Something like that, Elanhil. It's very fragile, but the broken edges are not as razor-sharp as cut glass can be. They're duller and not as dangerous; you can still cut yourself, but not as easily as on broken glass. Just for safety issues!

What if your MC loses his sword and is attacked by vicious bandits? HE NEEDS A WEAPON!!

But I see your point. You can't have criet dieing from old silk falling on them and cutting them open.

LOL! I didn't think of it that way - might be a useful plot device. You could probably still use broken silk as a defense, but it won't stand up to impact. You can't take a chunk and wield it like a sword, but you might be able to use it as a projectile.

Makes sense.

...

...

Running out of questions ...

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing! I really appreciate all your help, Elanhil. Thank you!

No problem. Now to find other creatures and threads to tear apart.

*digs in forum with a backhoe to unearth the thread* Aha! There you are!

At long last, I have finally solidified the information on these critters! Below is the final article. Any comments?

And if any of you artistic types are interested in drawing a sketch of a criet (doesn't need to be anything fancy)... let me know.

***


The criet is an insect that resembles a wingless cricket, about the size of a human’s thumb, with two large eyes on the top of its flat head and a mouth underneath. It has seven legs, three pairs plus one under the head that acts like as antenna and tongue. Its hard exoskeleton is smooth and matte and can be a variety of jewel and earth tones. Male and female criet are nearly identical in appearance. Criet cannot fly or jump, but they can run and have good traction on vertical surfaces.

Each color of criet can chirp a single note of the musical scale; see chart below for the pairings of colors to notes. The criet can vary the volume and duration of its chirp and will warble its call when in distress. Male criet sing the natural of their note while female sing the flat. Young criet of both genders sing the sharp, which deepens as the creature ages. The criet use their chirp to communicate with each other and express their mood to other beings, and they can sing together to form strange songs.

Criet spin a thick silk with a diameter of approximately ¼-inch. When fresh, criet silk, often called cordage, is navy-colored with a smooth texture; cut ends have a charred look. The silk sticks to itself and to most plants, and it can be braided into rope and nets. Fresh silk is virtually indestructible, but it quickly ages. After about a week, the silk turns opaque white, hardens, and takes on a slick glass-like texture. White silk is highly fragile and will shatter if handled roughly. In regions where cordage is plenteous, it is an art form to mold the silk into vases and sculptures and allow it to harden. Fresh criet silk is waterproof and can withstand fire, but prolonged exposure hastens aging.

The criet only feeds on a specific type of bush called the bague. Growing up to a yard tall, the bague has matted, spindly branches of chocolate-colored wood with navy flesh and produces navy berries in clusters of seven. The sage leaves are veinless and release navy juice when crushed. All parts of the bague bush are edible to humans and have a spicy taste. The leaves and berries can be eaten raw, dried, or steeped, and the bark is typically hashed and stewed, though it can be dried like jerky. The juice is used as flavoring and dye.

The bague’s life cycle lasts 70 days. At the beginning of its cycle, the bush grows leaves and berries which regenerate continually for 60 days. Berries and leaves both take about 7 days to ripen. Near the end of the 60 days, the leaves and berries fade to white, turn bitter and dry, and fall off. The berries bear the seeds for new plants; unless animals or humans carry the berries away, new bushes will grow near to the parent plant where the berries fell. As such, wild bague bushes usually grow in dense matts. The bague bush will rest bare for 10 days before new leaves and berries begin to grow. A bague bush takes one cycle to grow to maturity and will typically last 14 cycles before growing old and rotting. The bague grows wild in the brown soil of Erde’s central and upper-south regions. With special care and transplanted soil, the bague will grow in other regions, though usually only in small numbers.

Criet primarily eat the bague berries and leaves. During the bush’s 10 days of rest, the criet eat the bark and wood, which helps keep the bushes from overgrowing. Criet in captivity will eat dried parts of the plant.

Criet live in unorganized colonies wherever the bague is found. Male criet spin silk constantly to mark their territory, stringing their home with nets of silk in hopes of deterring other animals. At the beginning of the bague’s life cycle, each female criet spins enough silk to form one egg sack, which she fills with seven navy eggs. The males fertilize the sacks and hang them on the branches of the bague, where they hibernate until the bague’s leaves begin to fade. The young criet break the then-hardened silk sack and emerge. Young criet take one cycle of the bague to fully mature.

Criet can be easily raised in captivity as long as they are provided with bague to eat. In captivity, the criet will hang their egg sacks on any available surface and wind their nets around the perimeter. If they cannot find a plant to stick their silk to, criet will simply wind the silk across the floor, making it easy to harvest. As such, breeders often keep criet in smooth-walled enclosures such as barns and caves.

Criet have a variety of natural predators; all types of insect-eating creatures will prey on criet. Criet do not coexist well with other insects, but they have an incurable fascination with humanoids and will often approach humans to investigate them. Docile and easily tamed, criet have been known to form bonds with humans, much like a dog is attached to his master. If the bond is strong enough, the criet will leave his home and follow his owner – whether or not the human wants the companionship.

THE CRIET SCALE:
C – burnt orange
D – mustard
E – forest green
F – navy
G – dark purple
A – chocolate
B – maroon

Criet are incredibly neat creatures. From their "songs" to their fascination with humanoids, I find them fascinating.


The word "as" should be "an".

Yay! I'm glad.

Oh, thank you for catching that. I need to have you line-edit my world-building stuffs more often... you keep catching typos.

An interesting idea.

I love these guys, Philli, and I love seeing them complete. It's cool to see the changes made, due to this thread.

Thank you muchly, Airianna. I think you'll like the digital image Jonathan made of these critters - I'll release that on my blog tomorrow.

*makes note to remember to check blog *

And it's up! The final article with Jonathan's epic original picture.
http://aubreyhansen.blogspot.com/2011/0 ... bague.html

Ooh, how perfectly buggy looking. Nice work, Jonathan.

Thank you, Airianna.

Welcome, sir.

Isn't it epic? It looks like it came right out of a field guide. I was not expecting something like that, and now I'm intent on prodding him to make more designs in that style.

I agree, it does.

I love it!