Dream-wigs

"To be visited by the Dröm Beetle is to have your shame laid out before you; chamber after chamber of your worst moments, chased by your own need to forget. And yet for the pain in your mind, you awake with no injury, nothing amiss but the disquiet in your soul that this creature ever passed you by."

- Adventures through Forests: Imerathan, by Leopold Der Vitner

Overview

Dream-wigs can also be known as Dröm Beetles or Dream Pinchers. They are small elongated beetle type creatures growing up to 1 inch in size, notable for their iridescent blue colouration, feather-like antennae, and pincers located at the end of the abdomen. These largely nocturnal critters are typically found in heavily forested areas and prefer damper climates, and the majority of their diet consists of smaller insects and detritivores living in the undergrowth. Their pincers are used largely for display, but can also be used to ward off would-be predators, with the sting of a Dream-wig producing hallucinogenic effects, even at low doses. They are generally reclusive insects, however they are also known to seek out sleeping mammalians at certain stages of their lifecycle in a process that lends them their names. 

During the transitions between their 5 lifecycle stages the Dream-wigs will attempt to find their way into the mind of a sleeping person. They will often find their way into and take up residence within the ear of the individual whilst they are sleeping and from there begin to create a seemingly psychic link to them. Reported details of the experience are remarkably consistent across all of those who have had an encounter with a Dream-wig. They report finding themself within a chamber with multiple doors. Behind each door is a memory, often these being moments in their life which have brought them shame, fear or distress. On attempts to leave these rooms, they find themselves simply re-entering the same room or back into the initial chamber. Once satisfied, the Dream-wig will leave the ear of the individual and make its way to a location it can begin to pupate for its next metamorphosis. Aside from a sticky, web-like residue at their ear, those visited by a Dream-wig report no other physical effects, however, all cases report instances of having key parts of their short term memory completely erased.

Anatomy

Dream-wigs have segmented bodies with a head, a small initial segment with the forelegs, a middle segment containing small wings beneath a carapace, the middle and lower legs. The final elongated lower abdomen takes up half of their overall length and is tipped with a viscous looking set of forceps. Upon the head there is a set of feather-like antennae sprouting from their head and large compound eyes. The wings kept beneath the carapace are comparatively small in size and only the female of the species have the ability to actually fly, and even this is not managed well. The males often have vibrantly patterned wings with peacock makings at the tips, thought to be used for some forms of mating display. The colouration of the Dream-wig varies through its lifecycle, with juveniles having colours closer to bright green which deepens through teals to an iridescent blue and even purple as they age.