Shroomwild
It sits just outside of Sow Terra, really everything, but it's not far away. The Fungin of Shroomwild visit more than I'm comfortable with. A few of us try to keep it under wraps. It's a work in progress, since you never know what chaotic thing will show up from the Shroomwild.
This place goes by many names, such as the Fungin Realms, the Dreaming Lands, and even Undershroom. But its original name, and what its strange inhabitants call it, is the Shroomwild.
The Shroomwild is unique. A parallel dimension to worlds like Sow Terra, Netherwarren, Lagomor and others. It's a realm of wild magic, powered by dreams, emotions, and nightmares of both natives and visitors. But, because this dimension borders on all the realms, the geography of Shroomwild mirrors each of those worlds. Only, Shroomwild's terrain is an exaggerated, overgrown, chaotic version.
It's close ties with wild magic, and the primal forces of the universe drives the Shroomwild. This is at the heart of what makes this dimension both unpredictable and dangerous for native inhabitants and unsuspecting visitors.
A Dire Beginning
Who made it? Why? Good questions. The answers aren't what you might expect...
According to the oldest myths about the Shroomwild’s origin, the dimension’s creation was an accident. It resulted from a brutal murder.
When the universe was born, eight godlike beings appeared from the fabric of Creation. These elder beings were called the Empyreans. The Empyreans shaped the universe, gave it form and direction. Part of this direction was to create realms and gods to look over them.
Except for one. There was a single world the Empyreans kept for themselves. The first one they created. It was a place to shape and mold in their own vision.
The new gods were young, and most took the Empyrean’s decision in stride, save for Hog Zeus. He saw the Empyreans kept a world for themselves and was curious. That curiosity became greed. Hog Zeus wanted the world for himself, so he asked the Empyreans for it.
They told him no. Hog Zeus didn’t take that lightly. So, the young god formed a plan to steal it. He would sneak into the world and mark it for himself.
But one Empyrean, Kaprais, suspected Hog Zeus’ plan. The Empyrean confronted Hog Zeus, the two argued, then the argument came to blows. In the end, Hog Zeus killed Kaprais in cold blood.
Before Hog Zeus could the steal the Empyrean world for himself, Kaprais’ blood spilled over the cosmos, swallowing the world Hog Zeus was after. The raw primordial power of the dying Empyrean threw the young god back to Sow Terra, teaching him a hard lesson of how to 'greed responsibly'.
Meanwhile, Kaprais’ blood took shape and formed the Shroomwild. The Empyrean world? It became the Heart of the Shroomwild.
Kaprais’ murder startled the other Empyreans. Once they set Creation in motion, they withdrew to the fringes of the universe itself. Directionless, with only the memories of a murdered Empyrean to guide it, the Shroomwild forged its own path. Eventually connecting to the other worlds using the Wildroads, deadly to god and mortal alike.
Geography
Shroomwild is a patchwork of geographic features, each portion a mirror image from across the various border worlds. The closer this dimension is to the border between it and a world, the more the geography and climate of the Shroomwild mirrors its dimensional neighbor.
Thick, overgrown forests cover the rolling hills and plains near the boundary to Lagomor. Icy mountains and coastal waters border Sow Terra. Dark, foreboding swamps that are shrouded by fog and clouds cover the lands bordering Netherwarren. Each patch of mirrored geography is twisted or exaggerated in mind-bending ways.
Trees, rocks, or even something as innocent as flowers appear at first glance to be the same. But, a simple flower in the Shroomwild may in fact be a lethal creature looking for its next meal. Despite the danger, the patchwork of terrain contains its own unique charm. A beauty all its own that can be breathtaking to visitors who stumble into the Shroomwild.
The true terrain of the Shroomwild lies in its center, far from any world border. There, the land is rolling purple hills with silver lakes, glittering golden-crystal streams and rivers surrounded by their own lush, primeval forests of lime green leaves on trees as tall as mountains. Cliffs glitter with crystals, and all manner of animals or plants are likely to talk to visitors.
Above all, the Heart of the Shroomwild is cast in perpetual twilight, neither day nor night, with the hint of stars and two moons above thin, rolling clouds.
This Heart holds the actual Fungin cities and settlements. Each has their own unique, chaotic design, grown or pulled from the surrounding terrain. Sometimes, they are as much a part of the geography as the native plants, animals, and inhabitants.
Localized Phenomena
Navigating the Shroomwild is challenging at best. Even though the terrain mirrors the various worlds next to the Shroomwild, this doesn’t mean the environment is the same. Colors are more vibrant, water is cleaner and does flow faster, even near the boundary of Netherwarren’s swamps. Nothing is quite the same, even the weather or a sense of distance.
