Opiliones Dridders and Quazcadas

Opiliones Dridder

Habitat: Dridder Forest and Great Rocky Fields

While Opiliones dridders have eight legs and an upper human torso, they have many distinctive differences from other dridder species. One is that they have exceptionally long legs- easily twice that of other dridders. Another is that their bodies are small- they are closer in size to Naxyla dridders, yet are still a bit larger. Walking higher than other dridders and requiring less nourishment for a smaller body, they aren't picky eaters; they'll eat anything they can find of catch. Since they are more adaptable to harsh climates, many have taken up residence out in the Great Rocky Fields. Those Opiliones tend to develop lightning magics; all are fairly adept spellcasters. Compared to other dridders, Opiliones are rather fragile- with long spindly legs and a lack of natural armor, many mistake them for easy prey; a grave mistake. Opiliones are extremely feisty compared to off-world Naxyla dridders; they won't hesitate to stand up to a greater dridder. When in the Dridder Forest, they tend to be ambush predators while in the Great Rocky Fields they are more active hunters. They have the ability to sever a leg in an emergency, regrowing it within a day, and can magically manipulate their venom depending on their needs. A common myth about them is that they possess the most toxic venom of any dridder species- they do not confirm or deny this, so many peoples are exceptionally wary of them- and they like that just fine. Great Rocky Field dridders often electrocute with their fangs, quickly paralyzing their prey and could be mistaken for a super-venom by a witness. They are not very social and have not been known to live in tribes; they will however tolerate others of their kind in the same area. They rather dislike the company of other dridder species; this is what has led many to leave the Dridder Forest. While Opiliones in the forest are very protective of territory, out in the open they adopt a more nomadic lifestyle and become opportunistic. Some have been known to accompany human convoys and act as very effective scouts; so long as they are kept well fed, of course.
Opiliones can easily scale structures such as protective walls and some wield weapons made by humans or demihumans. Opiliones don't mess with most giant predators if they don't have to. Natural predators include harpies, sphinxes, and larger dridders- they're practically bite-sized once you pluck the legs off, they report.

This reminds me of some sort of rivalry...

The Quazcada

Danger: Minimal (Low in large groups)
Size: 10"
Habitat: Special- Populate most wooded areas every 25 years for several days.

Unlike many other Felaryan insects, the quazcada isn't a predatory species- it spends most of its life beneath the forest floor, feeding on the root juice of Felarya's large flora. While in their underground nymph stage, the quazcada is an adept digger- it has a shell that is nearly as hard as diamond- which is possibly why they are named after the similarly hard-shelled guardian. Their life cycle is usually twenty-five years; at this age they will all dig out of the ground and latch onto a tree- there will be thousands upon thousands of them, all 10" in length. After molting, they will leave behind their armored shell in lieu of a more flying-friendly exoskeleton that is lighter but softer. Since they die shortly after mating, they no longer need it. The quazcada's mating call is often described as "a Rev concert that never ends". The quazcadas create strange sounds that get even stranger the more they congregate. In one area, they may be completely covering all the trees. If you're in the same area, covering your ears won't do any good because the reverberations from their songs in unison can cause nausea, disorientation and even damage your inner ear! They are preyed upon by anything that's quick enough to catch them, but once they congregate, they can quickly deter nearly any predator. After a few days of sleepless nights and avoiding the areas they are most densely packed, everyone can catch a wink of sleep again. Strangely, their empty shells from their nymph stage disintegrate very quickly out of the Felaryan soil; all that remains is a blanket of the adults covering the forest floor. Everyone might have to deal with the crunching sound underfoot for awhile, but at least the horrible noise is gone for another quarter century.

It should be noted that a Felaryan legend exists that tells of an invading army; the guardian Quaz had the quazcadas emerge early to dissuade them- they couldn't stand the sleepless nights and pulled out, hoping to find a less irritating plane to conquer. This is possibly how they acquired their namesake.

Yeah- I'll need to cut those down to a manageable size, won't I?. ^^;

The Opiliones Dridders are interesting. I take it they function similarly to Naxyle Dridders in that they have special venoms to eat certain things and such?

I don't want to make them too similar to any existing species. ^^;

They would probably go with the liquidification method for convenience, but since they are fairly proficient spellcasters, it isn't unreasonable to assume that they can develop specialized venoms if need be.

I love both of them very much, especially the Quazcadas. They seem real interesting.

I also find the Quazcadas intriguing and pretty unique

Where I live the cicadas make such a loud racket for days; I can't help but imagine that some sort of bug-god secretly enjoys the trouble they cause.

I'd like to know what you think of the opiliones- they're a bit similar to a few existing species of dridder, but I'm trying to make them have their own flavor- I'll be elaborating more on them.