T'sagultorgna Fire Sand / Fire Maggots / Fire Grains

Overview

In the far reaches of the frigid T'sagul mountains, there are large expanses of seemingly barren soft, gray dirt. This however is not barren at all. In this gray soil lies some of Terra-4's smallest living creatures—fire maggots.

Earning their name from the burning sensation and visable flesh deterioration caused by contact with these creatures, fire maggots are omniverous and social animals that work in large groups to consume nutrients from larger creatures that stomp accross their terrtory.

Hunting Stratagy and Diet

The primary hunting stratagy of the fire maggot is to grow and embed their population into soft, wet soils. The spring and summer melting of T'sagul's snowy glaciers provides a very hospitable environment for this. After their rapid population growth, the fire maggots will build tunnels and loosen the grains and particles of the dirt. This create a sort of trap for their more mobile prey by creating a sort of quick sand or holes that could trap the feet of or even a whole animal such as a deer.

The maggots will them begin to digest the helpless creature as it slowly dies through suffocation or starvation. The soil then spreads the nutrients and energy from the meal throughout its population.

Trivia / Fun Facts:

• The Rukkish word for firemaggot is "gakg'aukluh," literally "man-eating dirt."
• In some versions of "The Ascent of Kassian the King" one of the perils that Kassian faces is "man-eating ground that cooks and bites the flesh" it is likely this is a reference to fire maggots especially considering that deposits of these creatures are more plentiful the further west you go towards the outerlands.