Memory Reaper Mantis
Memories are a precious thing, usually thought to be safe in the confines of one's head. Through torture or trickery, some secrets might slip. However, even ideas in the subconscious are not protected from the insidious larvae of the Memory Reaper Mantis.
Anatomy
The mantis is an unassuming insect with purple and blue chitin; perfect camouflage for the shrubbery it resides in. With comically long thoraxes and long legs, they usually grow up to be 20cm in length. Just below their bulbous blue eyes lie a pair of spindly scythes. The scythes are serrated with rows of short and sharp needles, ideal for making small incisions on large creatures or for tearing apart similarly sized insects.
Behaviour
Habitat
The most common habitat to find these monsters are in the purple rainforests. Their colours blend well with the purple shrubbery laying at the foot of the forest. Some mantises have been sighted in cities, but they do not survive for long without their advantageous camouflage.
Diet
Other insects are the main source of energy for adults. For larvae, any living creature with a brain is fair game. Due to their unique ability of consuming and retaining memories, the more complex and intelligent the creature, the better the mantis will perform when it grows up.
The skills of the mantis are directly correlated with the skills of the individual they grew on when they were larvae. Larvae which feed on common predators are usually far more aggressive and agile. Those which feed on birds that can mimic speech are able to make those same sounds with a complex clicking of their scythes. In rarer cases, larvae which grow on highly intelligent life gain sentience, more or less. The lack of vocal chords makes them unable to produce speech, however more complex thoughts can still be conveyed between them. There is a single known occurrence where a congregation of mantises gained the ability to cast spells... no doubt absorbed from a hapless wizard.
Reproduction
Since the larvae need a brain of some sort for sustenance, the mantis need a fresh corpse to lay its eggs in - or better yet an incapacitated being. It has been observed that the mantis enter through the eye sockets of the creature to lay their spawn - usually plucked by their sharp scythes. If the prey is alive for this process, mantises which are close to death will climb into the creature's esophagus to sustain it for longer until the larvae hatch. Someone who is in this stage of the cycle should be mercifully killed - if it is safe to do so.
Utilisation
While the common populace finds these creatures a nightmare come true, a fair number of shaman groups treat these creatures as powerful allies. With the ability to communicate with animals, the strongest of the mantises can be bribed with the bodies of worthy adventurers.
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