Zurius — the danger of the desert
Zurius is an insectoid Artie, native to the planet Ecripra. This planet is remarkably dry and largely covered by sand dunes. Zurius is part of the species Krocirae, large and highly intelligent insects that often take over and become the reigning species on every planet they inhabit. This is mainly due to their fast reproduction rate and vastly civilized colonies.
The situation was quite different a few thousand years ago when they were at the bottom of the food chain. They slowly began developing larger bodies, thus allowing them to grow bigger and more capable brains. All of a sudden, the Krocirae species started using advanced social structures and developing technology that would eventually allow them to dominate the planet. With the increase in size, their bodies became less dense and softer. So they had to come up with a way to increase their defense against other creatures — protection and shield technology was the solution. Mass production of state-of-the-art armor began, and they quickly became the most powerful beings on the entire Planet.
Zurius, while being a small to medium size Artie, is impressively large relative to other insects. He has a purple body covered all around with dots, and greenish phosphorescent eyes. The armor covering his body is sand-colored, to provide camouflage in encounters and to make the moving of troops hardly noticeable. The armor suit has reserves of water, due to its scarcity in Ecripra. It helps to regulate the temperature and to quench thirst when needed.
These creatures live in large and organized colonies with a strong military population. They work together for the colony, protecting it from other creatures, feeding the young, and finding food. It has even been shown that the Krocirae can work together to solve complex problems and find solutions in a matter of minutes. They prefer to feed on vegetation, namely leaves, which is a rare source of food on that planet. Because of this, there are always conflicts between the species over who controls the areas with the most vegetation. Zurius will attack swiftly and aggressively if bothered, but will not pursue explorers once outside of his colony.
His main attack is “Sting”. This Artie uses his fast mobility and powerful mandibles to deliver a bite that produces strong pain, seemingly out of proportion to their size. The sting pain doesn’t stop immediately and keeps dealing damage for a few rounds.
Zurius’ special ability is known as “Swarm”. He has the capability to call on a swarm of allies of his species, who will protect the entire team from receiving any sort of damage during that round. While this is a great showcase of their defensive prowess, it is best used only in critically dangerous moments.
Zurius is one of the most intricate and complex Arties in the whole Metaverse. With medium speed, high defense, and a great assortment of abilities; this is a very well-rounded Artie to add to any user’s collection.
