"No one has set foot on these shattered stones since the Barle's ill-fated mission of exploration. From what I have heard, something big, many of them, live here. Stay sharp."— Captain Davetti to the crew of the Ivende
The Scourge of the Archipelago
Along the many islands of the
Shattered Isles there lives an almost unknown species of insects that stand taller than a
human and eclipse the size of the
lizardfolk. There they have lived for many hundreds or thousands of years, each serving their queen in battles against the others.
When their numbers are high, life across the
Isles suffers as they consume near everything in their path to feed the growing swarms. After they consume everything, their fighting ends, and the resources run out, it takes them time to rebuild their numbers, giving the flora and fauna a chance to recover.
Lifecycle of the Custana
Each of the custana hatch from a large white egg - over one meter in length - laid by a queen from which their larval stage emerges. This stage has six legs and a body that is kept low to the ground and they begin to gorge themselves on grasses and other short plants using their oversized mandibles. Those that return take on their second larval stage trading their long legs and mandibles for short ones; during this stage they are fed nectar gathered by the mature members of their clutch.
They grow greatly in size as they are fed nectar and pass through their third - and possibly fourth - instar before reaching their prepupal stage. During this time the outside of their bloated bodies serves as a shell as the insides almost completely liquefy as their body recombines itself into their pupa stage which will break the outer shell. This pupa stage lasts for as long as a season and ends when the custana molts into its final adult stage.
In their adult stage, they stand on four legs and possess two arms - similar to a praying mantis - with wings that allow them to make extended jumps and tough exoskeletons. They also reach full brain development becoming able to speak - immediately upon taking this form because they remember the language used around them in their previous stages - and possessing a level of intelligence and self-awareness on par with that of
humans,
avens, and
lizardfolk.
Stub Article
This article is just a stub for now and will be expanded upon later.
Old Article
This article was written in the past and does not meet my current standards for any number of article quality, layout, or content.
In-Progress Article
This article is being worked on, perhaps not at this very moment, but it is being worked on.
A Bug's Name
Locustana archipelegius is the name given by explorers from
Breharan. The name by which they refer to themselves - if they do so at all - is unknown. They are colloquially known as the custana.
Custana Culture
So few people have traveled to the
Shattered Isles and fewer still have had any positive interactions with the territorial custana that they are widely thought to be simple mindless insects.
This is far from the truth and the custana have a culture that is all their own though it may be some time before anyone from outside can overcome their own prejudices against insects, decipher a language they may not even be able to speak, and learn about their unique ways and history.
"Did you see that? The way they moved, the way they looked at us? Assessed us? I don't think they're like other bugs, the way they work together and I think that chittering was language."— Reigus Tendalten to Oyun Zayany
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