Equine mantis

The equine mantis is a large insect belonging to the genus of Sphodromantis, it is native to the region which once was the province Aragon in South Batavia (Western Cibola). It spread to Apollonia with the help of Jingdaoese, who saw it as an important creature. The equine mantises hunt in small packs of up to ten mature animals who normally target smaller animals like rabbits and small deer. Occasionally humans are targeted by equine mantises though this does occur only rarely in the wild because of the rarity of the animal.

Larger groups of up to several hundreds of equine mantises are however used in cruel execution ceremonies by the Imperial Palace. A notable case was the 2012 "accident" in Rijnsbrug, Nederburg, where several nobles including Yuan Windsor and a Babkhan dignitary lost their life after they became trapped in a room containing hundreds of equine mantises.

Equine mantises are used in the ascension ceremony of the Jingdaoese Emperor: a new emperor must proof his worth by descending a labyrinth in Apollo City were hundreds of mantises are kept imprisoned. Surviving the proof shows that the Emperor truly holds the support of the Gods.

Description

The equine mantis has white dorsal fur with black and white striped legs. The body looks like that of a normal mantis while the head and the legs are similar to a small werepony, equine mantises have hooves. Mature animals are between 20 and 45 cm long.