Holy, dirty and sickly... that was the combination I had in mind when I thought of the creature that later came to be the Holy Crab.

People tend to think of holy creatures as pure and beautiful. We don't think of them as wrinkly or ugly or covered in acne. The thought of a holy creature covered in infectious wounds and sores made the creature more appealing in my mind.

These features combined with the body of a mantis and the texture of a crab made for a harrowingly beautiful looking creature.