The murky water went still. The silence that fell over the swamp was absolute, unnatural. No monstrous insects buzzed. No creature stirred in the reeds. The oppressive humidity seemed to freeze mid-air.
At the heart of the mire, the Alpha Mire-Crawler rose from the black water. Its form broke the surface.
It had changed.
Its body stretched over twenty-four feet from the blunt snout to the spiked, bony club of its tail. Thick, overlapping scales armored its hide, each one larger than a shield and harder than forged steel. Its old scars had already sealed over with new, darker growth, forming a lattice of near-impenetrable plating along its flanks and back.
A deep, resonant hum vibrated from the gills along its neck, a sound that thrummed through the ground itself.
