Maledictus locustam marinam
Description
The maledictus locustam marinam, also known as the Draught, is the biggest lobster species to be ever recorded. It measures from one to three meters long, one to two meters in height. Its sand coloured shell allows it to fully conceal itself in the desert and the shores of Africa. Their claws sized half their body length can shred ships and men like paper. Their shell appears to have absorbed the cursed salt, allowing them to suck water out of anyone touching them.Passage from a Legionairs dairy
It's the 18th day of our assignment. We are to protect the farmers from draughts while simultaneously build shelters from the cursed salt. This day seemed to be like any other, transporting building materials for the shelters on camels. While traveling, screams could be heard from our destination. Our detachment rushed over to the under construction shed and saw how our brothers and sisters were being slaughtered by a draught. Few were still breathing when we finally arrived. The ballista just stood there, unmanned. I rushed over, jumping over the last user mummified body. There were some iron projectiles sticking inside the draughts shell, but none had hit any vulnerable parts, like where the legs are attached to its main body. The centurion yelled nonstop, while I prepared to fire. Once finished, I aimed for the spot. Slowly. Breathe in. Breathe out. Shoot. I saw how the projectile slowly approached the damned lobster, time slowed down. I had the best spot, like at the front in an arena, to watch the missile deflect from its shell. Watching where the sudden strike came from, it finally noticed me. Using its tail, it shot towards me, standing before me in mere seconds. Its claw ready to shred me like the last guy. I would end up as a mummified corpse, unrecognizable except for my necklace. But Hades didn't welcome me through his gates just yet. Sudden vines shot from the grassland and wrapped around the lobster, however, its claw still reached for me. I felt myself pushed onto the ground, followed by a hard 'clank'. When I looked to the person who shoved me, there stood a man. His red cloak fluttered heavily while he blocked the claw with his metal scutum. He aimed his hand towards the draught and slowly enclosed it. The vines became tighter and once his hand had formed a fist multiple cracks were emitted from the lobster. He then slowly approached the beast en jabbed his gladius in its already cracked belly, finishing it off. I've never seen such power before. The words he spoke after, after showing such power, I'll never forget. 'Get back to work, we've got an empire to feed!'
Distribution and Habitat
While the Draughts are prominently found in the cursed wastelands of Carthage they can often be seen dwelling around the entire island of Africa except around mountains. The fact that they seem to be able to dwell far inland suggests they can migrate to other area's but for some unknown reason they refuse to leave the island. Many scholars believe that they strictly mate on the island while others suggest the cursed salt might be necessary for their existence. They first appeared around two hundred years after the salting of Carthage. They heaved havoc on the local militia and civilians. A legion was dispatched to deal with the lobsters but was almost entirely annihilated. Few died during the battle, all soldiers that contained any sort of injury succumbed to dehydration except for children of Pluto and Hades, strengthening the possible link between the lobsters and the cursed salt. This containment failure spread throughout the world. A wave of poachers and outside divine squats came to the island to tame the beasts or to sell their shell to make weapons. Most of those that came never returned because the lobster isn't the only dangerous beast in Africa. While there haven't been any records of draughts being used on a battlefield shells have been successfully used to craft weapons. The only way to kill these beasts is to shoot them with iron projectiles from a ballista or pierce their shell in vulnerable places but this is not recommended considering the obvious risk. This does not include any techniques for divine powers.
by TheRobber
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