts like a living organism; though individuals can function alone, they crave reintegration. If two hosts meet, they almost always merge without conflict, doubling their tactical complexity and territory reach.

Growth Rate & Stages

• Larva (0-5 days): Soft-bodied, carnivorous, begin hive-signal bonding immediately.

• Pupating Young (5 days-2 weeks): Encased in hardening resin, they develop bladed legs and scythe-forming bone ridges.

• Juvenile (2 weeks-3 months): Fully mobile, begin group patrols and kill-mimicry rituals.

• Adult (3 months+): Fully armored, fully bonded, capable of leading Thornhost maneuvers.

• Lifespan: 10-15 years barring combat loss.

Ecology and Habitats

Warchitin thrive in forested, humid environments, though they have adapted to plains, mountainsides, and even the outskirts of saltmarshes, dragging their hosts from ruined woodland fortresses to the broken walls of half-flooded battlefields. The Grandgleam Forest is their cradle, but Kibonoji hosts have adapted to jungle saturation, often building elevated nests among rotting canopy roots. Kathar hosts, though rare, are stronger and more resilient due to the brutal conflict that shapes the land. Wherever Warchitin go, apex predators vanish, eaten, driven out, or absorbed into the ecosystem as food and nesting resource. Local fauna rapidly adjust, or go extinct.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Warchitin are obligate carnivores. They feed exclusively on meat, fresh or freshly killed. Prey includes large beasts, humanoids, and in desperate cases, fallen Warchitin members. They do not scavenge in the traditional sense; instead, they kill with extreme prejudice, then web prey to tree trunks, nests, or root-walls for later feeding. Their favored hunting tactic involves coordinated encirclement, where one or two members will bait a target while others collapse in from behind and sides. Victims are often paralyzed by resin webbing before being dismembered alive.

Biological Cycle

Warchitin are most active during periods of dense fog, stormfronts, or post-battle environments, where their camouflage and sensory dominance offer total advantage. During cold seasons or arid drought, they may enter a hibernative crawl, burrowing into cavernous root chambers and webbing themselves in place until the air thickens again with prey scent or blood. During war, Warchitin can become “rally nests”, drawing other swarms toward the site of conflict, forming temporary mega-clutches that mimic the behavior of migrating war-herds.

Behaviour

Highly intelligent within the boundaries of instinct, Warchitin demonstrate sophisticated tactical behavior. Each maintains an internal hierarchy of motion-based communication, transmitted through vibrational chirrups and leg-clicks. These signals coordinate strikes, retreats, and flanks without vocalization. They display no known emotion, but do mourn their own with eerie silence, refusing to feed for hours after a Warchitin member dies. When two hosts meet, there is no fighting. Instead, they stand still, limbs vibrating in unison, before fusing into a greater collective. To other lifeforms, they offer no mercy. Only efficiency in their killing.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Warchitin possess sharply perceptive compound eyes atop a suite of extrasensory tools. Their antennae, vibrational limb spurs, and pheromone vents give them full spatial awareness even in total darkness or magical fog. They detect:

• Vibration: Ground movement within a 200-foot radius.

• Scent Trails: Fresh blood, sweat, and magick residue.

• Pheromone Resonance: Bonded hosts emit unique signals, used to prevent friendly fire.

• Chirrup Rebound: Clicking sonar mimics to detect prey positions.

• Magickal Heat Bloom: Some hosts have adapted to detect magic use via heat and emotional aura.

Scientific Name

Mandibula tyranthis.

Origin/Ancestry

Believed to descend from ancient forest-burrowing arthropods warped by arcane saturation and wartime residue, the Warchitin evolved into hive-minded apex predators through generations of battlefield scavenging and magickal exposure.

Conservation Status

The Warchitin is not endangered, in fact, most military and druidic circles consider it a persistent ecological threat. Due to their exponential reproductive cycle and tendency to form larger Thornhosts through merging, they are ruthlessly culled whenever possible. Unfortunately, traditional weaponry has little effect. Only gunpowder weaponry, alchemical fire, or coordinated magical assault can pierce their carapace with reliability. Regions like the Grandgleam and lower Kibonoji have seen entire patrols disappear overnight, their bones found days later, webbed upright like macabre warning banners. While Kathar’s hardened militias have pushed Warchitin incursions back, sightings are growing more frequent in the south, an omen, perhaps, that another merge is coming. In Kibonoji, Warchitin are called Oro-Ba'ki, "the Living Silence," and are believed to be punishment for ancient dishonor. In the southern Everwealthy borderlands, hunters whisper the phrase “Host’s grown” to mean trouble’s already too late to stop. Kathar, ever blood-forged, holds less myth and more fact: in Kathar, the Warchitin is not legend, it’s simply enemy. Cannons are fired without hesitation, Thornhosts are burned where possible, and even the mention of a merge between two clutches is met with immediate, violent response.