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--- lore:creatures:abysslings [2024/04/29 16:39] – [Biology & Behavior] quiddlesticks
+++ lore:creatures:abysslings [2025/03/24 21:07] (current) – [Culture & Interactions] quiddlesticks
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 When enough Bloom accumulates in an area, it can even begin to terraform it, making the place perfectly suitable as an abyssling nest. These locations are strikingly beautiful in an eerie way, and are referred to as bloomreefs. Bloom is said to taste wonderful, although those who eat it quickly cease to be what they were.
-==== Nethersea Terrors ====
+==== Terrors ====
-As the most diverse taxon of abyssling, Nethersea Terrors are little more than animals. During a Spread, they are the footsoldiers of the abysslings and form the bulk of the horde. They can vary in size, but are rarely bigger than a human.
+As the most diverse taxon of abyssling, Terrors are little more than animals. During a Spread, they are the footsoldiers of the abysslings and form the bulk of the horde. They can vary in size, but are rarely bigger than a human.
-=== Swarmer ===
+=== Swarmers ===
 The most common type of abyssling by far. These are cnidarian-like creatures, with heads which resemble delicate flowers and tentacled bodies like a cephalopod. In the center of their heads is a single eye, and their mouth is located in the center of their tentacles. They are effective swimmers, but can also slide along the land. Swarmers will die if they are out of the water for too long, but can crawl around for a few hours before drying out.
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 These resemble giant sea slugs, and trawl patches of Bloom cultivating and nourishing them. They are covered with a layer of mucus which is capable of defending against most physical attacks, as well as kickstarting assimilation if it enters a wound. Crawlers are large, slow, and generally docile. Some have compared them to livestock such as cows or horses.
-====
+=== Spawners ===
+These mostly sedentary creatures seem sometimes to be part of a bloomreef. Their only role in the colony is to eat and lay eggs, producing the next generation of abysslings. Abyssling eggs are squishy like a frog or fish's, though they are about the size of a baseball. Newly hatched abysslings are usually Swarmers, though they will quickly develop into a different form if circumstances call for it.
+==== Complex Forms ====
+These creatures are far more rare than the other forms, and bear some amount of intelligence. They think for the colony and make decisions, or carry out complex tasks that the Bloom and Terrors are simply incapable of doing.
+=== Soldiers ===
+The warrior caste of the abysslings. These used to resemble sharks or other sea predators, but have more recently taken shapes which resemble humanoids. They have limbs tipped with sharp bony protrusions, which they use as weapons to cut and saw. Some also have hard shells made of chitin and bone. A rare few even have the ability to spit projectiles.
+Strangely enough, chitinous soldiers rarely hunt; their role is limited to defending the colony, or attacking others during a Spread.
+=== Speakers ===
+The most intelligent group of abysslings. They have intellect comparable to a mortal's, and are the only ones capable of speech which is understandable by other races. Many Speakers are assimilated humanoids, and bear some lingering resemblance to their previous selves - though, of course, all identity is gone. However, their memories may remain.
+Sometimes, Speakers remain on land, keeping up appearances of their former selves to further a Spread and slowly manipulate their surroundings to be more habitable for their kin. Speakers used to be unheard of, but as the influence of the [[settings:jaern:factions#the_bathysmal_temple|Bathysmal Temple]] grows, more and more Speakers appear.
+==== Greater Forms ====
+This term is used to speak of abysslings which have "perfected" themselves, becoming incredibly large and complex. They usually do not have intelligence, being an elevated version of any of the other Forms, but are nevertheless extremely destructive.
+Myths tell of a strange, primordial "god" of the abysslings, called the Ocean Mother, which lies dormant somewhere in the deepest ocean trenches. Some say this entity is simultaneously a greater abyssling and an aspect of [[gods:neptune|Neptune]], though this belief is widely considered heretical against the Neptunian Church.
+===== Culture & Interactions =====
+Abysslings have no culture of their own. They do not make art, and do not understand concepts common to mortals such as morality, dishonesty, emotion, and hatred. Cultural aspects of life such as art, in fact, are so antithetical to abysslings that those attempting to fight assimilation will often hold on to art as an anchor to keep the assimilation from progressing.
+Onivero have long been an enemy of the abysslings, ever since a large-scale Spread began to occur in the early 1000s. This Spread was likely initiated by several underwater volcanic eruptions, and would have been catastrophic to land-dwelling civilization if not for the Onivero's role in fending it off and suppressing it before it could leave the ocean. Ever since, Onivero have told stories about the "sea-monsters", and developed techniques to counter their ever-adapting nature.
+Land-dwelling civilization only came in contact with the abysslings recently. They occasionally wash up on the beaches of [[settings:jaern:lojem|Lojem]] and [[settings:jaern:grp|the Great Rice Patty]]. Very rarely, a small group of living abysslings has made landfall around the Sunovarm.
+However, during these brief periods of contact, their nature of living under one mind was studied, and an esoteric cult formed which desired to bring all of humanity under Us - believing that the abyssling collective consciousness would lead to a utopian Jaern filled with understanding and peace. This cult calls itself [[settings:jaern:factions#the_bathysmal_temple|the Bathysmal Temple.]]
+The Bathysmal Temple is attempting to provoke Spreads and assimilate people, believing that force is necessary to bring land-dwelling civilization into the fold of Us. Ever since they formed and made contact, the abysslings have been becoming more and more aggressive, spreading out of the deep oceans, overrunning [[lore:races:lizards|Lizard]] cities in the shallows, and invading the coasts.