Sward Mantis

Story so far

The sward mantises are a collectivist insect people whose colonies are led by queens, among them The Mantis Queen who mothered Everly. Their culture prizes sacrifice for the colony above all and leaves little room for individualism, and a mantis who cannot abide its rules becomes an outcast wandering The Sward alone — exactly the path Everly chose days before the demons came to her world, only half a turn before this chapter.

Mantis doctrine includes The Inevitable Ruin: when hope is gone, a mantis is expected to stop struggling, reflect on service rendered to the colony, and beg God's forgiveness for insufficient sacrifice. Everly proves the teaching true of herself despite a lifetime of insisting she was different. Thousands of mantises entered the dungeon as crawlers — see The Mantids — and repeatedly offered Everly their help, which she always refused. "Sward Mantis" is also recorded as Everly's Birth Race in her death notice, her current race listed as Primal.

Appearance

Tall insectoid humanoids that skitter rather than walk, pointing and gesturing with their legs, with hissing voices and hard chitinous bodies.

Role

Everly's people, whose collectivist creed and fatalistic doctrine define her arc.

Relationships