The Hunger of Sep Content . Look , my child , at the beetle I hold in my palm . It scuttles , and tickles , and looks busily for food . Would you like to hold it , child ? I swear , by Tava ' s red feathers , that it shall not be hurtful to you . It is quite harmless , this beetle . At this size . For it will grow — yes , even as you will grow , so will this beetle . As you grow and grow until you reach woman ' s height , so will this beetle grow and grow . And in the fullness of time , you will cease to grow . But the beetle will grow on . It was not ever thus . In far - off Yokuda , in times of yore , when all walked in step with the gods , these beetles were the friends of our houses and the amusing companions of our children . They were named Samara Scarab s . And they grew , yes , but only to the size of an ample millet - loaf , for it was not needful for them to grow larger . For were they not favored of the children ? Did they not scamper , and race , and sing the clickety - song ? And were they not well - fed therefore , on seeds and savory dung - pellets ? Aye , it was so . And the lives of the people were good , for though the land was harsh , the people followed the will of the gods , and thus were vouchsafed enough to live well , and a little more . And the Divines were reverenced as it was written they should be , and all things were in their proper places . But some there were among the people who decided that a little more than what they needed was not as much as they did want . And in their avarice they fell away from proper reverence , and were taken , yea , body and soul , with the Hunger of Sep . And this was an ill thing , for the Hunger of Sep can never be sated . Then evil came to Yokuda , and red war , and forbidden rites were practiced , and fell things were summoned that should never have been called forth . It was a Time of Ending . Satakal arose from the starry deeps , and Yokuda was pulled down beneath the waves . But after every End Time comes a New Time , and it was even so in this case . For some of the people were permitted to sojourn to Tamriel , where we took for our own . There we were given a chance to once again worship the gods in proper reverence . And we brought our Samara Scarabs with us , that we might delight the children and remember happier days . And the Hunger of Sep was left behind — for a time , my child , for a time . But it is deep in our mortal core , and may ever arise again . So the gods gave unto us a warning , yea , even unto the smallest children . For in this New Time , in this New Place , our little companions grew to the size of an ample millet - loaf , as was meet . However , they then continued to grow , and burgeon , and sprout hurtful claws and rending mandibles . And then , with tears , we drove them from our homes and into the wastes , where they flourished and became baneful . Yes , my child — the Assassin Beetle s that plague the empty places are our own Samara Scarabs , smitten by the gods with the Hunger of Sep . They are a lesson to us , an awful warning to those who would become too avid . Be happy , then , and forego all avarice — for here we have enough to live well , and a little more .