Ice-caps

High on the upper ridges of the Etter Mountains, life is mostly relegated to the few strong and indomitable animals that feed off the abundant arcanium. Plants are scarce in such formiddable elevation; fungi even rarer. Ice-caps, however, thrive amongst the snow and ice, and though they are often buried by the heavy blanketing, an apt explorer or mountaineer will know where to dig for the crystalline mushrooms.

Anatomy

Ice-caps are blue-and-white agarics with a crystalline appearance and, somewhat, structure. Despite their look and feel, ice-caps are not crystals—though loose pieces of an ice-cap's pileus are often mistaken as such, and an expert's eye may be required to delineate between crystal and fungus.

While the cap itself is hard, the gills and stem are more pliable. The ice-caps' stems are typically white with tints of blue near the bottom (the blue tinting on both the caps and stems is due to arcanic reaction) and usually have a ribbed texture. Smaller crystal-shaped spores aggregate and spread around the base, and may be mistaken for snow in their natural habitat.

Unlike many other species of mushroom, the gills of ice-caps aren't used for spore dispersal but instead exude a whitish-arcanic latex inside the cap at certain intervals. This substance is not to be confused with the bluish-arcanic "ice honey" inside of the button on the top of the cap, which is the singular narcotic part of the fungus.

by midjourney

Ice Honey

Ice honey is the gooey substance underneath the ice-caps' buttons, which can be separated from the mushroom by simply breaking off the button with one's fingers. The honey can then be ingested, by itself or as a medicinal additive.

By itself, it produces a slight numbing effect on the tongue and a warmth in the throat and chest that is sometimes compared to the sensation of sipping a particularly strong spirit. The ice honey also induces an anti-anxiety and muscle-relaxant effect, which is not inherently harmful but may be dangerous when climbing a mountain.

Growth

Not much is known about the ice-caps' growth cycle, however it's thought that they can take anywhere from several days to weeks to develop fully fruiting bodies as well as begin to spread. They typically grow in cold environments and near a secure source of arcanium, severely limiting their options for viable habitats across the globe.

They've been seen to grow in heavy abundance across the upper ridges of Mount Lune, as well as on or near the peaks of several other nearby mountains within the Etter. A few bodies have been spotted in the Eastern Range as well, however they are significantly scarcer there—one theory is that moose in the surrounding areas have taken most of the ice-caps for themselves, either for food or recreational moose purposes.

Shivers

The outermost crystals on the caps will eventually begin to dry and crack, and the ice-caps will periodically "shiver" in order for these shards to fall off. In this way, the ice-cap is continuously growing and shedding its excess weight.

by mirescosmo

Nicknames

crystal-caps, shivers

Average Height

3 - 4 cm

Average Weight

50 - 60 g

Geographic Distribution

• Etter

Discovered by

Elia Javvos

Is it edible?

Yes! (though you should remove the button before ingesting the ice-cap if wanting to avoid its effects) The entire body is edible though the stems have a flat, moist taste that can be unappealing; the cap is decisively tastier, with a subtle sweet, berrylike flavor. The caps can be chewed and swallowed but some will also let it sit in their mouth as it will disintigrate on the tongue after a few minutes, thus prolonging the sweet tang.

As mentioned above, the ice-caps are sometimes included in medicinal tinctures but many glens in the Etter will use the caps in salads or deserts. In areas across the globe, both the caps' shards and/or ice honey may be added to certain appertifs or cocktails.