Crimson Locusts

These bright red insects are a blight on the continent of Beraca, capable of destroying farms and villages and devouring people and livestock.

Growing to around 10ft in length they pose a serious threat to even armoured soldiers and are capable of carrying a horse into the air. A single one of these creatures can devastate an area and there is rarely just one flying around. A usual outbreak usually involves around 3 dozen of the creatures swarming together, though according to legend there have been cases where several hundred swarmed and destroyed entire countries.

These creatures tend emerge every 50 years or so, which unfortunately means that humans are all too likely to forget they pose and it is generally left t too the Sandlings to try to remind people ahead of the next expected outbreak.

Only well built brick or stone structures are able to withstand these creatures. Those made of wood or those with less sturdy roofs are liable to be pulled apart and the inhabitants devoured. Their hard carapaces can turn aside most weapons, though they tend to avoid the extreme cold caused by ice magic. In times past is was common to petition a halfway friendly (or at least non-aggresive) dragon for aid as dragonkind find the creatures to be an enjoyable snack. In more recent times getting rid of the creatures has been the work of the Order of the Rod, though their price may be higher than a dragon's.

Dealing with the threat before it starts

The Sandlings make some effort after each outbreak to persuade others to help them hunt down and destroy the eggs left by the last swarm. They are rarely successful as most lands are more concerned with rebuilding than preventing the next swarm from rising long after the current rulers are dead. Despite the lack of help from all bar the Raltelgi the Sandlings spend years tracing the flight path of previous swarms to find the pit where the eggs are buried. They have the time as Crimson Locust eggs can take 15-20 years to hatch, and when they do the creatures turn on each other before attacking anything else. Most of the time there is only a solitary surivor but occassionally a particularly large batch of eggs from several generations of sole survivors produces the makings of a swarm.

The header was created in Flowscape and relates to Baramith.