Heavy heads

"Say, them skalds use it to gain fame and knowledge, right? Why should we not try those and make our lives better?", Amadan snapped with more frustration than usually.
"Don't do anything stupid, lad", Umhál's voice felt soothing but patronizing.
"Ya do what yar told, I'm changin' my life for the better", he picked out a small bouqette and bit off a dozen caps at once. They felt heavy, though one would not tell it by their looks. "Deceivin', little..." he glimpsed Umhál's warping image before heavy eyelid doors shut his world into darkness.

— A story recovered by a Tamer of Æter

Summary

Heavy heads take their name from the caps, which tend to feel too heavy with respect to the thin stalk. Their primary use is being a connection agent, opening the entrance of mind into the Ætereal part of Ædeos. This makes them invaluable for skalds and in particular to the Tamers of Æter, who use them in diluted and processed form of skald's mead. Even minor doses expose one to the chaotic whirls and waves of Æter and depending on the ability to maintain focus and avoid panicking one's may either uncover new Ædean concepts or lose their mind. That link is as strong as the amount of essence in one's blood and wears off over time. Still, to more sensitive people even trace amounts are potentially harmful and could first disintegrate their mind and subsequently their physical form as well.

Description

Cap

Spiky and elongated, the size of a cherry at best. It takes on various tinges of brown with a tendency to remain a light top and a darker rim. During humid weather it is smooth and glistening, with a thin layer of slime, while mat when dry. Young fruiting bodies tend to be more barrel-shaped in the lower sections. This changes during maturing, when the rim starts to tuck outside.

Gills

Dark brown and mat, adnexed and very broad, almost reaching the bottom of the cap. Visible heavy with respect to the rest of the fruiting body, especially the cap. In younger specimens they do not leave brownish soot-like stains when touched, while in older ones they become brittle and easily stain skin with spores. In rare cases, at the end of the summer one may find fruiting bodies with lighter and flexible gills. These would be the heavy heads, which have lost most or all of the spores.

Stalk

Thin, pale and long with respect to the cap. It can reach up to a hand span and a half in optimum conditions, but usually will not exceed one hand span. Empty inside and flexible, but breaks easily when bended with support on either side or pinched.

Odour

The cap and the stalk remain odourless throughout the entire life cycle. The gills, however, give away a scent that seems unique for each person, ranging from heavy and reminiscent of fragrant smoke to head-lifting lightness of a good night's rest. All are independently accompanied by the feeling of mind haze with a dash of distraction and quite often with a train of thoughts shapeshifting in a dream-like state from one into another.

Taste

Bitter at first, turning to sweet and honey-like. Not easily distinguished from other senses after around 10-30 seconds, due to induced synaesthesia.

Habitat

Heavy heads prefer fertile soil, high grass and the vicinity of open space. Thus, they are most often found near the forest paths and roads, especially in elderwood groves and humid meadows. They start to appear in late spring and reach full maturity throughout the summer. When visiting an unknown place, a good rule of thumb is to look for places, near which the tree trunks, branches and bushes look a bit twisted and warped, more similar to a creeper weed.

Eldergrove by PxHere (edited by Angantyr)

Connection to Ædeos

Heavy heads are found to have a connection to the Æter unmatched in the Material Plane. That said, using them in pristine form can be very unpredictable and can plunge the user into an unfamiliar region, with no means of getting out of the Immaterial Plane. For this reason more often than not heavy heads are used in a form of a mead of wine infusion, the former being most popular among the Tamers of Æter. With a good deal of work, by adding emotional and conceptual anchors one can increase the probability of the mind entering the Æter in the vicinity of a well ordered part of Ædeos, to which the anchors would resonate. That said, it is all about increasing the probability and one should always be on guard with an open mind.

Heavy heads by Caleb Brown

Heavy heads — gills by Betty Green

The dark and wide gills are a trait typical of matured fruiting bodies of heavy heads, however most of the color comes from the spores. Very often one finds specimens still growing at the end of the summer but with gills pale instead of dark and brown. Chances are that these are still heavy heads — there are not many similar species — but their usefulness will be close to null.

Heavy heads in their habitat by dadanut

Heavy heads are typically found in tall grass and at times lonely fruiting bodies will be found on open spaces. In such cases the concentration of Ætereal agent will usually not be enough to twist the reality around them, but caution is still advised.

Heavy heads by Caleb Brown