Monday, December 28, 2015

a WILDLAND

WILDLANDS are similar to CITIES FROM OUT OF SPACE (and out of time), in that they are in some pocket dimension or similar cosmic area. however, a WILDLAND is on the opposite side of the spectrum from a CITY FROM OUT OF SPACE, in that they are wilderness dimensions, rather than the developed principalities that can also be without the world. below is a WILDLAND that i based off of randomly generated results from the biome generator by +Dunkey Halton

PLANT LIFE
royal nettles are found in small patches of sharp blades and spiky spines. they are crimson and gold, and many have jewelry, incense, paper, etc. placed around them by the OCHRE ENGINE (see below). the ochre engine considers them the true ruler of the wildland, and reveres them with sacrifices and fancy things. none of the other creatures care about the royal nettles, beyond eating them or avoiding the spiky surfaces.
phase moss looks like normal moss. however, it is able to phase out of existence to avoid being eaten, destroyed, etc. there are many different subspecies and variants which have different triggers for their phasing, such as the moon moss (phases out of reality when moonlight touches it), tooth lichen (phases out of reality when bitten or chewed by anything (except the GHOST ELF and IMAGINARY SCARAB (see below)), etc.

HERBIVORES
ghost elves are small humanoid herbivores. they look like spectral androgynous children, but with eyes devoid of pupils and teeth made for the cutting and chewing of plant matter. they feed almost exclusively on the PHASE MOSS, but won't pass up an opportunity to damage a patch of the royal nettles which can, surprisingly, damage them. ghost elves are not true elves, but share many physical similarities with them. they are very mischievous, and love to trick the BLIND TROLLS and OCHRE ENGINE (see below)
prismatic turtles are huge reptiles with a giant hard shell. growing on this shell are the colorful rainbow crystals which give the turtles their name. these lumbering reptiles are immune to the stings of the royal nettles, due to the strong plates that cover their mouths and faces. the ochre engine hates every prismatic turtle to the core and tries to destroy as many as it can. the BLIND TROLLS have little difficulty killing prismatic turtles, as the light from the crystals does nothing to them, for they lack eyes.

CARNIVORES (and APEX PREDATOR)
thunder cobras are small serpents with blue and yellow scales that stand out against the drab orange dirt. their flesh and bite are electrified, which they use to hunt their prey foods of ghost elves and prismatic turtles. due to their electric flesh, they tend to not be eaten by anything, but some plucky blind trolls will attempt to swallow some of these serpents from time to time.
shield spiders are more defense-oriented arachnid predators. their hard exoskeleton makes them relatively immune to damage from all but GHOST ELVES. instead of having any sort of venom, they simply have sharpened and hard fangs which they use to stab and pierce their prey.
blind trolls are the apex predator of the wildland. they are lithe and strong, with pale wet skin coated with sparse hairs. they have gigantic tusks and bulging skin-covered eye sockets. They are weakened in sunlight, and so crowd under the boughs of trees. during the day it is not unusual to find huge cacophonies of blind trolls, all crowded under the same tree. however, during nighttime, the blind trolls are quick and strong, and if it weren't for their sweaty scent, they would be completely effective predators.

SCAVENGERS
imaginary scarabs were dreamt up by the ochre engine long ago. they look like scarab beetles that just feel slightly wrong, as they are truly on partly real. the imaginary scarabs come in a dazzling array of colors, and it is very common to see huge patches of phase moss or a huge animal corpse being chewed upon by innumerable rainbow-hued translucent beetles.
half-worms are big fat annelids that come in a handful of colors and shades. when two half-worms wish to mate, they fuse together into a full-worm, with one worm becoming the mouth end and the other becoming the anus end. the worms tunnel through the ground and (in some subspecies) crawl through ponds and lakes, searching for rotting matter to feed upon.

THE OCHRE ENGINE
the ochre engine is the self-appointed ruler of this wildland. it looks like a huge machine, complete with pipes and wires and orange exhaust which spews forth incessantly. the ochre engine is not a natural part of the ecology of the dimension, but it is integral to its existence. it is believed that the ochre engine created this wildland, mainly due to the orange tinge that everything (especially the soil) has. the ochre engine has many strange obsessions and thoughts, such as its hatred of prismatic turtles, its reverence of the royal nettles, and how it considers all blind trolls to be friendly.

LOCATIONS
the shipwreck forest is the only place in this biome which shows major signs of civilization. the high up boughs of the trees here, on the edge of the world, hold up many crashed ships and barges, and its darkened leafy area holds many ghost elves and violent blind trolls. there might be small villages in the decks of the ancient boats.
the dragon pond is electric. this relatively small lake is home to an aquatic subspecies of thunder cobra which makes the water dangerous to enter and drink from, unless you happen to be a prismatic turtle. if you are a prismatic turtle, then your thick mouthplates make the lightning water feel like only slight tingling on your beak. since half-worms cannot survive for long in the water, dead things simply float to the surface and dont decay due to the lack of scavengers and the electrification.
the widow's cove is the hilly hideaway of a large family of unusually intelligent shield spiders. the ochre engine finds them extremely annoying and aggravating.
the crawling plains comprise the majority of this wildland's flat land. it is mostly dirt with a sparse covering of light grass, and with the occasional tree or lake. crawling through these plains and hills are all sorts of the animals which comprise the ecosystem of this world. typically, the ochre engine can be found trundling through this grassland, experimenting and speaking with the animals and plants.

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