Weather in the Shroomwild is a direct manifestation of primeval wild magic. These magic storms can range from a gentle shower of magic to destructive, chaotic storms with supernatural effects and lightning. Electric wraiths and worse are not uncommon in the worst Shroomwild storms. Water caught from these showers is always rich with arcane potential.
The Shroomwild’s nature also infests the land itself. Because certain terrain is a mirror image of nearby worlds, landmarks are duplicated. But the Shroomwild has its own mind on what is and isn't important. An artificial landmark, such as a town or city, might not be important to the Shroomwild, so it may be a tower, if it’s even there at all. But a natural landmark, such as a waterfall that feeds a pond, might be more prominent, becoming a waterfall descending off a cliff into a lake.
The most remarkable phenomena of the Shroomwild are the gates or ‘Wildroads’ between Shroomwild and the various worlds. These are walkways, tunnels, or paths that allow travelers to move between the Shroomwild and worlds like Sow Terra, Netherwarren, or others.
These Wildroads are dangerous pocket dimensions of their own. They are arcane dimensional bridges that connect the Shroomwild to the closest world along that dimensional border. Each one manifests with a theme that represents both the Shroomwild and the world connected to it.
This could be a dim tunnel overgrown with vines and swamp moss, half-submerged in murky water. Other Wildroads are a bridge of silver-blue wood that spans a roaring river of ice flows, or a hallway of rose bushes that cry fresh, enchanted blood from their thorns.
Fauna & Flora
There is a sharp, breathtaking beauty to the Shroomwild, with its wide variety of unique plants and animals. But looks can deceive, as this dimension is the most dangerous one of all.
The plants and animals found in the Shroomwild are often a reflection of the other, adjacent realms beyond the Wildroads. They will appear the same, or almost the same, with a few differences. The changes are subtle, such as green bullfrogs with three eyes, or purple cats that smell of lavender that vanish in mid-air when startled. Other times, the alterations are more dramatic.
Broad oak-like trees with glowing veins of blue-white light in their bark grow taller than fifteen story buildings. Wolves that bleed fog off their ghostly snow-white and gray fur, roam in packs between dandelion spike-trees or reddish-black vampiric rose bushes. Almost everything in the Shroomwild enjoys meeting visitors, if only just to kill them.
Then, there are the native inhabitants, the Fungin.
There are several types of Fungin that come in all shapes and sizes. Some are towering goliaths that stand seven feet tall or more. Others are much shorter, reaching five feet tall or shorter with long mossy beards of colors from auburn red, moss green, to even electric blue. But they all share one common trait. All the Fungin are shaped like mushrooms.
The most well known, and widespread, are the Elvroom. At five feet tall with elaborate and colorful beards, they are the most well-traveled of the Fungin. If any of the Fungin to cross the Wildroads, it would be them. Inquisitive and patient, they are the most likely to help a visitor than hurt them. But they have strict, and unusual, rules of etiquette. If a visitor violates one of those rules, an Elvroom’s quick temper appears. Above all, an Elvroom never forgets a friend, a bargain, or a grudge.
Another well known Fungin are the Trollstools. These massive, seven to nine foot tall, goliaths tower over every other Fungin in Shroomwild. Trollstools are the Fungin that most resemble a mushroom, with their broad caps and gray-white body-stalks. The caps come in a variety of colors, from glittering red to yellow to a rare rainbow hue. No matter what the color, all the Trollstools have natural patterns that act as camouflage, since Trollstools are voracious carnivores.
Alternative Name(s)
Fungin Realms, The Dreaming Lands, Undershroom
Type
Dimensional plane
Cornerstone of Creation
The Heart of the Shroomwild contains more than just Fungin settlements and unusual reality. Here, at the center of Shroomwild, likes the nexus of creation. A sole living pillar that supports the voidrealms and all the worlds in it. This is the home of the Evertree.
This massive tree rests in the center of a wide, grass-covered clearing surrounded by the amber, yellow, blue, and emerald trees of Shroomwild’s Heartwood. Obsidian black thorn vines, alive with purple blood roses, twine around the clearing’s edge like a protective fence against trespassing.
But there is a way through.
Nine ancient, cracked stones paths wind their way between the Heartwood trees and guardian vines. Each path leads a winding course through the glade to the Evertree itself, the ecology that lives at the base of the great tree, and the Celestial Garden of crystal doors at its roots.
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