Sentinel Fungus
Lo, there dwelleth in the shadowed depths of Tel, a most curious fungus. Verily, it bith a creature of darkness and damp with form most uncouth, yet with power both wondrous and strange whispered of by the Nanoi, dwellers in darkness of deepest knowledge. These folk, who burrow and tread where Aelos's light dareth not to trespass, have revealed secrets of creatures born of earth and shadow. Among them, the sentinel fungus holds a place most curious.
The Nanoi say this fungus, unlike its brethren, speaketh not in silence, but, when it perceiveth movement or light, doth rend the air with a piercing cry, like unto the bleating of a lamb beset by wolves, or the bellow of a stag fell by the hunter's bow. A sound most mournful and shrill, that echoeth through the tunnels and caverns, startling even the hardiest of creatures that dwell in the eternal night.
Yclept fungus vigil by the sages, for its cry serveth as a clarion's call that rouseth the horrid beasts of the underworld from their slumber. Yea, even the blind mole and the slithering serpent take heed, knowing that danger lurketh nigh when the vigil's lament fills the air, for its cry attracteth death. Thus, this humble fungus, though born of the darkness and oft unseen by human eyes, playeth a vital role for its voice, a grim yet needful chorus, remindeth all who dwell below that life and death walk hand in hand, especially in the deepest and darkest places.
When it hath reached its full stature, this denizen of gloom standeth tall as a Nanos, a formidable height for a thing without bone or sinew. Three to five feet, as they tell, its stipe may rise, a pillar of flesh sprung from the damp embrace of the underworld.
The Nanoi report this sentinel of the underworld is draped in hues most curious. Rising from the gloom, its fleshy pillar, they say, can range in color from the paleness of moonslight to the deepest shadows of twilight. A sight most unsettling, yet strangely beautiful.
But atop this stalk rests a crown truly wondrous. For the sentinel fungus's cap, they tell, is a vibrant expanse of violet, like a forgotten jewel glinting in the eternal dark. And scattered across this velvet surface, like amethysts sewn by unseen hands, are the fungus's stomata, the tiny pores that whisper its mournful song.
The sentinel fungus stands a creature of contradictions, its form both macabre and magnificent. A stark reminder that beauty and horror can dwell in the same shadowed embrace, their secrets waiting to be unveiled in the whispering echoes of the underworld.
Thus, let no man venture carelessly into the realm of this sentinel, for its sightless eyes watch ever vigilant, and its voice, once awakened, echoes with a fearsome song that none can ever forget.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Rooted deep within the fecund loam of underground caverns, its vegetative parts delve and spread like the boughs of a sylvan giant, unseen in the perpetual gloaming. From this hidden webbed nest, a towering stipe ascendeth, in girth, the width of a stout man's leg. Atop this stipe rests a brooding cap, three feet across, like a dark moon eclipsed by Esperus's embrace.
Those wise men, who recieved specimens of this fungus from those brave enough to have ventured into the dark embrace of the earth, speak of its inner marvel: a woven labyrinth of fine threads, through which a sombre ichor flows like the water in Eknon's hydraulis of old. This very flow, so they say, whispers through the multitude of stomata that dot the stipe's cap, and from them pours forth its lamentable song, echoing through the cavernous halls.
Ecology and Habitats
A denizen of the gloaming, its chosen home bith the dankest bowels of the earth. Not for this creature are the sunlit meadows or verdant glades, but the very refuse of the underworld, where the air hangs heavy with the stench of decay. Aye, amongst piles of carrion and dung, left by beasts that prowl the unseen paths, it flourishes. These foul offerings, cast aside by others, become its sustenance, its very flesh nurtured by the darkness and the dregs of life. For even in the most fetid corners, where naught stirs but the whispers of rot, life findeth a way to bloom, grotesque and wondrous in equal measure. So let this grim sentinel of amethyst hue stand as a monument to the hidden forces that bind all things together in the Unum.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Only in hushed whispers do the Nanoi speak of this strange and horrible truth. Though rooted deep in the earth, a captive to the silent soil, the sentinel fungus neither basks in Aelos's golden kiss nor stalks prey like a beast of claws and teeth. Nay, its sustenance comes from a darker art, a symphony of deception played upon the shadows.
Mark ye well, for the Nanoi speak of a lamentful cry, a mournful song woven from the sentinel's very flesh. This haunting melody, they say, mimics the whimpers of wounded creatures, echoing through the caverns like a siren's call. And drawn by this mournful dirge, hungry predators come, lured by the promise of easy prey.
But alas, they find naught but the mocking stillness of the fungus' domain. And as these beasts, deceived and famished, fall prey to the darkness, their decaying flesh becomes the sentinel's feast. From their silent tombs, they nourish the creature that tricked them, their very essence feeding the monstrous bloom that thrives in eternal night.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Secret lore gleaned from the Nanoi, tell this fungus is without eyes, yet is keen-witted beyond imagining. For even in the eternal dark, the sentinel fungus can sniff out the tremor of a footstep or the ghostly glimmer of a torch, its senses as sharp as the falcon's eye despite its sightless form.
And woe betide those who disturb its slumber! For when the sentinel fungus perceives movement or light, a wondrous horror unfolds. From its fleshy cap, its lament doth rise, a wail that chills the marrow and sets the caverns trembling. Like the mournful cry of a banshee or the tortured bleating of a babe condemned, this sound doth pierce the gloom, a grim warning in the silent symphony of the underworld that death approaches swiftly.
- Species name suggested by jtammes
