Description:
is a paradox of light and decay—a glowing fungus born from the depths of the earth yet named for the sun. Found in water-logged caves, barrow-hollows, and mist-choked marshes, it unfurls like layered flame upon stone and root. Its low, ember-orange glow never flickers, casting warmth without heat. Treasured by bog-wardens and under-kin, it is used in rites of memory, warmth, and protection. Where Sólmold grows, even the dead remember the sun.
Structure & Growth:
- Forms curled, fan-like shelves or horned ridges in damp, stone-heavy soil
- Favors peat-choked caves, wet roots, and iron-rich earth near stagnant pools
- Grows in rings, spirals, or slow-creeping clusters—often along old bones or rusted metal
- Glows steadily, brighter during storms, solstices, or deep fog
Color & Spores:
- Cap is dark umber or blackened ochre, veined with soft orange bioluminescence
- Inner flesh is pale gold, exuding a glowing sap when sliced or crushed
- Spores are faintly luminous in darkness—used to mark paths or rune-trails
- Dried rings leave behind a glowing dust, prized in salves and ink
Scent & Reaction:
- Smells of damp moss, iron-soaked peat, and old campfire ash
- Crushed fungus releases a resinous oil that glows for hours
- Mildly narcotic—induces warmth, calm, and lucid dreams when inhaled in small amounts
- Burned in rites to guard the soul from sorrow or to bless the cold-found dead
Folklore:
"Sólmold glows not with flame, but with remembrance. In the dark, it burns for those who cannot. Travelers tell of it growing where a warrior died with honor but no grave, or where sunlight was last seen in a flooded cave. Carried as a charm against despair, and offered at stone shrines to guide the lost, Sólmold is believed to carry echoes of the sun’s voice—silent, soft, and unyielding beneath the earth. It is said that to sleep beside it is to dream of home, even in Hel's shadow."
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