#Keepers of the Fungal Order

[thecreaturecodex]

Protean, Alengos

“Keeper of the corrupted coppice” © Timi Honkanen, accessed at his ArtStation here

[Our next protean is inspired by my annual teaching my students about ecological succession, and the subsequent explanation that the reality isn’t nearly as neat as the textbook version. I like to think that these guys are why there’s always potatoes in European fantasy settings hundred or even thousands of years before the Columbian Interchange (I’m looking at you, Tolkien.

As a reminder, all of these protean species have names that are anagrams of someone thematically related. Can you guess who “anelgos” is?]

Protean, Alengos CR 6 CN Outsider (extraplanar) This creature has a serpentine lower body and a humanoid torso, and appears to be composed of leaves woven together. Its head bears a crest of foliage, and its face is radially symmetrical, like a closed bud. Its hands are thick pincers, from which structures like the interior of a flower emerge.

An alengos is the protean of ecological succession. As new land is created and fields are left to go fallow, they are colonized by plants. Usually, this occurs in a somewhat predictable, stepwise fashion, but alengoses are perfectly happy to mess with the order of operations by magical and mundane means. Alengoses often seed plant species onto new islands or new continents, and they were fundamental in the creation of the Spawning Stone in the Maelstrom.

Alengoses are more likely to fight on the ground than many other species of protean, as their signature ability, the entangling aura, only functions when they touch a solid surface. Plants spring to life and grab at anyone in the area, except for other chaotic outsiders and plant creatures. An alengos will typically treat entangled enemies as lower priorities while it lobs caustic pollen at those that are not entangled, or merely crushes them to death in its coils. In the wake of a combat, an alengos will often spend some time making sure that dead bodies are broken up into suitable mulch to accelerate decomposition and increase nutrient uptake.

The influence of an alengos can be a boon or a bane to mortal farmers, loggers and other people who work regularly with plants. If properly mollified, or if the whim strikes them, an alengos can create a miraculous crop, or bring novel and useful plant species to the attention of people. On the other hand, their favorite plants are typically considered to be weeds, and their transplantations are as likely to be invasive as they are beneficial. The alengos itself rarely cares one way or the other, preferring the riot of life over any consequence their actions might cause in the long term.

Alengos  CR 6 XP 2,400 CN Medium outsider (chaos, extraplanar, protean) Init +5; Senses blindsense 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., greensight 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +14 Aura entangling (20 ft., Reflex DC 16) Defense AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +7 natural) hp 66 (7d10+28); fast healing 3 Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +9; +4 vs. mind influencing effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning DR 5/lawful and slashing; Immune acid; Resist electricity 10, sonic 10; SR 17 Defensive Abilities amorphous anatomy, floronic, freedom of movement Offense Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft., fly 50 ft (good) Melee bite +10 (3d4+3), tail slap +5 (1d8+1 plus grab) Ranged pollen puff +8 touch (3d6+3) Special Attacks constrict (1d8+3), pollen puff (6/day) Spell-like Abilities CL 7th, concentration +10 Constant—speak with plants At will—bristle, forest friend, soften earth and stone, warp wood (DC 15), wood shape 3/day—burst of nettles (DC 16), fungal infestation (DC 16), thorny entanglement (DC 16) 1/day—arboreal hammer, command plants (DC 17), diminish plants, plant growth Statistics Str 17, Dex 13, Con 18, Int 15, Wis 18, Cha 16 Base Atk +7; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 21 (cannot be tripped) Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Initiative, Power Attack Skills Climb +18, Fly +11, Knowledge (nature, planes) +12, Perception +14, Sense Motive +14, Stealth +11 (+19 in vegetation), Survival +14, Swim +10; Racial Modifiers +8 Stealth in vegetation Languages Aklo, Protean, Sylvan, speak with plants SQ change shape (animal or plant, beast shape III or plant shape II) Ecology Environment any land (Maelstrom) Organization solitary, pair or grove (3-10) Treasure standard Special Abilities Change Shape (Su) An alengos can change shape at will, but does not gain any healing from reverting to its normal shape, as is typical for proteans. Entangling Aura (Su) An alengos radiates difficult terrain in a 20 foot aura whenever it touches the ground. Creatures in the area must succeed a DC 16 Reflex save or be entangled and unable to move from their square for 1 round. Creatures with the plant type and the chaotic subtype are immune to this effect. The save DC is Charisma based. Floronic (Ex) An alengos receives a +4 racial bonus on all saving throws against mind-influencing effects, paralysis, poison, sleep and stunning effects. Pollen Puff (Su) As a standard action, an alengos can throw a ball of magical pollen. Treat this as a ranged touch attack with a range of 40 feet and no range increment. A creature struck either takes 3d6 points of damage or heals 3d6 points of damage, as the alengos chooses, modified by the alengos’ Charisma modifier. An alengos can use this ability a number of times a day equal to 3 plus its Charisma modifier.

[flowers-for-the-grave]

Gaia's Curse

The vines dug into his skin sometimes. An unhelpful reminder of what he had lost.

They were like chains, in a way.

He tried not to think about it. Tried not to think about how his hair changed; from a bright cyan to a pale ivory tainted with blotches of red.

Every time he passed a body of water and gazed at his reflection, he couldn't help but think he looked familiar. He remembered fangs, long and pointed and sometimes uncomfortable in his mouth. He recalled how similar his cloud jump was to abilities he'd long forgotten; sometimes he'd jump up into the air and think about switching places with an angel.

But, as far as he knew, no one on the server was an angel. No one he knew closely.

Sometimes he would feel hungry. Phantom-hunger, if you will. Because he didn't need to eat anymore. But he'd still wish he could eat.

He'd probably kill to be able to enjoy the taste of cabbage rolls or pumpkin soup.

Would probably kill himself in order to get it.

As he sat on the balcony of his house, staring at the starry sky, he remembered.

He didn't remember anything specific; all the memories were murky, and most of the faces were blurred to the point where they couldn't be recognised. But he took note of other details. Like cod, cats called Norman, fields of poppies. Kingdoms of snow and golden antlers. Of rat tails, attics and giant feline catastrophes. Of necromancy, loneliness and dances with time.

They all mixed together in a strange cocktail of memories that both were and weren't his.

Scott clutched at an ache in his chest; a yearning for knowledge.

He sighed and looked up at the sky. Running his tongue along his teeth, he could almost imagine feeling fangs. But they weren't there. Because he was a fungal mage.

His hands itched. The pain of hurting a mob - he couldn't be bothered to remember which one - pulsed through his veins. Gaia had cursed him in that moment. He'd hurt someone, betrayed being a 'peace keeper' and paid the price for it.

How many people had he upset in the past?

Gaia, goddess of the earth. Mother Nature. She had given birth to the Titans and Giants. A powerful entity that was not to be messed with under any circumstances.

There were others, too. In a past life long ago, he'd killed an angel. And as a result, he was cursed to burn in the sun.

His own patron god, Aeor, and his brother Exor. How long had he been a devoted worshipper of the Stag Gods? How much of his life had he dedicated to following Aeor's wishes, to pleasing him, to keeping people safe, for nothing? Because he did everything in the end. He was the one to seal the demon away at the cost of his own life. And neither of the gods batted an eye.

He'd upset Them, too. Hundreds of pairs of eyes that Watched eternally. They despised him because he refused to play Their games properly. So he was made to constantly outlive his closest allies. Other than one.

