Stargazers

LORE AND BIOLOGY

The Stargazer is a blind, slimy leech that primarily feeds on small fish and any creatures that wander through pools it is active in - it does not primarily prey on Folk. The Stargazers root themselves tail-first in mud and silt and allow their front half to float in the water, waiting for food to wander near their sensitive whiskers.For smaller creatures, they are swallowed whole and ground up by the Stargazer's star-shaped, teeth-filled jaws, and for larger creatures, the Stargazer uses its inward-pointing teeth to latch on to a target and begin sucking its blood. Most of the year, this is fairly innocuous if annoying. The most danger it poses is during its spawning season, wherein it becomes a danger for all things it bites.

In January through April, Stargazers begin their spawning season. These creatures hermaphroditically reproduce (and can self-fertilize their eggs), and after a heavy feeding season in the fall and a brief nap in early winter they begin producing thousands of tiny eggs. These eggs lay dormant until the Stargazer latches into the flesh of an animal - the Stargazer's bite releases dozens, if not hundreds of eggs into the wound, and then the eggs begin to rapidly mature. Within a few days, the eggs hatch, and the larval Stargazers that do not immediately burst from the wound site burrow deeper into the unfortunate host and consume them from within. During spawning season, the adult Stargazers become far more aggressive and active, so it's difficult to avoid them unless you avoid the ponds and swamps they live in altogether.

For most animals, a Stargazer bite during spawning season can be fatal. For Folk... not so much. The larval Stargazers will indeed burrow deep into the Folk's body and chest cavity and feast, but they DO NOT eat the phylakardia. The Folk will survive as the monstrous things consume them from within before finally bursting out through their chests and abdomen. This is painful as hell and traumatic, and leaves the Folk weak and vulnerable to other predators - it's important to see a trained doctor to remove the eggs the moment you are bitten, rather than wait for the inevitable.

Stargazer flesh is edible, though at temperatures above 130 degrees, the flesh of the leech becomes very rubbery and tough. However, high cooking temperatures are the only way to kill the Stargazer eggs during spawning season! They can even survive dessication and pickling, it's deeply unfun. It's best to leave trying them out as a snack until May or later, and to make sure that no eggs remain in the carcass. They can be smoked or served raw with pepper oil and spices. (Again, just not during spawning season!!!) If you have a bunch of dead Stargazers, find an Axehead Frog; they are its natural predator, and are some of the only creatures that can eat Stargazer eggs safely.