Great Wurm

Species
Native Environment: Ravnica; other

Great wurms exist on many worlds, including Ravnica. They are almost always among the apex predators. They grow to huge size or larger. Some observers believe that a wurm never stops growing.

Great wurms are energetic tunnelers. Wurms have paranormal organs in their head that emit deep sonic vibrations to liquefy the earth in front of them, which they swim through. They can burrow through soil at about 3.5 mph, and about half that speed through stone. Through soil, a wurm leaves a wake of turned earth. Through stone, they leave stable tunnels. It's unclear how wurms metabolize stone. It is clear that at least part of their metabolic needs and perhaps tastes are related to the psychic residue left on matter - emotions, memories, the energies of birth or death, and so on. When a wurm digests matter, what they leave behind is completely cleansed of any residue (other than the wurm itself).

Great wurm reproduction is a mystery. One theory is that they tunnel deep beneath the surface for mating and rearing, so that only adolescent wurms or older are ever seen on the surface. Another theory is asexual budding.