Ticks

Ticks are a species found in the forests of The Gates. They are notorious parasites that feed off the lifespan of their victims. They are also known carriers of the disease Hemochronosis. They were first encountered by the Spiritual Travelers, unbeknownst to them, while following the Leshy on Nurend 15, 308. The effects of the Ticks feeding on the unfortunate victims of Kaswink and Namina were not experienced until the next day.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Ticks are incredibly tiny and resemble ordinary ticks found on Taranel. Where they differ, however, is that each of their legs are a different length while still maintain symmetry. These legs could be sequentially longer from front to back, back to front, or shuffled in such a way that each leg could be short, long, short, long, sometimes to drastic lengths. Some unseen mechanism is present within them leading to a strange ticking sound being audible. Dissecting these insects leads to discovering that this ticking sound comes from miniscule gears lining the points between their jaws and under their teeth.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Ticks feed off the time left in the bodies of other animals. They bite into the legs, arms or other exposed flesh while an animal is traveling through the forest, usually hiding underneath grass blades, leaves and so forth. After they've latched onto their new victim they will not let go until they are full, much like their Taranel counterparts. Rather than sucking up copious amounts of blood, however, they instead feed on years of the victim's life. Over the 3-6 days that the tick is feeding it could siphon off a year or two of an animal's life each day. This is noticed by the animal physically aging, and, depending on their life expectancy, could result in them dying.

Geographic Distribution