#some info about ancient grump society and specifically their relationship with bugsnax

[tales-of-snaktooth]

Bugsnax in Ancient Stone Grumpus Society

In the early years of Tooth Island grumpus civilization, Bugsnax have always been a major part of their lives. They serve as their main source of food, their transformations can be used as tools and even fashion statements, forms of currencies (trading hard-to-get/rare/so-called "special" Snax for different goods and services is very common in Stone Grump society), and are generally just fascinating creatures to observe and learn about. While the overall view of Bugsnax varies from grumpus to grumpus, it’s very common for most to see them as higher beings deserving of praise and worship. Even though grumpuses had been living alongside the Snax for so long, there’s not much knowledge on what they actually are.

Grumpuses had survived on the islands centuries before the actual “beginning” of their civilizations. However, it's generally accepted that the first true inhabitants of the island were, in fact, the Bugsnax. No grumpus had traveled far enough to find any other Snak-inhabited lands, so it’s also assumed that Bugsnax and the Tooth Islands are inherently connected somehow. So that only encourages the grumpuses to respect the Bugsnax more.

A form of showing that respect is through the Bugsnak Ceremonies.

Ceremonies and Sacrifices

Once a month, it's a common practice for Stone Grumpus territories to hold day-long events celebrating life and Bugsnax. The communities of Falls Valley holding their ceremonies on Broken Tooth. The communities of The Coast may also choose to go to Broken Tooth, but there’s also an underground cavern (built by Broken Tooth grumpuses) near the area that also is used for ceremonies. In The Peak communities it’s celebrated in one of their large cave systems. And lastly, The Desert’s ceremonies are held in the Vast Desert, near the Grand Pyramid. Though there’s been a “pause” to The Desert’s ceremonies for several years for an unexplainable reason…

Events that take place within the ceremonies vary from territory to territory, but they must end in the sacrifice of a randomly chosen grumpus. The sacrifices serve as a “Thank you” to the Bugsnax for allowing these grumpus communities to survive and thrive off of them for so many years. It’s believed that once a grumpus has been sacrificed, their bodies will break apart into Bugsnax. Their minds, thoughts, beliefs, wisdom, all finding new life in Bugsnax. The body of that grumpus may be gone, but they’ll find new life in the Bugsnax. And if any of the Snax gets caught and eaten by another grumpus, then they’ll gain that previous knowledge, allowing that sacrificed grump to still live on.

At least, that’s how it’s described in ancient legends. It’s said to help make chosen grumpuses feel less nervous, because being sacrificed isn’t their end, but a way to give them new life.

If a grumpus has passed away and their body; either whole and parts of them, is still accessible, it’s recommended to wait until the next Bugsnak Ceremony and bring their body to be sacrificed to the Bugsnax. If a grump is feeling brave enough, they could go to the ceremony place themselves to sacrifice the body outside of ceremony time. The area is very dangerous for a solo grump; as it’s a common place where someone may go missing. It's recommended to bring a friend or one of their leader’s subordinates to accompany them, and also to go during the daylight, as most grumpuses are active at that time in case they’re in need of help.

Going missing

An unexplainable phenomenon that causes grumpuses to disappear. There’s no set conditions that’ll lead to the disappearance of a grumpus. Any grumpus of any status may seem fine one day, then gone the next.

In the earlier years of Stone Grumpus civilization, a grumpus who had gone missing was seen as a more urgent matter to look into. But there were no cases of a grumpus going missing ever being found. So in later years, it’s been accepted as an unpredictable, random, and tragic occurrence.

The best choice is to simply move on.