Scott was a danger. To himself and to everyone around him.

The vines - nay, chains - dug into his skin.

He deserved them. He deserved the chains, for they were keeping him from hurting others. A criminal, a thief, a killer - all of those titles belonged to him - deserved the chains that kept them contained. That shackled them to their crimes.

He took a glance at the moon, and the stars surrounding it.

The moonlight shone down on him in a warm embrace. As did the stars.

The stars seemed to form a halo around Scott's head.

Scott curled up and allowed his eyes to droop shut.

Gaia's curse, as all the other curses placed upon him, would never leave him.

[wellthebardsdead]

Clockwork heart pt29

Part 28 here

———

*several weeks later*

Kaidan: *riding his horse at the head of the group* I can’t. Focking believe we went through all that trouble, tracked through a fungal pod infested swamp, killed a den of vampires and crawled through a fucking barrow just to find out the horn is gone and the wanker that took it reset all the traps!!!

Nerevar: whoever they are. They’ll have a lot to answer for.

Voryn: I just can’t believe how Wyrms hair responded to the humidity in the swamp.

Wyrm: *sitting in taliesins lap looking exhausted, dejected and frustrated after going through all of that and narrowly surviving just to find out he’s been screwed over yet again* I looked like a cotton ball…

Taliesin: *leans down kissing his cheek* yes but a very cute cotton ball. *gently holds his hands with the reigns* don’t be upset darling. I’ll make sure whoever this person is regrets messing with us.

Inigo: and then we can head up the mountain so you may learn more of your destiny! *pulls up his horse beside Kaidans and slides off as the rest of the group follows after them*

Wyrm: I guess… *waits for Taliesin to get down before letting the high elf pick him up*

Taliesin: *helps him down giving him a soft kiss on the lips as he does so making the dunmer smile as if magic* There’s my happy little silk moth~

Wyrm: *pouts cutely trying to hide his grin and blushing face* I-I’m not happy I’m brooding!

Taliesin: *gasps!* you’re putting me out of a job! No I already have to compete with Kaidan I won’t stand to be out-brooded!

Wyrm: *tries to hold his pout but cracks and starts giggling* Tali!

Nerevar: *chuckles helping voryn from his horse* he’s right little Pearl don’t put him out of a job~

Voryn: *smiles beneath his helm and gently squeezes nerevars shoulders as he sets foot on the ground* …

Nerevar: … *nods and looks at Kaidan & inigo* We go in first, scope it out, this could very well be a trap.

Kaidan: aye. This whole situation feels uncomfortable. Taliesin-

Taliesin: I’ll guard Wyrm.

Voryn: me too. We’ll follow you in. *glances past them and up to the door spotting a nord man in dark armour eyeing him and Wyrm up from afar* …Taliesin. Have your blade ready…

Mr wrench: *suddenly pops up from Wyrms bag, red eye locking onto the stranger*

*a few minutes later*

Wyrm: *quietly steps into the inn, holding onto Taliesins arm with one hand, and gripping Voryns armour with his mechanical one, not at all feeling at ease with how tense his companions have all become* wh-who? Has the note?

Taliesin: I do dear. *pulls it out from his pocket and hands it to him*

Wyrm: *takes it and opens it up* Attic room, but?… *looks up* the inn doesn’t have an attic room?…

Taliesin: most likely a code. Keep your eyes peeled for anyone listening in.

Wyrm: *looks at the note and sheepishly walks up to the counter spotting the inn keeper he’d met not long after finding taliesin* um? I’d like to rent the attic room please?

Delphine: *looks down at him, eyes wide and expression visibly baffled at the small dunmer before her, as if trying to comprehend not just what he said but the fact it was him who said it* No-

Wyrm: I-what?

Delphine: I just- *coughs* I mean. we don’t have an attic room. You can have that room over there on the left.

Wyrm: *blinks looking at it before nodding and walking to it, pausing to look around and see only his companions all nervously glancing in his direction… The only exception being nerevar, whose eyes seem firmly locked onto Delphine* …

Taliesin: *suddenly walks to him and gently takes him by the waist* this our room?… *glances over his shoulder before ushering him in and closing the door* deep breathes. Deep breathes now. *sets him on the bed and kneels down taking his hands in his* Wyrm, look at me darling…

Wyrm: *finally realised he’s not breathing, suddenly takes in a deep long gasp of air before squeezing Taliesins hands as he holds in tears* I can’t do this I’m scared what if it’s a trap what if it’s the order? Or the tribunal cult? Or vivec- what if-

Taliesin: then I will protect you. Just as I promised. Deep breathes now, you’ve made it this far. It’ll be alright.

Wyrm: *takes in another deep, shaking breath before nodding* okay- I-I can. I can do thi- *jumps as the door opens and Taliesin suddenly shoots up drawing his dagger, pointing it right at, Delphine* you?!

Taliesin: YOU!

Delphine: Werent expecting me? Believe me. You weren’t the one I was expecting either. *suddenly reaches into her bag and pulls out the horn of Jurgen Windcaller* I take it this is what you’ve come here for? *tosses it to them*

Taliesin: *catches it and hands it to wyrm* and just Who, were you expecting?

Delphine: The Short high elf with dark hair I saw in Kynesgrove I saw absorb the soul of the dragon. Or his golden armoured companion, or that tall swordsman with them out there not. You.

Taliesin: short high- Voryn? *pauses recalling how voryn stood in front of Wyrm and him trying to ‘protect’ them from the dragons soul before he understood what it was* Voryns not the dragonborn Wyrm is.

Delphine: wyrm. Your name. Is Wyrm?

Wyrm: with a Y… like the dragon.

Delphine: … *sighs* just follow me, we have a lot to talk about. *opens the door and freezes seeing nerevar standing there, arms crossed, and eyes locked onto hers as the rest of the group flank him* Yes. We. Do.

*that evening*

Wyrm: *unpacking his bag and pulling out his night clothes to prepare for a well deserved hot bath* nerevar really doesn’t like Delphine.

Voryn: *unbraiding Wyrms hair for him* and neither do I. Neht had every right to lose his temper on her. She puts the blades to shame.

Wyrm: he was so angry, I-I don’t think I’ve ever heard him yell like that.

Voryn: She put you in harms way deliberately little scrib. *turns him to face him and gently places his hands to his cheeks* All because of her paranoia and sense of self importance. With the level of danger surrounding you she’s the last thing we need to deal with right now.

Wyrm: I… is nerevar mad at me?… a-are mad at me?… maybe this Esbern can help us I just…

Voryn: I- no, oh Wyrm… *sits on the bed and pulls him into a hug* we’re not mad. Not at you, never at you. *gently strokes his hair back from his forehead* it’s just her we’re mad at… if you think they can be of help to us then we’ll help you too… but if we think she’s being unreasonable and pushing you around… please, listen to us.

Wyrm: *nods and nuzzles into the hug, the stress of the last few weeks finally melting away as he does so* I will, I promise I will, Ata Ryn. (Father/Voryn).

Voryn: *third eye popping open in surprise at the fatherly title, but more so that Wyrm would go so far as to respect him in dunmeris* oh Wyrm… Hla Aka… (little dragon) *smiles and gently pulls away, stroking his face and hair* what am I going to do with you?

