Description:
Hel Husk is a feared and storied puffball fungus, named for the death-goddess herself. Found in places long forsaken by sun and song, it swells in silence and ruptures with cold, ghostly spores when disturbed. Revered by some as a vessel of stillness and cursed breath, it is a known ally to necromancers and deathwardens alike. Its touch numbs, its scent chills, and its presence is a whisper of Hel’s domain—warning the living to tread lightly.
Structure & Growth:
- Grows in clusters or lines along wet stone, peat, or rotting root in shadowy places
- Spherical cap with thick, leathery skin that splits in a star-shaped pattern when mature
- Releases a fine, shimmering cloud of spores that lingers in still air
- Underground threads form sprawling networks across burial mounds and cave floors
Color & Spores:
- Hel Husk leaves a cold vapor trail when brushed
- Flesh is pale blue inside, turning black within moments of exposure to air
- Spores cling to cloth and skin, leaving a silvery dust that causes localized numbness
- Has a distinct frost-ring at the base where it anchors to soil or stone
Scent & Reaction:
- Smells of burnt iron, wet stone, and crushed pine needles
- Spore inhalation leads to nausea, slowed breathing, and a dreamlike torpor
- Used in death rites and spirit-speaking rituals to “still the breath and quiet the gate”
- Can be dried and burned to create smoke that wards off fire-spirits or seals cold spaces
Folklore:
"To breathe the Husk is to walk the border of Hel’s hall. In death-laden marshlands, dried Hel Husks are placed in crypts or grave boats to honor the dead and prevent their return. Sworn poisoners crush them into oils for slow, chill death, while seers claim its spores bring visions of the forgotten. It is said that when one is burned during the longest night, the silence that follows is Hel listening.
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