Searing Ankheg
Born of the fiery rampage of the Great Wyrm Ashardalon, the searing ankheg is the only creature that makes its home in the Ashen Plain of the Duvik's Pass region.
Is ... is that fire it's spitting? Run!
Basic Information
Anatomy
The searing ankheg is a burrowing and tunneling monster with a chitinous exoskeleton and six slender, segmented legs, each ending in a viciously sharp claw. They appear to be a deep reddish-brown in color, with the female of the species tending toward more of a yellow-orange hue. Its head is broad and almost flat, like the head of a spade. It has long antennae for detecting the approach of potential prey and oversized mandibles perfect for burrowing through the dry and packed ground of its natural habitat. The main difference between the searing ankheg and the forest- and farmland-dwelling variety is the digestive "juices" they have developed. Instead of acid, the searing ankheg gets its name from the liquid fire it uses to gets its meal. It will also sometimes expel this liquid from its mouth as a last-ditch defense mechanism. Doing so expends this resource for a period of about six hours, however.
Genetics and Reproduction
Unlike its forest-dwelling kin, the searing ankheg has no need of hibernating in the fall and winter seasons. As a result, the social structures and life cycle of this particular species have evolved much differently than that of the common variety. Eschewing the solitary life of its "garden variety" cousins, the searing ankheg of the Ashen Plain have developed a colonial social structure, where the queen and her diminutive male fertilizers spend full time in the hatchery laying, fertilizing, and tending to the eggs, respectively.
I have lost more apprentices to the study of this remarkable creature than to any magical experimentation I have devised to date. My system of polymorphing these brave souls into members of the searing ankheg colony is proving to be an ineffective method of getting them closer for more intimate study.
Ecology and Habitats
The destruction of this portion of the Golden Plains by the red dragon, Ashardalon, was directly responsible for the evolution of this particular creature. The elemental and extra-planar fire that rained down on the region permanently scorched the ground to almost 6 feet below the surface. Other than this extraordinary creature, the plain is devoid of all life, which forces the searing ankheg drones to hunt beyond the outer perimeters of the Ashen Plain.
The drones dig tunnels away from the central chambers where the queen and her brood reside. The prey which are brought back to the colony are collected in the "great hall" chamber, where members of the queen's harem of male mating partners pick through the choicest bits for her.
Dietary Needs and Habits
The preferred meal for the ankheg is fresh meat. Short "sorties" of the larger, more armored drones tunnel out away from the perimeter of the Ashen Plain to seek it out. They will sit in clusters of 4 to 6, about 5 to 8 feet below the surface of the earth, and wait to feel the vibrations of prey using their large antennae.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Measuring three times the length of this creature's head, its long, thin antennae appear segmented and end in hair-like filaments which sense vibration and can even "taste" the air, differentiating between potential prey and other ankhegs from its colony.
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