Wyrm: *smiles opening his mouth with no doubt a witty or cheeky response, only to be silenced by a yawn creeping up from deep within his tired, travel worn bones*

Voryn: *chuckles* go wash up, I’ll join you in there shortly, I think neht is already in there.

Wyrm: *nods and rubs his eye before picking up his night clothes* yes sir. *pauses only for a moment to pick his hair up and toss it over his shoulder before shuffling out to the bathhouse to see it all but empty minus himself, completely oblivious to the man following in after him, and watching him undress from behind* gods, *pulls off his armour setting it down before struggling to unbuckle his arm to remove it* damn it-

???: hey there cutie, let me give you a hand.

Wyrm: *blinks and shifts to turn around only to be yanked back by the straps securing his arm to his body* I- n-no thank you I- *audibly whimpers as he’s pulled back against the strangers body and trapped by his arms as they shift around his front, seemingly feeling for the buckles as they grope uncomfortably at his chest*

???: huh, you haven’t got much going on up here have you? Though dark elves never do I guess. At least the rest of you is nice to look at. *finally gets the buckles loose and immediately staggers back as Wyrm suddenly dips beneath his arms and escapes his grasp*

Wyrm: *grabbing his fake arm and spinning around to finally see his assailants face. Only to find the strange man from the front of the inn earlier that day* th-thank you for helping me b-but o-only my boyfriend can talk about my body like that.

???: boyfriend? Pffft, you mean that overgrown twink in a dress? Yeah, what a cute pair you make. A cross dressing high elf and a tomboy dunmer girl. *steps closer making Wyrm back up into the water slightly. The only thing covering the little elf being his underwear* You do know this is the men’s bathhouse right? *grabs Wyrm by his face pulling him back in* names Bishop, by the way. What’s yours princess?

Wyrm: *bewildered beyond words. Realising this idiot must think he’s just a girl with an unusually deep voice* g-girl? I’m a man- I-

Bishop: sure you ar-ARGHHHHH!!! *lets Wyrm go and immediately reaches up to his neck as a the belt for a scabbard is wrapped around it, yanking him back away from the small elf and landing him flat on his back in time for a netch leather boot to kick him in the head, repeatedly* what th-

Nerevar: *kicks him again before grabbing him by his hair as the nord attempts to get up and run away* GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY SON!!!

Bishop: *trying to swing at him, claw his hand off his head, anything to try and get free but to no avail* I THOUGHT THE LITTLE FREAK WAS A GIRL DAMN IT!!! *reaches into his belt pulling out a knife, plunging it forward towards the hortators unarmored chest*

“FUS!”

Bishop: what th- *turns his head to see wyrm facing him, right as nerevar suddenly lets him go and leaps back out of the way*

“RO DAH!!!!”

*a few hours later*

Wyrm: *now dressed in his night clothes, arm resting on the bedside table, and sitting on his bed as Taliesin braids his hair back so it won’t tangle in his sleep* … Do I look like a girl?

Taliesin: hm? What? No darling.

Wyrm: he called me a freak…

Taliesin: … *leans down kissing his cheek* and he assaulted you. His words are worthless, why bother sparing them another thought? *turns his head to face him* you’re perfect as you are. *leans in to kiss his lips*

Wyrm: like sotha sil made me…

Taliesin: … *pulls back a little* …what’s going on, darling?… *shifts back and crosses his legs offering his lap as a place to sit as he opens his arms* what’s going on in that pretty head of yours?…

Wyrm: … *sniffles and chokes out a soft, sad little cry as he crawls into the high elfs lap and rests his head against his chest* why’d he make me this way? I thought I was small because I was underfed as a child, because I got sick from the cold, but he made me this way! Why did he?… why did he make me-… *looks at the table to see his automated arm laying limp and lifeless without his command but still glowing with the aetherium shard* …broken?…

*meanwhile outside the village*

Kaidan: Come on neht let me kill him!! You got to beat him up!

Inigo: Let me gouge out his eyes!!! I want to cut out his tongue!

Nerevar: I’m his father. And I’m the one whose going to-

Bishop: *laying prone on the ground, beaten to an inch of his life* pl-pleas- I’m- im- *goes silent seeing the head of a gigantic hammer swinging down right for his face* sor-

Voryn: *smashes his skull in with his hammer in one swing* Enough bickering! All of you back to the inn now!!! *points back to the village radiating the energy of an overly tired mother*

Neht, Kai & Inigo: *all immediately turn and walk to the village deciding it best not to question voryn any further… none of them having any clue of what his third eye sees lurking in the darkness beyond the trees… the group of masked figures following their trail*

Mr wrench: *suddenly pops out of voryns bag and scuttles over bishop* … *picks up his bow and scuttles away thinking he’s dead*

[azurillturtle]

the convocation (a kinder fate)

was organizing notes on the Convocation for Euny's time (to come), figured I'd clean up and post some old notes on identities and relationships while I was at it. to be updated last panda tier and with akf spoilers when I reach the relevant points.

The Convocation of Fourteen (during a kinder fate)

Loghrif: Specialist in terrestrial life and animal husbandry. She/her. Gaia.

See Eden raids for appearance and personality.

Snappish, arrogant, and a bit temperamental.

Views Azem with exasperation; doesn’t know why Mitron likes them so much.

“Stop bringing me paissa, Azem.”

Mitron: Specialist in aquatic life. He/him. Artemis.

See Eden raids for appearance and personality.

Disgustingly in love with Loghrif. It’s kind of cute when they’re not being obnoxious about it. Kind of awkward when it comes to expressing his feelings.

Actually gets along decently with Azem. They amuse him. They have an ongoing game where he describes a fish and they try to find it and bring it back for him.

Emet-Selch: Keeper of the Underworld. He/him. Hades.

White hair, gold eyes.

Tsundere.

Soooo tsundere.

Exasperated by Azem’s antics, but actually really respects them and their view of the world. Never ceases to be awed by the miracles they can pull off.

Covers for them a lot too whoops sorry Hades

Rolls eyes at Hythlodaeus, but Hythlodaeus understands him better than anyone and tends to nudge him into doing things he’d like but wouldn’t otherwise undertake himself.

Pashtarot: Preserver of discipline and order. He/him.

Blond hair, blue eyes.

Azem refers to him as an old man. One of the more senior members of the Convocation. Very serious and dedicated to his job. Dislikes Azem’s flightiness and informality.

Despite this, he’s one of the ones more likely to agree with Azem’s views when the topic isn’t Azem’s wrongdoings again. He respects Azem for their kindness and love for the people, just not always the way they express it.

Has a fairly young daughter (Eunomia, 8ish in human terms as of the stories post-messenger), the apple of his eye. Much to his dismay, she adores Azem. Azem brings her gifts sometimes. They’re not the best role model, but, well, Azem isn’t a bad person.

Fandaniel: Pursuer of extant phenomena.

Early series: name unknown. Was confirmed he/him in Elpis. Hermes’s mentor, a specialist on avian concepts.

[STATIC NOISES] [REDACTED]

Altima: Advocate of the arts. She/her.

Emet-Selch has considered turning her into things.

Finds her annoying? Possibly? We all have That One Coworker.

Halmarut: Specialist in fungal and plant life. They/them.

Weird.

The Weirdest of the Convocation, according to Azem.

