Evny'mezo
The Evny'mezo are a beautiful species of flying creatures that inhabit the magma caverns under the Daughter's Heart Caldera.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Evny'mezo is a fairly large creature. Although it resembles common butterflys, the Evny'mezo is much larger, reaching wingspans of 1 meter or more. Their thorax is a shell of minerals and the wings are a leather like material. The glow comes from their blood as it pumps through their wings.
Genetics and Reproduction
Evny'mezo reproduce through asexual methods. When an adult Evny'mezo reaches the end of it's adult life, it will land on cooled magma, that is surrounded by molten magma, and spin an extremely strong chrysalis around itself. The chysalis will take nearly 3 days to complete. For the next 7 years, the chrysalis will remain where it is as the Evny'mezo dissolves inside, and the eggs are formed. Once the eggs have formed, the chrysalis' adherence to cooled magma will weaken and the chrysalis will become detached, rolling on the ground until it reaches the lowest point. If the chrysalis lands on molten magma, the heat will cause the chrysalis to burst open, providing a platform for the eggs to float directly on top of the magma. Each chrysalis will contain 2 to 5 eggs. Teh eggs will float on the magma for another 2 weeks before hatching and revealing the young Evny'mezo, who will stretch their wings and immediately take off to float on the rising hot air.
If the chrysalis does not reah molten magma, it will eventually fossilize and become non-viable.
Growth Rate & Stages
The Evny'mezo have 3 main stages of their life. Egg, Adult, and then Chrysalis.
Ecology and Habitats
The Evny'mezo live within the caverns of the Daughter's Heart caldera. While the volcano has been quiet for hundreds of years, there are still caverns with lakes of molten magma, providing the heat necessary for Evny'mezo eggs to hatch. Some people have attempted to remove these creatures from the heated caverns, only to find that they will immediately enter a hibernative state. If the Evny'mezo is not returned to a sufficiantly heated area, they will fossilize and die.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Evny'mezo require access to minerals dissolved in water, or mineral salts of any kind. Priests of The Church of the Wild Flame have discovered that sugars dissolved in the mineral rich waters, wll cause the colors of the Evny'mezo to change and brighten temporarily, and they will flock to whoeve has sugar in their food offering, ignoring all others.
Additional Information
Domestication
The Evny'mezo have become somewhat domesticated by priests of The Church of the Wild Flame due to the length of time that they have been caretakers of the creatures. The Evny'mezo will only approach those priests who have spent decades in the same cavern, with some reports of the Evny'mezo even landing on their caretakers, and using their wings to shielding the priest from the heat of the magma so that the caretaker can travel farther into the caverns and help chrysalis reach molten magma.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Sometimes, and adult Evny'mezo will die of natural causes before reaching the stage that they turn into a chrysalis. When this happens, the priests will gather the deceased creature and perform a ritual to thank The Daughter for allowing them to have the exquisite wings for religious ceremonies.
Outside of the Evny'mezo dieing naturally, collection of any part of these creatures is strictly forbidden and punishable by a painful death. One of the most famous cases of the theft of Evny'mezo wings, resulted in the Vaviel Empire going to war with the neighboring Kingdom of Treolia, when it was discovered that the king had sanctioned the theft as a planned offerng to The Son
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Although Evny'mezo are native to The Daughter's Heart caldera, a few groups have stolen specimins at various stages of life, and attempted to seed populations in other volcanic caverns. Only a handful of attempts have been succesful in transplanting these creatures, but in every recorded instance, the adult Evny'mezo became aggresive and erratic, often flying out of the caverns and dieing in the outside environment, or burrowing into the magama until they are suffocated, or die of starvation.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Evny'mezo are very gentle creatures, they spend the majority of their livesgliding on the updrafts of hot air within their caverns, landing only to lick the mineral rich condensation from the walls and floor. The priests assigned as their caretakers, have reported a sense of calm and pleasant thoughts filling their minds if one of the Evny'mezo lands on them.
When the priests bring in their special food mixture, the caverns will fill with a low, gentle humming noise, that reverberates through the caverns of the Daughter's Heart as the Evny'mezo flock to the food provided, causing some of the priests to speculate that the creatures have a simple language to communicate with eachother.
Lifespan
8 years, (7 years as chrysalis, 2 weeks as eggs, 1 year as an adult)
Conservation Status
The Evny'mezo are considered physical manifestations of The Daughter, and are protected by the high priests of the Wild Flame. Great care is taken to ensure people are not allowed into the magma caverns where these beautiful creatures live, and a special concoction of minerals and sugars have been developed to guarantee they have a steady, and ample source of food.
Each cavern is assigned a single priest, and the assignment to these caverns is a highly sought after appointment.
Geographic Distribution
Discovered by
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