The Presence Under All

Kat'und-iöllu Rezante

This is a meta-article. This article contains information regarding the mechanics of Az-Atla and contains significant spoilers. Read this only if you are a Game Master, or if you are planning on playing an Outrigger.

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There is a place in Virr-La called the O'dan, but this is not the O'dan that Outriggers speak of amongst themselves.
Every Outrigger knows of the Presence Under All, the O'dan. They can feel it, and they know it can feel them. Few know the truth of the Presence, but all Outriggers can influence it.

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" Imagine that you wake up one morning. The night troubled you because you had the strangest dreams. Unsettling ones. Dreams that touched your very sense of self and tore it apart. You know, well maybe you don't. Anyway you couldn't wake up and you wanted to wake up because you were dieing, but you didn't want to wake up because you were living. And, you wake up.... and it's there. The O'dan. From that night on it's there always. .... Now, why am I telling you this? Well, I'm a talker. And, maybe I'm too kind. The others over there, think I have a soft heart.... explaining things all the time. But, you know ... maybe I feel that its nice to know why things happen. Kinda Tourist-y of me. Anyway... it won't matter for you, as we say ... What is found in the Glaze, remains in the Glaze."

Outrigger Scout to a Divergent Gnome as they bury the Gnome alive in the soil of the Glaze.

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Can the Presence influence Outriggers?
Certainly.
Outriggers feel the influence in any number of unique ways. Some feel an ache in a part of their body, which lessens when they act in the manner needed. Some feel a pressure on their skin, which increases as they move towards danger and lessens as they move towards safety. Some smell events before they happen. The connection that the Presence creates with each Outrigger is complex and nuanced, and while many may have similar experiences each Outrigger's sense of the Presence is distinctive.
And regardless of how the Presence if felt, all Outriggers immediately receive these three benefits.
Gifts of the Presence Under All.
1. Absolute location sense while in the Glaze. They can not get lost and always know where they are.
2. Grass sense. They can not be surprised by any creature traveling through the grass of the Glaze.
3. Sensitivity to environmental disruption. An Outrigger gains a danger sense for one specific type of environmental elemental hazard/disaster. Precipitation Storms, Fire, Tremors, or Wind Storms.

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"Don't go that way. My knee's twinging. Of course I'm serious. The knee knows. That way willl get you killed. In fact we should all just be very quite for a while. Yup, my knee is really being a pain.... so stop moving and stop talking ... now."
after....
"See, told you. Aren't you glad we waited?"
Outrigger Scout Team Leader guiding a group through the Glaze to locate their lost merchandise.

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Basic Information

Anatomy

The Presence is comprised of a single entity, or several living organisms that make up the entity. The answer depends on your philosophical stance around self. These organisms are found above and below the Sight Line.

Ecology and Habitats

The entirety of the Under-Glaze.

Biological Cycle

Outrigger High Stewards note that as the Realm's seasons progress the Presence also cycles through periods of increased growth activity and decreased growth activity, Hotter drier seasons coincide with the most prolific of growth periods.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Unknown.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Presence uses those organisms that have been symbiotically joined to it to gather information about its environment. High Stewarts understand that almost every living organism with roots into the soil is part of the Presence and that many creatures who live under the Sight Line are also part of the Presence.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

The Presence uses other organisms living in the Glaze. The Outriggers both serve and benefit from their relationship with the Presence.

Civilization and Culture

History

The oral traditions of the Outriggers first record the Presence some 40,000 years ago. The High Stewards could give an accurate date, but Outriggers generally don't care. In truth, Outriggers in general do not understand the Presence Under All, in any way. All, but an ancient few,  just accept it as a natural phenomena of the Gle'lanèrino and accept that according to Outrigger Traditions, it is not acceptable to talk about the Presence Under All. And, should talking about the Presence be needed, then the phrase 'O'dan' will be used in its place. 

What would the High Stewards tell you about the Presence if they desired and could? They would tell you that some 40,000 years ago when the Glaze was created by the Generations Fire forgotten, that another was also created. In the emptiness that remained and the Realm had to rebuild, underneath it all a great birth and rebuilding was also taking place. The Generations Fire burnt everything above the Sight Line, but below was mostly untouched and from below became the Presence Under All.
The Presence Under All is alive. It is intelligent and it is both a single great fungi expanding through the dermis of Az-Atla, and all of the creatures that are connected to it through its complicated mycelia and spore network. It is generally accepted by Outriggers that every grass plant in the Glaze is part of the Presence Under All. And, it is known by every Outrigger, that every other Outrigger is a part of the Presence Under All.
It is a condition of their state as Outrigger.
The High Stewards have respectfully studied the physical and psychological nature of the Presence Under All. The physically 'body' of the Presence is a complex and dense mycelia mass that can be discovered by any who desire to dig below the Sight Line. This mass varies in thickness and depth from the surface. 
It has been evident for millennia to the High Stewards that the Presence Under All protects itself and its secrets. Any investigation of it must proceed with the most stringent of precautions. Many have suffered aliment, poisoning, physical rot and mental illness when precautions have not been taken.
Realm scientists have also noted this mycelia zone, and have attempted to study it. The Presence prevents any significant discoveries about its nature through seemingly natural causes, or through consumption. Outrigger scouts are often led to the remains of those that the Presence has claimed.

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" There is no doubt that the O'dan knows we are a part of it. Please, this is not the dispute. The question that I am asking, colleges, is what is the nature of its understanding of us? And, by extension those parts of itself and not of itself above the Sight Line? This question has remained unanswered and can not."

Tal'inez Gryee Outrigger High Steward in their address to the Board of Stewards.

Scientific Name

Zoopagomycotina and/or Mucoromycota

Origin/Ancestry

Various fungi

Lifespan

10s of thousands of years or not.

Conservation Status

Unique.

Average Height

Four meters in depth.

Average Weight

In-calculable.

Geographic Distribution

• Gle'lanèrino