(Emet-Selch may say Azem is weirder, but yeah, everyone’s in agreement that they’re pretty weird.)

No one has ever seen their face. No one has ever seen them outside of the Capitol. They are A Mystery.

Has shown up with mushrooms growing from their robes before. Has also acted like they don’t see them.

May or may not be a sentient mushroom. Theory proposed by Azem, supported by Mitron, denied by Emet-Selch (who actually thinks it’s kind of funny).

Loghrif thinks they’re both being ridiculous… except one time she was working late at the Capitol and saw a mysterious cloaked figure moving in ways not entirely human. It was slightly terrifying and all she could think of was the stupid mushroom theory.

Has a small child (~5 years old), perfectly normal in body/soul/aetherial composition. Everyone acknowledges this. It has no bearing on the mushroom conspiracy theory.

Vaguely unpredictable; unpredictably vague.

Despite this, amazingly knowledgeable about their area of research. Probably got the job through merit and not, like, their ability to socialize in a coherent fashion with other people.

On occasion will burst into hour-long rambles about plants. The Convocation has learned to talk over the background noise.

Nabriales: Role in Convocation unknown. He/him.

Tends more toward a neutral party.

Quiet, doesn’t say much. Amused by Azem, though.

Possibly dry wit when he does speak?

Igeyorhm: Champion of enlightment and rhetoric. She/her.

Deudalaphon: Role in Convocation unknown. He/they?

Referred to as "he" when Emet-Selch briefly worked under him.

Since then…?

Emmerololth: Specialist in medicine and healing. They/them.

Silver hair(?), liquid mercury eyes. if you've never seen liquid mercury, they have that sort of viscosity and shadow to their color.

Absolutely, 100% done with Azem’s antics.

Will tie you to a bed and leave you there so they can get some uninterrupted sleep, thanks.

Extremely sarcastic when they think you’re wasting their time, which is most of the time.

Tends more toward a neutral party in the Convocation and is respected for it. There’s no telling which way their vote will go.

Despite that, Azem will often beg for their help. Less loss of life means they have to put in less work, right?

Knows Azem better than most in the Convocation, due to how often they end up visiting Emmerololth. Treats them with some exasperation; really doesn’t like their recklessness.

Nonetheless, they always accede to Azem’s requests. A lot of Emmerololth’s research is distributed during their travels.

Lahabrea: Speaker of the Convocation and specialist in creation magicks. He/him. Hephaistos.

Gray hair, red eyes. (that is supposed to be gray, right?)

Does not get along with Azem; way too serious and uptight and devoted to his duty. Wrapped up in himself and his creations.

Has a son, apparently. Had a wife, apparently. Also has a vampire dude who wants to get in his robes.

(“Someone wanted to sleep with Lahabrea?! …There’s still someone who wants to sleep with Lahabrea?! There really is no accounting for taste.”)

Elidibus: Emissary of the Convocation of Fourteen. He/him. Themis.

Early series: preceded by a woman who did not know how to handle Hythlodaeus. Took his Seat......... sometime pre-heavens and the earth man idk

Silver hair, blue eyes.

Lore pending conclusion of Panda raids.

Assuming no bad end (hahahahaha), is probably not-dating Erichthonios. They’re very awkward about it (but what do you expect after you’ve seen a man maskless and robeless and chained up—)

Azem thinks it’s hilarious. On occasion will bring the chains up in conversation to watch Elidibus get flustered.

(Altima: Leave the children be, Azem. Azem: But they’re so bad at this— Nabriales: And who, pray tell, wasted one hundred years before entering a relationship with Emet-Selch? Emet-Selch: [indignant spluttering])

Probably 18ish. Looks up to the rest of the Convocation, Azem especially.

Azem: the Traveler. He/she/they. ???

:)

Azem’s name is unknown. Azem’s name will probably remain forever unknown. They do not see fit to tell me.

Details of physical appearance vary. Their height, a bit taller than Hythlodaeus, usually remains constant. Their voice is usually recognizable. You might still not recognize them without soulsight unless you know them well.

Skips half the regular Convocation meetings, either because they’re not in the city, because they’re ditching again, or because they’re not in the city as an excuse to ditch again.

Mankind’s first agent of chaos and his final hope.

[darktripz]

HIDEOUS GOMPHIDIUS - Keepers of the Fungal Order

[hearthedungeons]

Hideous Gomphidious - Keepers of the Fungal Order

Mushrooms have been a source of curiosity for Dungeon Synth artists for some years. Naturally, the sound is often lo-fi, often noisy, like Hch'xhsh and Giftsvamp, with some hints of a mysticism or magic in the composition. Hideous Gomphidious has, with this release, really upped the game on the menacing potential of the inspiration, delivering with this album an atmosphere that makes my teeth clench and my vision grow cloudy.

Take the swirling imagery of "A Destroying Angel's Horrid Curse", which begins with the slow massing of a bass-heavy drone, and hints of a decaying melody start to emerge at about the halfway point, before the whole track fades away, the swirling become more wild, more unhinged. There's a spontaneity here that makes this experience, which seems to describe slowly dying after consuming a poisonous mushroom, impossible to turn away from - minimal, but evolving. One of the biggest strengths of this album is the sound design, with synths that slowly oscillate, wavering in pitch possibly through means of delay. It gives the impression that you're looking at a melting landscape, unsure of every step - and this impression is solidified by the surrealist cover artwork. The sound world this artist creates is bleak, but it is hard to turn this album off once it gets its hooks in.

Those listeners looking for a pure DS experience may find themselves a little restless here - while there are plenty of melodies, they take their time to emerge - like in the aforementioned "Destroying Angel" or the lengthy "Mycelial Emanations", both of which don't see melodies emerging until nearly two thirds of the way through. But tracks like "Loamlurkers" and "Realm of the Sporelord", in contrast, place the melodic elements front and center, with distinct chord progressions and counter melodies built around the central themes - still entering patiently, but providing a nice contrast to the more ambient or drone-heavy tracks.

And when noisier elements enter in the album's final segment, first appearing halfway through the dire "Ergot's Ritual", and recurring through the final two tracks, it feels like a natural escalation of the album's initial promises. The final three tracks in particular feel like atmospheric or symphonic black metal without blastbeats at times - but still manages to remain distinctly DS, even as the aggression builds. My only complaint is the heavy percussion on the final track, which, only slightly, pulls me away from delicate balance of soothing menace this album sustains throughout. But overall the album is well balanced, full of rich imagery and a well-crafted ; it's one of those life changing bad trips that teaches you while it forces you to confront the depths of your psyche.

[todaysbug]

August 3rd, 2022

Gate-Keeper Ant (Colobopsis leonardi)

C. leonardi is a species of gate-keeper ant found throughout southeast Asia. This tree-dwelling ant species forms large colonies in tree canopies, building vast networks of aerial trails. These ants are foragers which eat just about anything, bringing prey back to the colony as food reserves.

The most notable feature of this species is their explosive defense mechanism—literally. Also known as exploding ants, when the minor workers feel threatened, they will flex their gasters, the final segment of their body. In doing so, the gaster ruptures, releasing a toxic chemical which the ant then attempts to smear on its aggressor.

