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The Ankheg is a huge insectoid monster with many slender limbs and large antennae. It burrows itself underground and hunts from below.

Description[]

Ankhegs have eyes and antenna adapted to living underground. Their chitin armour is as strong as steel and can be forged by a skilled blacksmith into a set of armour. They have the nasty habit of spitting up the acid from their stomach in self defence, but as a result they wont be able to digest food for six hours after discharge. Ankhegs that live in colder areas hibernated during winter.

Ankhegs mate in autumn, during which the fertilised female will kill the male to lay 6–12 eggs inside him. Usually, a high number of eggs survived and hatched within two to ten days and started to feed. An ankheg broodling is very skittish and tries to hide from any oncoming danger, while its mother brought it sustenance. After a year, the young are mature enough to fend for themselves. Around the second year, the young ankheg shed its chitin before winter. It takes a little less than ten days to complete the process and grow a new shell. During this time, the youngling is extremely slow and vulnerable. To defend itself, it secretes a fluid that smelled like rotten fruit. This defence however does sometimes backfire, as poachers seek out the smell for the valuable chitin plates and meat.

Physiology[]

The ankheg is an ambush predator that waits around 5–10 feet underground for prey to wander into position. The attack is over in an instance, as the prey gets crushed and grounded in its mandibles and softened with acidic digestive enzymes. If a foe proves too difficult, the ankheg could also squirt acid balls to take it down. If several ankhegs are attacking a group, the ankhegs will try to each take different prey. If an creature gets attacked by more then one ankheg, the ankhegs will wrestle and play around with the prey.

Culture[]

Ankhegs are sometimes considered useful by wealthy squatters. They will try to tame the beast as its tunnels can be used to bring in water and its excrement contains enriching minerals. Ankheg burrows also aerate the nearby land which can improve the crop yields by as much as 15%, providing the ankhegs are well fed. A typical farm can have a lone ankheg, a pair, or a cluster of Ankhegs.

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