Traitor Fluke

A small parasitic creature that resembles a tiny flat fish or a leaf.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Traitor flukes are a form of flatworm. They have wide leaf shaped bodies which, according to researchers from the Taragon Medical Centre on Laiqua, is mostly comprised of neural tissue. The worms have two mouths located on opposite sides in the middelt of the body. One is more kin to a claw which is used to hold the worm in place, while the other is used to draw in nutrients from the host's bodily fluids.

Genetics and Reproduction

Traitors are capable of reproducing asexually and sexually. The type of reproduction they use depends on the host and lifestage of the worm.
Young traitors and those inhabiting an invertibrate reprodice by splitting themselves into two pieces. The larger piece will continue to inhabit the current host while the smaller one will leave in search of a new host. Once the parent traitor has regained sufficient size it will repeat the process. Using this method a traitor is capable of reproducing once a month. Apart from in colonies of suitable hosts the chance of the offspring finding a new host are low which limits the population of traitors. Even when spreading in a colony of suitable hosts the lifespan of those hosts tends to limit how much the traitors can spread.
Older Traitors (3-12 years old) which manage to infect a vertebrate are able to reproduce through the laying of eggs. The rate at which these worms can produce eggs varies by the host. Traitors in creatures with larger brains will tend to reproduce faster and those infecting a creature with psionic talent will reproduce faster still.
When the population of traitors is low the eggs are spread when the host coughts or sneezes. When there are enough traitors to form a shared mind the hosts are compelled to share the eggs more directly through direct contact.

Ecology and Habitats

Traitors inhabit the brains of other creatures, drawing sustenance from the host. It is believed that they need substances created or used in the brain in order to survive. Almost any natural creature can be infected by these worms though it is generally believed that only a single worm can inhabit a host.

Only 1 per brain? Don't be daft, I've taken out 10 from this poor sod's brain. - A healer at Taragon

Outside of a host the worm can survive for a few days in fresh water, and their eggs can survive in water for years.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Traitors draw sustenance from the fluids of the brain. This can cause the infected creature to show a change in behaviour. The most common change is a suppression of extremes of emotion. If multiple worms are present in a brain then it can cause the host to display almost no emotion.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Individual worms have no discernible intelligence but when a large group of infected second stage hosts are in close proximity then the worms can psionically link to form a self aware mind. This overmind will be as intelligent as the hosts that it inhabits. The knowledge of these hosts is available to the overmind which can lead to wildly varying abilities between minds. An overmind can control it's hosts though most overminds are unable to actively control more than half a dozen hosts at a time. Those which aren't directly controlled are typically left standing around or doing simple repetitive tasls.
One of the great fears for those who have had to deal with a traitor overmind is that a group containing wizards will become infected. In theory this would allow the overmind to cast spells from any of the hosts with full access to any spells known by the wizards.

Origin

While looking into ways to deal with a traitor infestation (without copious amounts of alcohol) the researches at Taragon spent some time looking into the origins of the creature. They believed that the traitors mutated from more common flukes after infesting a powerfule psionic creature.

Traitor?

The traitor fluke got it's name from a time when a dwarven outpost became infected. The dwarves were used to water that had been purifed by it's passage through rock or as part of the water system in Khezdur so they didn't take enough care when setting up their outpost in the Green Vale. Unfamiliar with the signs of infection almost the entire garrison succumbed and an overmind formed. When an order camge for the garrison to attack an orc warband the overmind refused to obey, and the garrison was labelled as traitors.
After the Magrannor has sent another force to deal with the orcs, he turned his attention to these traitors. Several blocks were sent to deal with the traitors. The traitors for their part fought to the death, attacking the loyal Magrannor soldiers with a beastial like ferocity. Concerned that this might have been the result of some spell or disease, the Batled requested that clerics examine the bodies which led to the discovery of the flukes. As they had been referring to the infected dwarves as traitors, the term stuck when describing the worms.

This was written to answer the Parasite prompt for Bestiary February. Other articles can be found in Tremanac Bestiary February.

Lifespan

12 years

Average Height

1mm

Average Length

6mm

Dealing with Traitors

Traitors can't survive in hot water so boiling water is a common method for preventing accidental infection. They are also unable to survive in alcohol, even in small quantities. This has led the dwarves to adopt the consumption of large amounts of spirits as a way to cure a traitor infection. According to tradition you need to drink heavily until you wake up with a hangover. If you don't get a hangover then the worm must have absorded the alcohol and you need to try again.

Another solution

According to the elves of the Ancient Kingdom of the Forest the worms can be removed by chewing on Pranin root three times a day for 4 days. Unfortunately Pranin root has an intensely bitter flavour and chewing it leads to an intense headache and insomnia. The dwarves of the Magrannor Halls have been made aware of this solution but they continue to stick with their traditional approach.