The gate-keeper ant is the most notable host of the fungal parasite Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, more commonly known as the zombie-ant fungus. When the aerial trails become too difficult to cross, the ants will occasionally descend to the forest floor in order to travel to another tree canopy. This brief journey on the forest floor leaves an ant wide open to zombie-ant fungus spores, which attach themselves to the ant's exoskeleton. Using both mechanical pressure and enzymes, the spore breaches the ant and secretes an array of metabolites which take over the ant's central nervous system, forcing the ant into convulsions in order to knock it out of the tree canopy. The ant is then made to attach itself to a leaf stem with abnormal force, producing a lock-jaw effect, and killing the ant in the process. At the end of its life cycle, the fungus produces a reproductive structure from the protonoma of the ant, which will sporulate and repeat the cycle.

[dungeonsynthguide]

Hideous Gomphidius Keepers of the Fungal Order (2021) Ambient dungeon synth

[albumarchives]

Hideous Gomphidius | Keepers of the Fungal Order (2021)

[song-of-the-rune]

Pasting some quest text here for future reference.

Emet-Selch: The Convocation of Fourteen is a governing body that determines myriad policies. Our goal is to ensure that all is right in creation, that our star may know a brighter future.

Emet-Selch: As the name suggests, the council is comprised of fourteen offices, each of which is held by an individual chosen for their surpassing abilities.

Emet-Selch: Depending on the office, one is required to either be an authority in a certain field, or possess skills that would facilitate the performance of their stipulated duties.

Emet-Selch: The former category includes Mitron, specialist in aquatic life; Loghrif, specialist in terrestrial life and husbandry...

Emet-Selch: Halmarut, specialist in fungal and plant life; Emmerololth, specialist in medicine and healing...

Emet-Selch: And Lahabrea, specialist in creation magicks, who has brought forth phantom beings of the highest complexity.

Emet-Selch: As for the latter category, there is Altima, advocate of the arts; Igeyorhm, champion of enlightenment and rhetoric; Pashtarot, preserver of discipline and order...

Emet-Selch: Emet-Selch, keeper of the aetherial realm─or “Underworld” in the vernacular; Fandaniel, pursuer of extant phenomena...

Emet-Selch: And Azem, traveler of the world and counselor to the people.

Emet-Selch: ...What? Should I be revealing such details to you? Don't be silly. Even children know this much, and you would do well to remember it all.

[punkrockgenasiashton]

Critical Role Campaign 1 Ep1-27 Recap

So, a friend of mine recently got into Critical Role and after talking to her about the absolute dumpster fire that is Orion Acaba she found herself unable/uncomfortable watching/listening to episodes with him in it and asked me what happened through the Underdark arc because I told her Orion aside I liked it a lot. So I started writing. And kept writing. And kept writing. And basically below the cut is a pretty in depth recap of everything that happens before Orion leaves the show for anyone who is curious/or have friends who you want to have a more complete Critical Role experience when getting them into Campaign 1

For easy future reference:

Vox Machina=VM=The Party

Vax= Half Elf Rogue

Vex= Half Elf Ranger

Percy= Human Gunslinger

Grog= Goliath Barbarian

Scanlan= Gnome Bard

Keyleth= Half Elf Druid

Pike= Gnome Cleric

Tiberius= Dragonborn Sorcerer There might be some color/opinions, but here we go:

Okay, so. The adventures of Vox Machina as we know them start in the city of Kraghammer, a city of dwarves in the northwest area of the country of Taldorie beneath the Cliffkeep Mountains. Kraghammer is a pretty reclusive city, wary of non-dwarves, who are disallowed from entering the city except for official business with the Greyspine Quarry, one of the most prolific mines in Exandria (the world), so as they arrive Vox Machina stick out like sore thumbs. Their mission is to find Lady Kima of Vord, a well known paladin and close friend of Allura Visoren, an  arcanist the party is close to. Kima had gone missing in the Greyspine Mine beneath Kraghammer. After some investigations, the party learned that a whole mess of 'stitch monsters' have been attacking the mines from deeper beneath, and after killing one (a Naga with 2 extra Naga heads stapled on that Scanlan blows up with cock lightening) with the owner of the Greyspine Mines watching  they were granted access to investigate the mines and beneath proper.

The party then stumbles through and finds a small goblin camp/city that had been razed and they find goblins that have had their brains sucked out through a round hole in their head. They then meet my personal favorite NPC maybe ever, Clarota, a feral illithid who had been cut off from his hive because of his ability to use magic (huge taboo in Mindflayer society, apparently). They agree to help Clarota and Clarota agrees to help them to defeat the bbeg who has taken up residence in Clarota's city (Yog Voriel), an entity named K'Varn.

The party then go through a Duargar (Dark Dwarf) War Camp where Vax one shots an illithid using a combination of expert sneaking and goblin shit and they interrogate a duargar general. The  General tells them Kima is being held in the City of Emberhold, the duargar stronghold deeper within the Underdark. At the center of the city is Fortress Emberhold, defended by a magma drip that pours magma over the top of it in such a way that the only way in is through the front door or a secret exit on the left side of the fortress. VM finds a way to open said secret exit, and find Kima being tortured in the dungeons. Kima is grateful for the rescue but is immediately wary that they're working with an Illithid. The party then debates whether they should trust the lawful good paladin and best friend of their ally or the chaotic evil feral illithid, but eventually talk Kima into just letting Clarota hang around until they deal with K’varn.

The party then decide to take out the nobles of Emberhold because it’s become clear that the Illithid and Duargar (who historically hate each other) are working together under this K’Varn and anyone who works with them is a threat. During the battle they kill the Durgar King but the Queen charms Grog and escapes, blowing the ceiling, attempting to burn VM alive in magma. The party just escape, Vax losing most of his foot to the lava.

Keyleth and Kima have a very serious argument about whether it’s the party’s place at all to be involved down here. Keyleth pointing out that A. they’ve murdered a lot of potentially mind controlled people and lost Grog in their attempts to rescue Kima and B. before they’d entered the underdark they’d never heard of K’Varn so who are they to be inserting themselves in the conflict? Kima arguing that K’Varn has a power that will allow them to take the surface over and it’s their responsibility to stop them and take that power away from an obviously evil creature. The party eventually agrees with Kima’s argument that even if it wasn’t their place before it is their responsibility to stop K’Varn.

The party track down the Durgar queen, regain Grog, and while Vex is interrogating the queen the queen’s mind is taken over by K’Varn who taunts the party, inviting them to the temple he has taken residence in,  before killing her. The party then moves further into the underdark, through a sea of bone that tries to eat anyone who touches it, where they do battle with another stitch monster, this time an impossibly fast elf with tentacles for arms and legs. They then finally reach the Illithid city of Yog Voriel, an ancient ruin they’d taken over within a fungal forest surrounded by a giant lake. Investigating the lake the party finds a shipwreck Percy and Tiberius repair and go sailing around the island looking for a potential back entrance to K’Varn’s temple. They find some caves, investigate, get chased by a cloaker (giant bat) on the water.

They decide to take a rest on the shores to the north of Yog Voriel where Keyleth decides to attempt to scry on K’Varn, to find out where in the tempe they are and to finally find out what they are. The scrying reveals that K’Varn is a beholder with a strange horn attached to their head. After some discussion it’s worked out that the horn is one of two “Horns of Orcus” Orcus, an evil god of undeath, his horns make the holder/wearer a somewhat avatar of Orcus himself, crazy but also incredibly strong with necrotic power.

