Diluculus leukopteros

The Daybreak White-winged Bat (Diluculus leukopteros), or Great Diurne, appeared somewhere in the latter half of the twenty-first century. First discovered in Spain and thought to be related to Nyctalus lasiopterus, this white predatory bat spread quickly across the northern hemisphere establishing itself throughout Europe and North America in less than fifty years. Apart from its pure white appearance, size and diurnal feeding habits, leukoptertos is identical to its nocturnal cousin Nyctalus lasiopterus, and has therefore been classified as belonging to the family of Vesper Bats Vespertilionidae despite its being the only known day-faring bat in existence.

In 2077, people by the thousands began making pilgrimages to a group of caves in Concan, South Texas to witness the millions of white bats that would flood from the caves at dawn. Despite the pseudo-religious nature of these pilgrimages no organized "white-bat cult" ever emerged from these gatherings and the phenomenon was relegated to rural populations throughout most of the second Civil Conflict and into the early years of the Field State. However, by around 2090 it was discovered that many D. Leukopteros were migrating into urban areas, causing many to fear that a resurgence of the sentiment would penetrate Federal centers.

The Daybreak White Wing, also called the Great White Bat was previously thought to feed exclusively on migratory birds (a trait extremely rare in bats, although found in its European cousin) but by the turn of the century roosts consisting of millions of bats existed in countless cities and were feeding on pigeons, gulls, rats, mice and passerines found in populated centers.

The suddenness of this urban migration reinforced in some the belief that the creatures were of a sacred nature bringing a message of hope while others saw them as a menace and a threat to urban life and worked to eradicate them from populated areas.