Flutterfires

A unique species that has been discovered living within the hollow areas beneath the Shatterbright , and in particular within the ruins beneath the Kyroshi Pit . They are a form of butterfly that has been mutated by its long exposure to heavy concentrations of crystalline Uhd and the extreme conditions of the deeper layers of the Shatterbright.
They look like a Butterfly made of thin flakes of crystalline wings which glow with a bright red, yellow and white phosphorescence. They fly drunkenly through the dark, and the light they shed can reflects off the surfaces of the caverns in which they reside.

The swarms of them in the caverns beneath the Kyroshi Pit have to be seen to be believed. In the long dark, there are thousands of them, like tiny flames dancing and sparkling into the depths. And the sound, a thousand tiny chimes tinkling in waves. It must be what rain sounds like: music to a parched ear.

Flutterfires tend to congregate around outcroppings of Crystal uhd, on which they feed.

Basic Information

Growth Rate & Stages

The Flutterfires reproduce through a form of budding. When parts of a Flutterfire are broken off the original, they will shatter, or crumble into 'egg shards'. These will lie dormant, unless brought into contact with a source of Uhd. This is quite common where Flutterflies congregate.
Once a source of magical energy awakens the egg shard, they begin t grow, and transform into their pupal stage - a segmented worm of crystals, barely 5mm long. This will begin devouring the Uhd, and building a cocoon of crystal shards.
Within the cocoon, the Flutterfire will complete its metamorphosis into the adult form, emerging in a few days with its wings fully formed.
The entire lifecycle only lasts a few weeks at most, but the colonies of Flutterfires can grow incredibly large - sometimes into the many thousands - dependent entirely on the availability of the Uhd food source.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Flutterfires are used by miners and explorers at Kyroshi Mine as a way to detect sourcs of ore and Uhd. They will release flutterflies into newly discovered tunnels and follow them to find the sources of ore.
Others have used them as a method of detecting magic use, as the flutterflies usually light up in the presence of strong magics.
Artists and calligraphers will use the carapce and wings of the Flutterfires to create uniquely coloured glowing ink. These have been used in artworks, scribing upon surfaces, and even tattoos.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

They do not see in the normal sense, but use echo location. As they flap their wings, they forming high pitched clicks and chimes. This noise bounces off the walls, and the Flutterfires make sense of their surrounding through this.
They also have a very finely tuned homing detection on sources of Uhd, and will unerringly fly towards local sources. They can sense sources of Uhd up to about one hundred metres away, even through solid rock.

Origin/Ancestry

It is believed they are descended from buterrfles that survived the original destruction through rapid transformation with the Uhd that was expelled

Geographic Distribution

• Kyroshi Pit