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Help making up certain attributes of gods?

ClearDragon

Troubadour
So, I've been creating some gods for my stories and have some trouble with certain things.
I want there to specific things that happen to mortails when they see or come into contact with the gods, but can't think up any more.
I have seven gods, all inspired by a real or fictional animal.
Dragon: So majestic that anyone who looks into his eyes go blind.
Wolf: Fur so soft that anyone who touches goes numb.
Griffin: Call so beautiful that mortails go deaf.
Cephalopod: So frightening that people have permanent nightmares. Maybe this could be better?
Bat: I've got no idea for this one.
Salamander: Or this one!
Insect: This is the one I have the most trouble with, I don't even know what kind of insect it should be!
I appreciate any ideas.
 
Oooh, this is like making a new Power Ranger team!

Dragon: The fury of fire and magma, the molten core of volcanos and at ease while slumbering but of great wrath when awoken.
Wolf: The wild wind of the north, the howling that brings fear with it.
Griffin: The lord of sky and plain who strikes swiftly and surely.
Cephalopod: The keeper of the deeps. Far smarter then given credit for and the lord of the drowned.
Bat: The night host of a thousand watchers ever out to keep those of the night safe within it's wings.
Salamander: The fire of the hearth and home. Unless it's the actual animal sort, then it is the swamp keeper and those that dwell within.
Insect: The terror. The Locusts. They who Hunger and Swarm.
 

ClearDragon

Troubadour
Oooh, this is like making a new Power Ranger team!

Dragon: The fury of fire and magma, the molten core of volcanos and at ease while slumbering but of great wrath when awoken.
Wolf: The wild wind of the north, the howling that brings fear with it.
Griffin: The lord of sky and plain who strikes swiftly and surely.
Cephalopod: The keeper of the deeps. Far smarter then given credit for and the lord of the drowned.
Bat: The night host of a thousand watchers ever out to keep those of the night safe within it's wings.
Salamander: The fire of the hearth and home. Unless it's the actual animal sort, then it is the swamp keeper and those that dwell within.
Insect: The terror. The Locusts. They who Hunger and Swarm.

Interesting, but not quite what I was looking for.
Hmm, locusts are only impressive in a swarm, I want an insect that is impressive by itself! I'm now thinking of a praying mantis, those are cool!
 

WooHooMan

Auror
I had an idea for a deity whose presence sucks out the heat and light from the area. So where ever it is, it’s cold as ice and pitch black. Even if one survives the cold of being around it, they would have no idea what it would look like.
Maybe that could work for cephalopod.

But I think that naming them after animals takes away their grandeur a bit. Calling something a “salamander” isn’t quite as majestic as a series of interlocking wheels and wings called a “Throne”.
 

ClearDragon

Troubadour
I had an idea for a deity whose presence sucks out the heat and light from the area. So where ever it is, it’s cold as ice and pitch black. Even if one survives the cold of being around it, they would have no idea what it would look like.
Maybe that could work for cephalopod.

But I think that naming them after animals takes away their grandeur a bit. Calling something a “salamander” isn’t quite as majestic as a series of interlocking wheels and wings called a “Throne”.

I don't mean their names, they actually resemble those creatures. Except they would be huge and have amazing powers.
 
Ooohhh how can the insect NOT be the praying mantis? :) Which causes those who fall under it's gaze to . . . do I even need to say it?!
Salamander -Well, around here we have rough skinned newts which can have a toxic attribute to their skin so perhaps the person who touches it become toxic when touched by others themselves and they are called poisoners.
Cephelopod - I like the nightmare idea but maybe whatever befalls the person in the nightmares really happens to them while they sleep. (injuries etc)
Bat - Insomnia. I know, not the most terrible of afflictions at first. . . but if one could NEVER sleep at night. . . or the afflicted develops a sonar type ability that drives them mad because they cannot turn it off.
 

ClearDragon

Troubadour
Now I lik
Ooohhh how can the insect NOT be the praying mantis? :) Which causes those who fall under it's gaze to . . . do I even need to say it?!
Salamander -Well, around here we have rough skinned newts which can have a toxic attribute to their skin so perhaps the person who touches it become toxic when touched by others themselves and they are called poisoners.
Cephelopod - I like the nightmare idea but maybe whatever befalls the person in the nightmares really happens to them while they sleep. (injuries etc)
Bat - Insomnia. I know, not the most terrible of afflictions at first. . . but if one could NEVER sleep at night. . . or the afflicted develops a sonar type ability that drives them mad because they cannot turn it off.

Now I like those ideas!
So when somebody sees the cephalopod, they have nightmares that leave real injuries!
Salamander is a good one. Bat is cool too.
But I don't know about mantis, you mean the people start praying?
 
Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.
 

ClearDragon

Troubadour
Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.

Oh, I see! Interesting, but I might go with a horned bettle insted.
 

ClearDragon

Troubadour
Oh no. . . When praying mantises mate, the female will often kill the male afterwards and devour it. This is thought to actually take place to help the female ensure their own survival and that of their young (one less mouth to feed? But don't quote me on that.) Same thing can happen with mantis siblings and they usually bite the head off of their prey. They are an apex predator (and cannibal) of the insect world.

Oh, I see! Interesting, but I might go with a horned beetle instead.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Dragonflies... One of, if not the most successful hunter in the animal world. It is successful in over 80% of hunts. It has a gaze speed of something like 1000 frames per second [humans are about 20 frames a second]. It has 360-degree vision, above and in front and has incredible depth perception because of the hundreds of facets in the compound eyes. For its size, it flies incredibly fast and can come to a near-instant stop while flying, pulling tens of G.
I am in awe of the little buggers.
 

Crescent

Acolyte
The bat could be a vampire bat specifically, metaphorically being a vampire by gradually draining energy or body heat from those around it, the energy draining faster closer to the god.
This could lead to a person approaching the bat and gradually going numb. Thinking it is merely fear, he presses on, closer and closer. He sees the bodies of others who died standing and understands too late as he gets too close and loses the ability to even move, then slowly dying in the great bat's presence, he cries for he cannot scream. He dies as his life force is leeched from his body, and the bat didn't even notice he was there.
 
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