Stygian

Stygians in adulthood are large insectoid predators being up to 19ft. tall. They have superheated innards, a trait they gained through evolution to keep themselves from freezing in their tundra ecosystems that also make warm and hot areas lethal. Stygians have very durable chitinous armor able to shrug off arrows and bullets needing heavy weapons to break.

• Sexual Dimorphism: Adult male stygians go through metamorphosis becoming large predatory moths, sporting large wings that drops hallucinogenic poison that looks like snowflakes. The females remain with their worm-like appearance but are physically stronger & larger than males.

Stygians reproduce sexually although they only do it during the season of winter. The females are in heat and let out mating calls that draw in males. Once mating is done the females lay clusters of up to 50 blue & round eggs that hatch in 6 weeks.

Stygians have four stages of growth occurring after their moltings. Younglings after 4 months will undergo their 1st. molting becoming Adolescent. Adolescent stygians undergo their second molting after 8 months becoming young adults. After 12 months they undergo their 3rd. and final molting becoming moths if their male & remaining worms if female.

Lair & Territory

  Stygians live in cave networks in the mountainous tundras. These lairs are heavily guarded and have chitin littering the area. Stygians are very territorial and will defend their homes with their lives should another stygian want the lair of another they fight to the death.

Hunting & Combat

  Stygians hunt anything they can find using their thermal sonar to track prey. This makes them go after owlbears, arctic wolves, and on rare occasions snow elves & frost oni. Naturally in icy tundras a lot of magical life has adapted to cold to have less heat this leads to Stygians hunting passersby on their trade routes. They often remain hidden underneath snow and leaping out when they get to close and swallowing them whole.   Male Stygians have a different hunting strategy as they leave their nest to find prey outside the mountains and swooping down from the sky to grab anyone out in the open. It often uses the snow scales on its wings to fool others into thinking that snow is falling. When they come out they swoop down and grab their prey. This can be adults but it's usually children.

Breeding & Parenting

  During the winter stygians enter their mating season leading to the males coming from their nests to breed with the females. This leads to the females having clusters of up to 50 eggs. Eggs are left solely with the mother as the father dies after mating the body is then eaten by the younglings as they are raised until they become young adults, then they have their own homes once they take their third molting.

Stygians are for the most part carnivores needing up to 120 lbs. of food a week. While their prey is hard to find even with their thermal sonar they often hunt, they aren't adapted to the monster's sense of smell through it even ice born species are often hunted like frost oni and snow elves.

Stygians are often taken as infants as adults are hard to tame. While they are unruly beasts feeding them with the "Ash Berries" can condition them to listen.

Stygians are often tamed by frost giants and on rare occasions snow elves and frost oni to be used in raids. Poachers hunt them for their hard chitin and boiling blood.

Four glowing yellow eyes, 4 razor sharp mandibles, & wide face

Stygians while animalistic are intelligent enough to trick more complex life.

Stygians have an enhanced sense of smell and sight as they can pick up on the smallest scent in a 3 mile radius & see in dark areas up to 200 ft. Through their antenna they have a thermal sonar, one of the primary means of hunting as it can find thermal heat in 5 miles of its lair.