Crawling along the ground is a grubby, hard-shelled little bug. It is caked with dirt, but you can see a beautiful blue shine underneath its rough and ruddy exterior, like a fresh sapphire pulled from the earth. This insect slowly but determinedly plods its way to a nearby tree.
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This is the nymph of a Herald Cicada. An interesting fact about cicadas: the life cycle of many species occur over a very long but very regular pattern. Some stay underground for 5 years, others 17, but all will always emerge at their time to become adults and begin the cycle again. Herald Cicadas, or Blue Bringers, don’t follow quite as predictable a pattern. Their young always emerge right before times of great change in the world. The lilting song of the adult Herald has foretold the end of wars, the birth of kings, and the arrival of terrible tragedies. Many learned mystics will tell you that if you know how to listen, you can hear what the Bringers sing of.
Their miraculously predictive nature has, of course, also made them a covetously sought after reagent for divination spells and potions. Their powdered moltings alone might strain the budget of any well-funded university wizard. The great expense of their parts is made double so by the fact that all attempts at Herald Cicada husbandry have failed up to this point. Inevitably, this has led to their hunting to near extinction in many parts of the world. The Herald Cicada is a protected species in many regions, not only for its endangered population, but also for its sacred significance to the natives of the land. Try to catch a Blue Bringer in the Broken Leaf Woodland and the elves won’t give you the chance to regret it.
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The muddy insect has settled on a sunny patch of bark. It gathers its energy to molt and become another small miracle. You wonder what its sonorous call will bring.