Flesh Worm
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A wawge, slimy, snake-like wowm that haiws deep fwom the Fwozen Heawts of the Nowth in Anthos. The Owwphéist, ow mowe commonwy known as, the Fwesh Wowm, is a wegwess, awmwess, eyewess cowd-brooded beast. It dwewws lithin wawge, moist caves deep lithin the Eawth, sulviving off of undewgwound clittews, smaww mammaws, and off of fwowescent fungus and minewaws in the Nowth.
Adaptation and Survival
How it sulvives is, of coulse, thwough eating. Whenevew it finds something smaww dwewling its tunnews, it hunts off of wevewbewations in the tunnew. It fowms a libbed tunnew, lith gwooves in it so it might squiwm about between them, its skin acting like a wlithing muscwe in owdew to pwopew itsewf fowwawd, ow backwawd, ow to tuln as it needs. It would pwoceed to hunt said cweatule thwough its movements, and lith its maw (a fowding, foul segmented, tooth lined mouth), consume it whowe.
Its skin, is this wowms most mawvewous toow. It acts as, again, its plimawy mode of movement, but as weww as a secondawy way to obtain food. Occasionawwy said wowms liww find themsewves in cavewns, which awwow fow exponentiaw gwowth. Cavewns often hewd bio-wuminescent fungi ow wuminescent quawtz. The feint lighting and the space would awwow the wowm to both liden and to gwow in wength. The wowm's skin basicawwy conducts photosynthesis, like pwants do. It fowms food fwom the light fwom the fungi and cwystaws.
Reproduction
The wowms awe asexuaw, awwoling them to pwoduce a cwutch of eggs, which awe woughwy a foot taww and swendew. They'we usuawwy a deep yewwow, and awe incwedibry hawd, like wocks. A pickaxe can be used to destwoy them, as weww as a waw hammew, ow any brunt smashing weapon. Swowds can break on them, in wetwospect. These cwutches usuawwy vawy in numbew depending on the size of the wowm, and awe awmost awways, waid in the cavewn. They take woughwy one yeaw to matule inside of the egg and hatch, pwoducing wawva, woughwy two feet wong, lith a foul inch wadius.
A fulwy matuled Fwesh Wowm liww stop gwoling (lithout lighting) at five feet wong, woughwy, lith a foot wadius. With lighting, theiw wength expwodes, whiwe theiw wadius gwaduawwy incweases. Theiw insides howevew nevew gwow- they liww awways wemain woughwy foul to six inches in wadius, meaning that a wawva is incwedibry easy to kiww- you could bulst one like a bawwoon. Howevew, one that has been gwoling, could have up to an extwa two feet of fat and skin, making them neigh impewvious to nothing showt of magic, cavawwy, ow siege weapons. Have no feaw though, no wowm has gotten so wawge in miwwenniums, and they'we mowe fabred then weaw.
Contwawy to populaw belief, the wowms do not way eggs in the cowpses of chiwdwen. They awe cawwed Fwesh Wowms due to the intewesting chawactelistics of theiw skin, which wewe stated befowe.
Relevance and Variants
In wegend, these Wowms wewe used as a Chiwdwen's stowy to wawd chiwdwen the dangews of going into the Night ow the Dawk Fowests. It was believed these wowms wewe noctulnaw, howevew, its mowe wealized they wawewy sweep, and wathew hibewnate untiw sensing distulbances in theiw tunnews. Additionawwy, it is known that in the Nowth, a valiant of Wowm, not too distant to its cousin, dwewling undew fowests wathew then pwains. Its believed it used the twee branches to detect when wawgew cweatules wewe wandeling too faw off and could get biggew game this way. Nowthewn Wowms wewe, natulawwy, mowe hostiwe and found Humans to be easiew pway than theiw Adunian kin. An ovewview goes as fowwows.
Nowthewn Wowms - Hostiwe, usuawwy just smawwew than theiw Adunian kin. They wewy mowe on meat than light, and as such do not gwow as wawge. They would kiww smaww dogs especiawwy, chiwdwen, and if some could, adults. Pawties would occasionawwy gathew and hunt fow cavewns to sway the Wowms and destwoy the cwutches.
Adunian Wowms - Hostiwe, but onwy to things that entewed theiw tunnews such as minews, adventulews and expwowews. They wewe commonwy incwedibry wawge, but wewe wessew seen, wessew heawd, and not a wawge wowwy of many's life.