The following morning the party sail to the island Yog Voriel is on and find a formorian (an evil giant) and mind control him. Then, after a lot of planning, and a lot of bullshit by Tiberius because Orion metagamed a ton (the party in character had never heard of a beholder but Tiberius openly refused to set foot in the temple because Orion knows that Beholders lairs are dangerous as fuck), the party decides to drop the mind controlled giant from the top of the cavern through the glass ceiling of the temple, destroying a device that kept the Illithid under K’Varn’s power by trapping the Illithid hive’s Elder Brain.

Fight ensues, Tiberius true to his word doesn’t enter the temple and doesn’t help with the fight at all, Vex gets the final kill on Living K’Varn. During the fight K’Varn used a petrify ray to turn Kima into stone.Then, using the Horn, K’Varn rises as a zombie beholder. Tiberius gets the final kill on Zombie K’Varn. Claorota double crosses the party, and the Illithid attack Vox Machina as they escape using a teleportation circle that takes them back to their home city of Emon.

VM returns to Emon late at night and decides to go on a bar crawl with their stone Kima. (It should be noted here, in case you’re concerned, over the past couple days, using some really high rolls and homebrewing, Pike has been slowly healing/regrowing Vax’s foot and finally finishes doing it after about 5 days in game when they get back to Emon). After some debating the party decides while it’s not necessarily prudent, it’s necessary to inform the rest of the council of Emon as well as Emperor Uriel Taldorei himself about the Horn of Orcus they plucked from the dead K’Varn. After that discussion they unstone Kima.

Before the meeting starts Emperor Uriel asks a messanger to make sure a Lord and Lady Briarwood are made to know about something trivial. The mention of the Briarwoods sends Percy into what looks like a silent panic attack that everyone else misses.  During the meeting, it’s decided that the Horn is unsafe in Emon and Emon is unsafe as long as it’s there and that it should be brought across the sea to the West to the city of Vasselheim. Vasselheim is basically the Vatican, Mecca, Jerusalem, and Mahabodhi all rolled into one. It is the high religious city of every major good and lawful god in the civilized world, and there, the Horn would be locked away under the eye of the Platinum Sanctuary, the largest and oldest temple to Bahamut in the world and kept safe by Highbearer Vord (Kima’s...master? The head of her order of Paladin). Following the meeting Percy asks the Emperor about his correspondence with Lord and Lady Briarwood, Percy explaining that the Briarwoods are old friends of his family and asks to be kept updated on the Emperor’s correspondence with them, and that if they’re in the city to please let him know. As Vox Machina are members of the council, this is totally acceptable to the Emperor

Before the trip, during a few days of downtime, Vax goes on a date with the party’s favorite shop keeper, Shaun Gilmore. This isn’t really important but you should know the name Gilmore because he’s an essential NPC who crops up a lot, and Vax’s relationship with him becomes important later, so it should be known that they have a quasi-dating relationship. (It should also be noted that they’re not really dating and there’s a whole lot of subtext and lowkey stuff that points to the idea that Vax is also interested in Keyleth)

On the way to Vasselheim on a skyship the party is harried by wyvern riding pirates. Keyelth turns a Wyvern into a Chicken using polymorph at 500 feet up, one of the best kills in the show imo. While in Vasselheim, following the sealing of the Horn, Grog has a fight in a fighting pit known as the Crucible, losing just barely to the standing champion, an half orc named Kern. Also while in Vasselhiem, because she’s played by Ashley Johnson and Ashley lives on the east coast most of the year, Pike is called to rebuild a temple to her god, Sarenrae and leaves the party. The city wall closest to them is then attacked by a hydra. Vox Machina goes, hunts down the hydra, and kills it. While fighting it another party comes and claims VM are “scags” taking their contracted kill.

Once the Hydra is dead it is discovered that within Vasselheim there is a hunters guild known as the Slayers Take and the hydra was a quarry of theirs and by killing it without a license VM had broken the laws of Vasselheim and they’re given the choice between either joining the guild and retroactively killing the hydra for the Take or face trial. They choose to join the Take. I highly recommend trudging through Orion during the Trials of the Take episodes because it’s basically a 4 parter where the party is split (so Orion’s only in 2!) and they have a couple of really good guests in. (Including Wil Wheaton, Will Friedel (Eric from Boy Meets World), and Felcia Day.) Following the trial they are introduced to the true leader of the Slayers Take by Huntmaster Vanessa Syndriol of the take (basically the second in command), a sphynx named Osisa. It’s also revealed that the Take is a  quasi-religious order dedicated to Ioun, the Goddess of Knowledge and Osisa watches the world through a type of Scrying Eye. 

After the Trial of the Take Mini Arc the party takes a trip to the village of Pyrah, a few days travel from Vasselheim and located in a semi-active volcano. To condense a lot of information into a very short bit: Keyleth is a member of a tribe known as “The Ashari,” The Ashari are broken into 4 clans (Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire) and spread throughout the world to defend parts of it where the elemental planes bleed over into the prime material, every generation a member of each clan goes on a pilgramage known as the Aramente to be tested by the other clans to become the headmaster of their clan. Keyleth is Air Ashari and is on her Aramente to become the leader of the Air Ashari because the last person to attempt it, Keyleth’s mother, had never returned, leaving her father as acting headmaster. Pyrah is home to the Fire Ashari, and the party accompanies Keyleth on her trial. They go to the Fire Elemental Plane where they evade an ancient red dragon (foreshadowing for much later, remember this dragon) that would have decimated the party, and then fight the headmaster of the Fire Ashari, Cerkonos, and 3 other fire ashari while the ashari and Cerkonos are beast shaped into fire elementals.

Following that Grog has a rematch with Kern, beats him, and the party returns to Emon where they are informed the Briarwoods will becoming to Emon for a feast with the Emperor and because of Percy’s request and the party’s standing as council members they are given an invite. Once the party returns to their own keep, known as Greyskull Keep, Percy reveals that the Briarwoods murdered his entire family and took over his ancestral home of Whitestone, and the reason he is Lord Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Kollowski De Rolo III is because he is the rightful Lord of Whitestone.

Again, even though Orion is in them I really recommend watching Episodes 24-26 because 24 and 25 are very plot important and 26 is just hysterical, skip episode 27 (Orion’s last episode and generally considered by many a very uncomfortable watch due to Orion making a very off color comment about Laura (Vex) giving him (Tiberius) a boner and Travis (Laura’s IRL husband) being livid about it) and then watch from episode 28 onward and you’re right near the start of what’s lauded as the best arc of the series.

[heroes-across-realms]

Emmaran Pantheons

This is a simple masterpost for myself to help structurilize the various races gods and ethos, along with various beings that can be considered god-like or suitable as warlock patrons. All gods are applicable with similar cleric domains, paladin oaths, and so on. Plenty can be argued with to work.

Endel / Iskartium Human

Sola, sun goddess and head of pantheon.

Lund, moon god and protector of humanity.

Textic, god of time and magic.

Naut, god of elements.

Kharn, god of war itself.

Morgana, goddess of death and passing.

Cernnona, goddess of nature and the hunt.

Athera, goddess of craft, strategy, and valor.

Khath, god of reckless slaughter.

Khaven, god of conquest and subjugation.

Creed, god of law and oaths.

Tryn, god of the seas and storms.

Tarren, god of merchants and commerce.

