Zylle's entry 2 -sacred scarab

[zylle]

I'm thinking, basically this: http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nicholson/e ... scarab.gif for the adult, much smaller, with tiny wings and no sun for the hatchling and the egg would be a dusty brown colour and perfectly round.

egg:This egg looks remarkably like a ball of dung

hatchling:The egg doesn't so much hatch as it crumbles, revealing what appears to be a tiny golden button. On closer inspection, it appears to be made of enamelled gold, but as it shakes off the last of it's shell, you realise the creature is a little beetle. It skitters happily about, looking for clumps of sand or earth, which it promptly rolls into compact little balls. This must be a scarab beetle, which, though tiny, is a powerfully magical creature.

adult: By the time the scarab has reached adulthood, it fits neatly in the palm of your hand. It is richly coloured, with a golden body and it's wings are shaded in jewel tones of emerald, violet and ruby. Small in size, it is a sturdy creature, fearless and energetic and can go for days without sustenance. It still rolls balls of earth, dung or any similar material, but now that it is grown, it can hold these balls between it's foreclaws, causing them to glow like miniature suns. These balls are useful for light, heat and many other magical applications.

general:Scarabs are found in the deserts of Etain, where they burrow into the sand at night, and emerge during the day, often basking on a rock, where they are sometimes mistaken for precious jewels. They lay their eggs in the balls of dung that they roll, which are kept warm by the scarabs' ability to infuse them with a brilliant, warm light.They are a favourite food of gryphons and phoenixes who use their sharp beaks to crack the scarab's sturdy body. Discarded scarab wings are highly sought after for jewelry making and other forms of adornment.