Blex

Blex, Vexing Pest, is a Pest of the Witherbloom College of Strixhaven University on Arcavios.

History
The life of a Witherbloom pest is pleasant but short. Raised by the students, pests are treated with great care and kindness—until their lifeforce is inevitably consumed in the casting of a powerful spell. After seeing many of his fellow pests taken from their enclosures and never returned, Blex plotted his escape.

In a show of atypical restraint and intelligence for a pest, Blex hid some of his food—live, squirming insects—until it was his time to be taken. The poor student who reached into his cage received a face full of centipedes, and Blex vanished into the undergrowth of the bayou.

As a form of hazing, new Witherbloom students are told a pest escaped and it is their job to retrieve it. Few students manage to locate Blex, but those who do are shocked by the belching, overgrown creature before them.