Necrophage Ice Worms -- The Quicksand of the North
Ice Worms are micro-carnivores which dwell in the ice wastes of perennial winter landscapes and ice flows in large numbers. They mass together for feeding and hibernating and represent strength in numbers (like a land dwelling krill). They prey on large creatures unfortunate enough to wander into their barren landscape. When they hibernate, they turn icy clear translucent, virtually indiscernible from ice. In hibernation, they are ice clear and ice hard to the touch.
Foraging
While firm to the touch in hibernation, they can gradually waken to pressure (typically from above). When the group detects a disturbance, it gradually awakes out of hibernation to address any potential foraging situation. As food arrives, they awake in mass to create a sort of receiving envelope into which they absorb any food, perhaps resembling quicksand to those above. As they dehibernate into predation, they coordinate to soften under areas of pressure (and shadow, perhaps). Mimicking a single enveloping body, they absorb the mass above. In this active mode, they typically turn from ice color to deeper shade of ice blue, though this color is seldom evident. For when they do find food, their sheer numbers pulverize the food source, typically bleeding their prey into their surging mass. This activity rapidly turns (e.g., from blood red source) their deep icey blue mass into a rich and vibrant purple.
Purple Ice
As the food binging progresses, the quicksand becomes a seething mass of activity as the ice worms gorge and flow around the food source(s). In this group coordination, virtually all ice worms partake the unfortunate food source, and the purple coloring rapidly disperses to reveal the usual icey blue hue within minutes, a bit like blood would dissolve in flowing water. In this case, the dissolution is an active dispersion through community sharing. As the food settles (minutes to hours), the purple hue subsides to its usual icey cast.
Another Mystery of the North
Many an adventuring party has simply disappeared into the ice wastes, never to be heard from again, typically from the frigid conditions or even starvation, but all too often from the Quicksand of the North... ice worms.
Northern Culture
No one knows how long it takes for ice worms to return to hibernation, as few witnesses survive their visit to the ice worms 'den'. However, the ice flows do yield buried treasure from time to time, evidence that ice worms have been or remain nearby. No one has determined (and lived to tell about it) whether Ice Worms actually present treasure to bait food sources, but the indigenous northerners do have fables they tell their children about ice bling as though it is inherently evil and dangerous. Unfortunately, most adventuring parties have little to no knowledge of northern culture, so much ice wisdom is lost on them.
...
Definition (from LearnWithLookup.com)
Necrophages are organisms that obtain nutrients by consuming decomposing dead animal biomass, such as the muscle derives from Greek nekros, meaning 'dead', and phagein, meaning 'to eat.' Mainly, necrophages are species within the phylum Arthropoda; however, other animals, such as gastropods and Accipitrimorphae birds have been noted to engage in necrophagy.Necrophages play a critical role in the study of forensic entomology, as certain Arthropoda, such as Diptera larvae, engage in myiasis and colonization of the human body.
Comments