A Vain the Sword Addendum
(GLoGhack by Phlox)
Intelligent Peoples (of Holy Selmat and Beyond):
Kaf-Tsadhi
Humans
Serset
Elves
Eulogy
Gnomes, Fae and Related Peoples
Pre-Skeletons
Talking Animals
Locusts:
Also called “the Wing’ed” in some areas. Large, bipedal insects with two legs, two arms, two wings capable of short bursts of flight, and a chitinous exoskeleton. Locusts come in a variety of hues and shades of colour, and many have extraordinary patterns that develop through their adult life, reflecting their place in their life-cycle and their overall health. Notably, these people are long-lived, 600 or more years, and spend much of their lives in hibernation underground - though it varies from locust to locust, most remain awake for around a year, before hibernating for another seven years.
Unlike many other species of people, locust females are generally larger (sometimes more than a foot taller than males), have larger wings, and are typically more adept at physical endeavors (e.g. combat, construction) than their male counterparts. This is, of course, a generalization, but tends to be true in most circumstances. In addition, the gender ratio is skewed towards males, with there being approximately three (3) male locusts for every female.
Despite this ratio, female locusts are not widely fought over, due in part to the intelligence of locusts as a people, and also due to the longevity of their life spans, their hibernation cycles and their calm demeanors, in comparison to the more literally hot-blooded human or Kaf-Tsadhi peoples. In most cases, the decision of who to mate with is left entirely to the female locust in question, with a few males presenting themselves as possible choices if they feel so inclined.
A female locust of breeding age may decide she wishes to mate, in order to continue on the future of the locust peoples. If and when she does, she will find an adult male locust and bring about the topic, sometimes offering compensation of food and board. This tradition likely began due to the amount of time required by the mating process, relative to almost any other intelligent race.
The smaller male locust will delicately mount the female, after which they will remain locked together for an amount of time that can last anywhere between a few hours and three days. This process requires the virtue of patience and relative stillness, separating locusts further from the other races they share this world with.
After mating, a female locust is almost assured to become gravid and will carry her clutch of eggs for around two months, after which she will lay between 5 and 25 eggs roughly the size of a humans head, depending on the season and weather patterns. Most often, these eggs are scattered throughout a large area and buried underneath soft soil, awaiting the right conditions in which to hatch, which means that any given locust egg may be between a few months and a hundred years old, and almost never will eggs from the same clutch hatch at the same time.
Less traditional females may choose to keep an egg or two with her to hatch and possibly even raise herself; keeping the egg in a pot of soil which she can tend to. Upon hatching, however, a newborn locust needs very little assistance and can often be found happily consuming any plant material in the vicinity. This has been known to cause problems in some areas, if the conditions are right to hatch locust eggs in a given year, as they will quickly decimate fields and thatch roofs to homes, given the opportunity.
The young locusts will then proceed to molt and become bigger and more colourful with every shed, until they reach roughly adult size at around four (4) years old. At this point, they will descend into their first seven year hibernation and will officially be considered adults when they awake.
Other points of interest:
Though locusts hibernate for long periods, they do sleep on a regular cycle with the sun, while they are not in hibernation. Not doing so can have detrimental effects on a locust, driving them mad with little hope of recovery. For this reason, it is never advised to wake a locust who is hibernating or sleeping, unless there is a life-threatening situation.
Monogamy is very rare between locusts, as sexual reproduction is limited and choices of mates are usually not very broad. A small number of locusts may choose to consistently mate with the same partner, if they are on the same hibernation schedule.
A group of locusts is NOT called a swarm. A group of tiny insects that are named after them can be called a swarm, however.
Some male locusts show their intent to mate by vibrating their legs against their exoskeleton to produce chirping noises. Many consider this obnoxious, though it is something often done unintentionally, much like foot-tapping or biting of one’s lip.
Most female locusts are confused for males by other races, due to their large size and deeper voices compared to their counterparts, as well as their capabilities in battle and other labour-intensive life-styles that other races often leave to their male peoples.
Average clutch: 5-25
Average life-span: 600+ years, assuming they maintain a good sleep cycle
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