"I think the Beast sucks the flesh off his victims' bones."
- Tom on the subject of Trema
Trema the Earth Lord is a Gwildorian Good Beast who is the guardian of the Gwildorian Plains. The Earth Lord is a slug Beast coated in a thin layer of slime to help him move below the ground where he resides, however unlike regular slugs, he has six four-clawed limbs just below his head. The Beast is incredibly fast underneath the surface of the plains, able to pursue prey without them even being aware they are being tailed by him. The Good Beast is protected by blue shell plating, which is tough enough to shield him from swords and other bladed weapons. Trema erupts from the ground below his prey with ease. As with real slugs, Trema is extremely weak to salt, which makes his body shrivel as it dries up the slime central to his movement. Trema's name is a mix between terra (an alternate name for the Earth and the name of the Roman titan of the Earth) and tremor (which the Beast's activity creates in his movement). Velmal corrupted the Beast by forcing a large metal helmet onto his head, which enchanted his slime due to the four corrupted jewels within it. He fought in the Battle of Jengtor against the Pirates of Makai with four other Gwildorian Beasts. Whether the helmet is a creation of Velmal or the wizard simply placed the jewels in the Beast's preexisting helmet is unclear, as he still wore it in the Battle of Jengtor. For unknown reasons, within his book's illustrations, Trema mostly uses variations of the same pose, the same pose he adopts on the cover. It was confirmed that he was originally going to have the title name "The Slug Monster".
Velmal's First Attack[]
The first notable event Trema was involved in was the first coup of the dark wizard Velmal. Either by corrupting Trema with his poison or by deceiving the Earth Lord into following him willingly, the Good Beast fell under his influence. Upon discovering the events in Gwildor, Avantia sent Taladon to deal with Velmal and the Beasts he was now commanding. Trema and Taladon clashed, with the Avantian emerging victorious. Upon his defeat, the Beast was freed from Velmal's influence and returned to his normal duties, allowing the Master of the Beasts to continue with his quest.
The Shade of Death[]
After freeing himself from the dungeons of Jengtor, Velmal began to prepare for his second attack. He created a cursed helmet, tracked down Trema, and forced the Beast to don it. Upon doing so, the Earth Lord was corrupted and began terrorising the Gwildorian Plains.
Trema emerging before Ally.
The thief Ally was burying a valuable item, a set of small silver skulls on a chain, beneath a tree in the plains to ensure he was not captured and found guilty of theft when his digging was detected by Trema below. The Beast moved below Ally's small hole and erupted through the dirt, throwing the thief back as he did so, driving the air from his lungs. As he saw Trema, he screamed and began to run as the Earth Lord let out a cry of victory and scrambled from the hole after him, the thief grabbing his treasure as he ran. The corrupted Beast shot out a blob of slime, which caught Ally's legs and caused him to fall. The thief tried to regain his footing, but was unable to due to Trema's slime. The Beast caught him as he rolled onto his back, mouth descending to devour his prey. Ally's bones were later found by the Avantians in Trema's tunnels alongside the silver skull chain.
Trema emerging before Tom, Elenna and Silver.
Trema circling Silver.
Trema turning to attack Tom.
Tom being brought Towards Trema's maw.
Elenna and Silver vainly attacking Trema to help Tom.
Trema writhing on the salt wall.
After borrowing Freya's mirror from an antique dealer, leaving Storm as insurance until they could find proper payment, Tom, Elenna, and Silver set out to track down Trema. They came to an old mine in their journey, which the Earth Lord frequented as the earth was already hollow, unaware the Beast lurked beneath their feet. Trema sensed them and attacked, erupting from the ground before them. The Beast lunged his head at Silver, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and pulling him down into the hole his burrowing had created. Tom and Elenna followed the pair underground, where they found Trema circling Silver, the wolf trapped in the Beast's slime. Contented playing with his prey, the Earth Lord reared up to kill Silver, however was distracted by Elenna firing upon him, her arrows bouncing off his shell but distracting him. Trema turned to Elenna, not noticing Tom running past him and freeing Silver. The young warrior rushed over to Elenna when she called out, revealing the wolf's freedom. The Earth Lord turned to Tom, who advanced on the Beast by swinging his sword at him, causing him to scuttle away nimbly. The Beast swung four of his limbs at Tom, each striking his shield. He then used another limb to grab Tom's ankle as he shielded the other four blows and grabbed his ankle, hauling him into the air and flicking him upside down to devour. Desperate as neither Elenna or Silver could help, Tom sank his teeth into the limb, cracking the shell and causing great pain. Trema roared in agony and dropped Tom, slumping to the ground. The Earth Lord rushed forward, swiping at the Avantians, but was unable to land a blow. Using Freya's mirror, Tom burnt away a small part of the cavern wall and found a salt deposit. Tom rushed to the wall and threw his sword away, luring Trema into attacking. The Beast smiled and charged at Tom, disregarding his shield as he advanced. Tom tried to leap aside, but was caught in Trema's slime. He was able to rip himself free and move out of Trema's path as the Earth Lord cannoned into the salt wall, which caused crystals to penetrate his flesh and armour, the slime binding to the salt and sticking him to the wall as it dried up, causing him to howl in pain. Without slime to corrupt, the crystals cracked, freeing Trema, who retreated into a crack in the salt deposit to resume his duties as a Good Beast of Gwildor.
The Siege of Gwildor[]
Trema, Koldo and Amictus fighting in the Battle of Jengtor.
During the Battle of Jengtor, Freya, after being cured of Jeng's poisoning, summoned the Good Beasts of Gwildor to the battle. Of the five Beasts to answer the call, Trema was the last to arrive, burrowing through the stone of a courtyard where the battle was raging and grabbing Pirates of Makai. The Earth Lord would help the Gwildorians win a decisive victory against the Pirates of Makai.
Powers, Abilities and Weaknesses[]
Powers and Abilities[]
- Burrowing: Trema can burrow through the ground with ease at incredibly fast speed.
- Slime Manipulation and Breath: Trema can produce slime that traps his enemies in place and even shoot it from his mouth.
- Multiple Arms: Trema has six arms.
- Natural Weaponry: Trema has sharp teeth and claws.
- Natural Armour: Trema's body is enforced with a heavily armoured shell that allows him to resist attacks from a sword.
Weaknesses[]
- Salt Weakness: Like normal slugs, Trema is weak to salt since he could be shrivelled up by it.
- Enchantments: Due to being a Good Beast, Trema is susceptible to enchantments.
A - Z of Beasts[]
"Trema tunnels through the earth, using his sharp claws and jagged teeth to defeat enemies. His muscular body is covered in thick blue armour tough enough to withstand the strongest sword blows. His glowing red eyes help him see in the darkness and a row of jewels sparkle across his forehead."