Cauldren, god of craft.

Secta, goddess of secrets and plots.

Dwarf and Gnome

Murinr, sleeping god of dwarven kind. Crafter of the dwarves.

Vidmar, god of runes, secrets, and magic.

Hergi, goddess of hearth, home, and revelry.

Broni, god of war and mountains.

Skari, goddess of the sky and air.

Groanr, god of the hunt and defender against orcs.

Braamir, god of rams and shepherds.

Fafniki, god of treachery, oathbreaking, avarice, and lies.

Helengi, goddess of death, owner of broken souls, the sick, and oathbreakers.

Elf and Halfling

Orberian, god of starlight and magic.

Eporriana, goddess of equestrianism, springs, fertility, marriage, and sunshine.

Lilith, goddess of darkness, lies, and spiders.

Catvs, god of the dark, ravens, and patron to male dark elves.

Cas'perian, god of winter and war.

Avtm'nos, god of fall and the harvest.

As'trelia, goddess of summer and love.

Tess'iana, goddess of spring and storm.

Cv'han, god of heroes and stories.

Baachadian, god of wilderness, revelry, wine, and passion.

Telmach, twin deities of death, passing, and memory.

Old Faith Humans / Half Elves

Stag, guardian of the forest.

Bear, guardian of home and family.

Storm Eagle, master of sky and trials. Patron god of Kayle.

Wolf, huntress of foes.

Owl, keeper of secrets.

Salmon, the traveler.

Spider, liar and deceiver.

Ram, mountain lord and sentinel.

Raven, observer of the world.

Goliath Titans

Goliath, unlike their dwarven and gnomish cousins, see the mountains themselves as gods. Each mountain range is a titan, a powerful one in fact.

Jor, the Dragonhorn

Vamar, the Shatterspines

Nir, the Dread Hills

Firg-Brah, the Jotunsteppes

Beastkin Gods

Beastkin gods are fae in nature, so they can work for evil aligned archfey pacts or fiends, as they’re borderline demonic.

God of Bones, god of death. Harpy patron.

God of Foul Winds, god of dark magic and decay. Lycanthrotrop and shaman patron.

God of Wrath, god of war and conquest. Minotaur patron.

God of Hunger, god of slaughter and starvation. Gnoll patron.

God of Blasphemy, converter god and the speaker of dark agendas. Patron to satyrs and centaurs.

Orc / Goblin / Ogre / etc.

Grimm, god of war and father of orckin.

Hassrath, goddess of magic, fertility, and home.

Torg, god of stonework and craft. Father of large orckin.

Jazmak, goddess of secrets, drink, and nature. Mother of goblins.

Hegarim, god of beasts and the hunt.

Jor'roq, god of metalworking, strategy, and war. Father of hobgoblins and bugbears.

Demons

The distinction between fiends doesn’t exist in Emmara. All demons choose to act as they see fit to serve their lord, some crave wanton slaughter, while others enjoy playing in the lives of mortals.

Wrought, lord of undeath, decay, and death. Desires a universe of the silent dead.

Ze’hak, the lord of serpents, bribery, pacts, cheats, and schemes. Demands the subjugation of all mortal races through his pacts. 

Borrengolop, creator of slimes, molds, fungal growth. Wishes for the entropy of all living things.

Gilenat and Kegalish, lord and lady of unending war and fury. Both seek the other’s destruction, and to the winner goes the spoils of the mortal realm.

Pariah, entity of the pure chaos and secrets of magic, along with paranoia. All magic flows through it, and while not outright malevolent, guards it’s knowledge viciously.

Neraphael, lady of pleasure, excess, desires, ambitions, and tragedy. The mortal realm is her stage, and she is it’s bard. Desires to see the mighty fall low, and the dastardly to rise.

Others

Below are things scholars can’t quite classify as gods or demons, but still hold immense power. Can serve as Great Old Ones or other eldritch beings.

Old Seamus of the Sea, fairytale figure who protects sailors and lost ships.

The Warden, patron of the city of Argos. Cult binds all races to it’s will.

Maven, Carethian goddess and patron protector. Demands tribute and veneration in exchange for boons of magic and power to her ‘chosen loves’.

Arcane, magic itself gives dragons and their creations power. Uniquely, only draconian beings seem to be able to forge this connection.

The Grand Order, Ardennen human ethos of chivalry, law, human dominance, and a greater good. Godless ideology. Individuals who prove themselves in one or more tenets of the Order can ascend to Sainthood, earning demigod-like powers and strength. 

[tser]

Bioactive Stuff No One Told You About

There are some things about bioactive enclosures that just aren’t talked about. Some things are seen as negatives and no one wants to say anything bad about bioactive, and others people just assume everyone knows. I get many of the same questions over and over again, so I’d like to put some less-discussed aspects of bioactive together in one post.

   1.) Let your enclosure “cycle” and plants grow in before adding your animal.

   When you first set up your enclosure, plant it, and add your clean up crew, you should seal it up (more or less depending on how humid the parameters will be), and let it grow in for at least a month before you add your animal.

For high humidity enclosures, you can cover any mesh or vents loosely with plastic wrap. Low humidity and arid enclosures should be left more open.

There are multiple reasons for this.

First, it allows the plants to establish, recover from any transplant stress, and grow roots. This means they will be far less likely to die from the first time they’re stomped by your pet. 

Second, it allows the clean up crew to establish a strong population, to be able to handle the waste output of your pet, and be less likely to be eaten to extinction.

Third, it allows micro CUC, other organisms of the decay cycle -- bacteria and fungus -- to establish, to break down the waste further, after your macro CUC have dealt with it.

Finally, it allows the environment to balance out, and go through its first mold bloom, so you are less likely to deal with it once your pet is in the enclosure. You’ll likely have some mold again after the pet moves in, but it will be less extreme.

There are times you will not be able to seal up the enclosure and wait for it to establish before your pet moves in. Although not ideal, it’s quite possible. You may lose more plants, and have more cleaning to do for the first few months.

   2.) You will probably need to remove most of your pet’s feces for a month or two after they move in.

  It may take time for the CUC and the other organisms in the substrate to populate enough to deal with your pet’s waste, depending on how deep your substrate is, substrate surface area, how many CUC bugs you started out with, and the size of your pet (and your pet’s waste). 

Keep an eye on poop. If you see it one day and it’s still there twenty four hours later, that means you need to be picking it out, and it’s too much for your CUC to deal with. Just picking it out with a tissue and tossing it is plenty; you don’t need to scoop out any substrate with it. Keep doing this until poo disappears within a day.

   3.) You will still have cleaning chores.

 Although people often switch to bioactive because it involves fewer substrate changes, there are still clean up chores to do. 

CUC will only be effective for waste on the substrate layer. 

Most will not climb, and even those that do (my orange Porcellio isopods think they’re semi-arboreal) will not do so in numbers significant enough to deal with poop and food smears on perches, hides, and enclosure walls. 

In addition, they will not eat urates. Urates break down quickly, but it is best to lightly mix them into the soil. In some cases, urates from certain species can burn your plants if they’re not broken up.

Cleaning and maintenance chores for bioactive enclosures can include lightly stirring urates into the substrate, washing poop and food off walls, perches, and decor, adding fresh biodegradable material like leaf litter, and watering, trimming, and other plant care. Sometimes CUC will need to be augmented or thinned, and in some cases fed or otherwise cared for.

