Elder Tentacle Tree

The Elder Tentacle Tree is a petrified tree located between towns Tynryn and Dewmore in Ecela, on planet Osao. The fossilised landmark is portrayed in a mysterious light in various media forms around the Ecela Plains. The tree symbolises life's refusal to give up, despite having technically died. Many slimes make annual visits to the tree, puddling in front of it.

Many fear what this tree is hiding beneath it, and hope that praying to it or leaving it alone will prevent disaster from striking Osao. Countless documents, all independently written, speak of global destruction when this petrific tree is destroyed.

History

Records of the ETT date back three thousand years, when slimes first set foot on Ecela. Mentions of this tree can only be found in old, tattered books, all of which reside in museums in all five continents. Even to slimes back then this tree stood out amongst other foliage. Modern day science shows this tree species didn't originate on Osao, leading many to wonder where it came from.

Scientists speculate this tree is at least seven million years old, predating slimes by six million, nine hundred and seventy thousand years. There is no evidence to support the idea that any exospecies landed on the planet at this time, and evidence of alien rubble found rarely around the tree hints at the possibility that this tree arrived on an asteroid, or even a spacecraft.

What The Hell Is Going On

The rubble found around the ETT on several occasions is almost identical to a type of rock only found on Karkhala. That would mean the oanie are a suspect, but they first ventured into space just 3750 years ago, and before then had no clue of other planets. Or so they say.

In recent years the idea that the tentacle tree was actually a bioweapon planted on the planet has become more popular, particularly in the scientific community. There are too many factors that point to this, and too few reasons to believe this was purely a coincidence. It is a little known fact that underneath Ecela is a vast network of large cave systems that act as a neural network. Enter one cave and you can access the entire continent, so long as you follow the right tunnels.

The ETT is located directly in the centre of this network, around three cave entrances exactly a kilometre from each other. Many slimes say they can hear a faint humming sound and a subtle beating, similar to a heart or their internal corpa. Unfortunately, these caves are blocked by thick layers of roots from the tentacle tree, so thick they are impenetrable, even with industrial equipment. Even if they could be destroyed, people don't want to risk discovering whatever lies beneath this mysterious landmark.

Type

Tree