The Melt Worm
Find a hill. Hunt through the tufts of golden grass until you find a medium-sized rock. Good. Now, turn it over. I know, I know. Gross! A whole world of writhing muck just awoke from a long sleep. There in the middle…see that greenish wriggling creature trying to burrow downward? Grab it in the middle with your index finger and thumb. Excellent. Now, whatever you do, BE CAREFUL. They’re not called melt worms for nothing.
Note the worm’s glossy scales and tissue thin, yet extremely tough, skin. Glimmering veins pulse below its surface. Oh…you noticed! The melt worm has no face. It’s entire head is a fleshy knob. All of its survival needs are satisfied through the sensory capabilities of the worm’s bulbous head.
Let’s observe more closely. Gently squeeze the worm’s body. See how its head now has a soft orange glow. While squeezing, tap the head with a finger tip. ONLY TAP. Hot as a coal pulled from a fire pit! Glowing with such heat, the melt worm tests its surroundings. It can sense the distance and motion of nearby objects. It identifies a potential food source by testing how it reacts to the heat. If it moves toward the heat, it’s most likely a good candidate for dinner. What’s that? How does it eat? Great question.
To understand how the melt worm obtains nutrients, we’ll have to squeeze a bit harder. Do so now. As you can see, the melt worm’s head is far brighter, almost white, with a sheen to it. If you touched the gleaming bulb at this point, it would burn your skin and we’d be going to see Aunt Nelly in the infirmary. At this intensity level, the melt worm can kill insects instantly. The sheen you observed on the worm’s head is an enzyme the worm secretes to liquify the dead bug. Once dissolved, food can be absorbed through the melt worm’s skin.
Let’s complete one more experiment on our friend the melt worm. For what we’re about to do, use extreme caution. At the count of three, pinch its body hard enough to feel your fingers touch. Don’t worry, the worm’s tubular physique is quite resilient. It shouldn’t burst open. Here we go. 1…2……3….Go! Good job, but do not look directly at the head for at least 5 seconds.
Though unharmed, the momentary distress was enough to trigger the worm’s defense mechanism. This means radiating the most scorching, brilliant light possible from its protuberant head. At this magnitude, this most unusual worm can even melt some stone. With such power, the melt worm need never fear being caught between a rock and a hard place.
That concludes our fundamental examination of the melt worm. You’ll want to return him to his home under the rock. The melt worm is an interesting creature to observe, but, as you can imagine, makes a poor choice for a pet.
LC Creators Burning the Midnight Oil
A Sneak Peek from the Light Children Workshop
Imagine a room draped in cobwebs. In the corner, a table the size of a draw bridge basks in candle glow. Dried vines twist around the table’s legs in dense braids. Loose piles of color-splattered paper cover the wooden surface. Sketches, outlines, notes, and maps mingle with illustrations to create a patchwork table cloth of heaped art.
Two empty goblets rest on coasters make of burrsak pelts. A last swallow of dark wine rests in the bottom of a hand-blown bottle. Bones from last week’s dinner lie on a tarnished platter. Over the strewn artwork, two twitching figures work feverishly, fingers stained in ink. The pages of Light Children: Book One - Invalid are coming to life.
This month, Andy and Kyle lay down their quills and brushes to bring you a sampling of images from the latest pages of Light Children. Enjoy. Visit the site and click on the ‘Sneak Peek at Chapter One’ banner for the latest art in development.
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Light Children Press & Announcements
Thanks to Matt at Independent Propaganda for the nice write-up on LC!
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New page art for Chapter One is up on the site, with more pages on the way next week.
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As always, thanks again to all of the Descender subscribers, the bloggers, the news sites, the magazine editors, our friends, family and everybody else who is helping to make the LC story come alive.
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