   4.) Bacteria are everywhere.

   You will see people adamant about two schools of thought when it comes to bioactive:

People warning you to never, ever sterilize your leaf litter and substrate before using it, because that will defeat the purpose of bioactive.

or

People warning you to sterilize everything before it goes into your enclosure, because of the potential for parasites, disease and pests.

To be honest, neither is more correct than the other! And partly it depends on what species you’re keeping in your enclosure, and where you’re getting your materials.

The reasoning behind the first school of thought is that in order to be a healthy bioactive enclosure, the substrate needs a thriving population of bacteria and fungus. This is true. However, bacteria and fungal spores are everywhere in the environment. Even if you sterilize your substrate and your leaf litter, bacteria and fungus will colonize your substrate as waste is added.

This is the same concept behind fishless cycling. In fishless cycling, a tank is set up, and ammonia is added as a food source for bacteria. Bacteria from the environment will colonize the filter media. Although you can buy bacterial kick-starters to add to your tank, they aren’t necessary. Bacteria that break down animal waste are everywhere, and will “find” the tank.

In your bioactive enclosure, decaying organic material will provide a food source for microorganisms like fungus and bacteria. Even if you start out with soil you’ve baked, bacteria and fungus will colonize the soil. It may take longer to get started, which might mean a few weeks longer of removing feces by hand, but it will reliably happen, no problem.

Sterilizing your soil, leaf litter, and plants may be a good idea if your tank inhabitants are delicate and susceptible to environmental parasites and diseases, such as some amphibians. 

Keep in mind that even if you are boiling or baking your substrate, leaves, and other materials, there are some infectious organisms that are not destroyed by the heat, and it will not affect contaminants like pesticides and fungicides.

  5.) You will get mold.

  One of the things that tends to make keepers panic is when mold shows up in their bioactive enclosure, often in massive quantities. Mold is normal!

Fungus and mold are a natural and important part of the decay cycle, in nature, and in your enclosure. The macro clean up crew (isopods, springtails, insects, annelids) will break down feces, leftover food, and other waste, and bacteria and fungus in the substrate will break it down further.

When the enclosure is first set up, even without your pet, there will be an excess of decaying matter, along with fluctuations in humidity and other parameters, which will cause a mold bloom. Within a month, a properly set up bioactive enclosure will balance out, and there will be less visible mold.

This doesn’t mean there’s no fungus in your enclosure! Healthy bioactive substrate will be full of spores and fungal mycelium, thread-like vegetative structures of the fungus. The mycelium break down waste as part of the decay cycle, and also form a fascinating symbiosis with the plants in your enclosure, helping them to bring up nutrients through their roots.  

This is one reason that it is a bad idea to do heavy stirring in your substrate, as you will disturb and break up the mycelium. If you must do excavations, try to do only a small section of the enclosure at a time, then allow the mycelium to re-establish.

White mold will not harm your inhabitants. Other colors of mold happen as well, such as green and yellow. You may also have mushrooms pop up from time to time! While mycelium is the vegetative part of the fungus, mushrooms are the fleeting fruiting bodies. These are also natural and harmless (and beautiful), and may end up as a quick snack for your CUC.

The only time to worry is if you get black mold. Black mold spores can be dangerous for you and your pets to breathe. If you must clean up black mold, be sure to wear a properly rated particulate filter mask.

   6.) You will get detritivore gnats and detritivore mites.

  When we set up bioactive enclosures, we’re creating the perfect environment for countless animals. When we design the enclosures, we want them to be hospitable to our CUC, which eat decaying organic matter like feces and mold.

Isopods, springtails, and lesser mealworms are not the only detritivores interested in eating poo and fungus, though, and many other detritivores are ubiquitous in the environment and much more mobile than the CUC we choose for our enclosures. 

When our enclosure attract these less desirable “volunteer CUC” we call them pests.

I would warn anyone who is thinking about doing bioactive that if you can’t handle fungus gnats in your house, you really shouldn’t do bioactive.

Gnats and mites both tend to freak out new bioactive enclosure keepers. However, they’re just doing the same job as our assigned CUC, and we can’t blame them for finding our perfectly maintained environments ideal for their needs. 

The gnats most typically attracted to bioactive enclosures include fungus gnats and phorid flies. 

The fungus gnats are attracted to the fungus growing in the enclosure’s soil (a necessary part of the decay cycle, remember), while the phorid flies feed on dead insects and CUC. 

Fungus gnats are particularly annoying creatures, as they seem to enjoy flying into people’s noses. They also end up in a lot of mugs of tea.

The methods for eliminating fungus gnats from houseplants are not an option for bioactive enclosures. The things that would poison fungus gnats would also poison the CUC, drying the enclosure out entirely would kill the CUC and make the enclosure uninhabitable for your pet, and top dressings would be dangerous to the CUC and animal inhabitant. Besides that, because bioactive substrates are inherently perfect for them, the fungus gnats would just come back.

To keep fungus flies to a minimum, I suggest yellow sticky traps around the enclosures. Fungus flies are attracted to the color yellow. Make sure no pets -- including mammals, birds, or others -- have access to the traps! In bioactive enclosures for non-climbing insects, it may be useful to place these traps on the inside of the lid.  

Unlike fruit flies, apple cider vinegar traps are not particularly effective for fungus gnats.

Phorid flies are more likely to be cyclical, and more common in bioactive enclosures with larger insects. When a roach or large beetle dies, they will swoop in and start doing their work on the body. Phorid flies can be kept to a minimum by either having a robust clean up crew that takes care of insect bodies quickly (such as lesser mealworms in a bioactive roach colony), removing all dead insects promptly, or by setting a trap to remove the phorid flies when they show up.

Detritivore (or soil) mites can scare a new bioactive keeper because of their resemblance to parasitic mites which can infest our pet reptiles. However, detritivore mites are harmless to our pets, and eat decaying organic matter and fungus in our enclosures. Mites are everywhere, and occupy all sorts of positions in the ecosystem. Detritivore mites are inevitable in bioactive enclosures, but you may never see them! They are extremely small.

As a general rule, don’t worry about soil mites in your bioactive enclosures; you can’t eliminate them anyway. 

However, it’s a good idea to try to keep them out of CUC cultures. This is because in the worst case scenario mites can overwhelm springtail and isopod cultures, and may at least slow down their reproductive rate. To prevent mites in CUC cultures, placing the enclosures in trays of diatomaceous earth and keeping cultures separated are good husbandry practices.

I hope this helps anyone thinking of going bioactive, or new bioactive keepers. If anyone has anything to add to this, please do!

[northeastdungeonsiegetv]

Our third announced artist, Hideous Gomphidius, hails from Colorado and recently released its sophomore album "Keepers of the Fungal Order" in January. Thee Horrible Witchtroll sent their debut, "Spore Sorcery", through the mycelium in July of 2020. Utilizing many layers of synthesized drones and spare, ominous percussion, this release led the listener on a dark and damp journey that never strayed far from the forest floor. Hideous Gomphidious released "Keepers of the Fungal Order" in January, to guide the listener back to that hazy, psychedelic realm, where we are invited to explore caverns filled with mysterious, ephemeral emanations, and can only hope that we do not find ourselves at the mercy of the Sporelord. Bandcamp: https://hideousgomphidius.bandcamp.com/