Fly of Torpid Slumber
Range
The Fly of Torpid Sluber, or ‘Torpor Fly’, is an insect native to the Southeastern Threshold. The fly is an ever-present, if uncommon, threat throughout much of the Great Grass Sea, where it conceals itself in the tall grasses. The fly, like many insects, does not take well to the cooler temperatures at higher altitudes, and rarely ascends up to the tops of the mountains and plateaus dotting the Southeast.
It is most numerous in the Flittering Morass and the surrounding grasslands.
Description
Torpor Flies change a great deal in size during their lives, ranging from the size of a human fist to that of a lap dog. Regardless of size, each has a glittering set of compound eyes in front of a chitinous body striped black and light green. A long, thick tube extends from the head, ending in a sharp point strong enough to pierce thick skin and leather with ease, after which it sucks up the blood upon which the fly feeds. The fly has three pairs of legs and a pair of wings, which make little noise in flight. The fly’s abdomen can more than double in size during feeding, and in females can expand further due to carrying young.
While many insects are fragile, Torpor Flies are physically hardy and can survive crushing or even weapon blows.
Diet
The Fly of Torpid Slumber feeds on the blood of other creatures. These include humans, horses, and Elephants, though larger creatures such as Yeddim have skins too thick for the fly to reliably pierce. Torpor Flies particularly favour Cattle, who are the perfect prey: slow, with little natural defense, skin easily penetrated, and bodies full of blood.
The presence of Torpor Flies in the Flittering Morass has been a thorn in the side of Ahlat, God of Southern War and Cattle, for a very long time. The culture he has worked hard to build, of cattle-herding tribes warring with each other through raiding, suffers great difficulty due to the fly, for moving cattle herds near the Flittering Morass (be they one’s own or captured on raids) will mean the loss of nearly all one’s cows The Morass and the flies thus form a natural barrier marking the southern border of Harbourhead, and dividing the most organized and devoted cultures who take Ahlat as patron from properly spreading across the full Grass Sea. Though Ahlat is still favoured by cattle tribes and warring groups generally, there is far more room for other deities to lay claim to power and worshippers alongside him, a fact which irks the Bull God to no end.
Torpor flies have a good sense of sight, but they seem to avoid preying on creatures such as Dazzling Horses or the Dphon people, whose skin or coats bear numerous black and white stripes. While flies will try to bite striped prey if they must, they avoid doing so if other prey is near.
Life Cycle
Torpor Flies begin their lives crawling from swampy ground of the Flittering Morass fully-formed and fist-sized, in the Season of Water. Torpor Flies, both newborn and returning females, travel in swarms during their time in the Morass, males and females mating (the only time in their lives the males will mate. Once the Earth Season approaches, the flies start dispersing singly across the Great Grass Sea.
Young Torpor Flies flitter across the land, seeking out prey so they might feast on their blood. Male flies do not grow much bigger than when they start, but female flies will continue to grow to the size of lapdogs. Within the female is carried a single larva, that slowly matures as it feasts on blood supplied by its mother. This process can take several years, but when it is finished the female fly begins her journey back to the Morass.
Reaching the Morass, the fly births a maggot, which burrows into the ground as its mother departs to find a new mate. After a few days, it will emerge as a new Torpor Fly, beginning the cycle anew.
Disease Carrier
While the injuries and blood loss that the fly might cause are certainly a danger, the Fly of Torpid Slumber gets its name and source of its true danger from something else entirely: it is not poisonous, but is a carrier of Stilling Sickness, to which it is immune. In the whirling politics of Yu-Shan, it is unclear wether this emerged because of the alliance that exists between the Southern gods of insects and those of disease, or if their interests meeting in the Torpor Fly provided common ground to forge their agreements. Regardless, the Sickness and the Fly are interlinked in a mutually-advantageous relationship.
For the disease, transmitted through blood, the fly provides a spear to pierce the outer protections of creatures who would otherwise be able to avoid contact with tainted blood. For the fly, the sickness has a useful effect on its victims: it slows them, pushing them down into a comatose state where the Torpor flies can feast to their hearts’ content.
