City of Rot
The ancient and once great city of Arborea was decimated during the reign of terror caused by the Kasarian Conclave, but as per the natural cycle, new life sprouted from the death and decay. During the war, when a Myconid Colony rose from the dead in the Catacombs beneath the city and swore to aid in the defence of Arborea, they earned their right to live among the Elven people they had helped defend. And when the War was ended and the city purged of threats, the Elven people surrendered Arborea's ruins to the Myconid Sovereign, Arborus, and welcomed its people into the Rune Keepers proper. Arborea was lost, but the City of Rot rose in its place, a glorious and magnanimous city of giant mushrooms, beautiful flowers, swirling spore clouds and new life.
Demographics
The City of Rot plays host to a colony of Myconids, numbering around 1,000 in number and as well as awakened corpses, known as Spore Servants, which are used as defensive measures to protect their city. There is a small outcrop of Druids living within the mushroom fortress of the City, their extact numbers are unknown but likely range between 20-40.
Government
The Myconid Colony is broken up into five Circles which perform various tasks throughout the city. These Circles are indivudally ruled by Circle Leaders, all of whom answer to the solitary Sovereign, Arborus Rot.
Defences
The City of Rot is defended by a Circle of Spore Druids who enjoy the company of the Myconids, as well as the Colony's Spore Servants and awakened plants.
Districts
Underground Marshes:
In the depths of the subterranian layer of the City, water trickles into a large central cavern from multiple locations, forming pools and streams, creating an underground marsh ideal for the growth of fungai and new Myconids.The Spore Spire:
At the centre of the City of Rot, where the Temple District once stood, a series of enormous flat headed mushrooms slowly angle into an ascending slope towards a glorious overhang which can see most of the City. It is at the centre point where Sovereign Arborus dwells and is what most humanoids would consider the "Seat of Power" for the City.Assets
Master Crafters:
The Circle of Building plays host to several very talented and gifted crafters and enchanters, many of whom will do trade in exchange for their creations.Moss Grove Merchants:
If found and treated well, the Druids of the Moss Grove may be willing to do all manner of trade with visitors and passersby, ranging from alchemical supplies to common magic items.Guilds and Factions
The Moss Grove:
The Druid Circle native to the City of Rot dwells somewhere in the Southern most side of the fungal city, though the exact location of their Grove is unknown to outsiders. The Moss Grove Druids are friendly but isolated, prefering the company of Myconids to most people.Circle of Building:
This Myconid Circle is dedicated to the construction and creation of fresh infrastructure, they are the ones responsible for the impressive Underground Marshes which contain the Sprouting Soils; not only are they exceptionally good builders, they are often always immensely talented crafters and enchanters.The Myconids of this Circle tend to be broader in build and often have multiple sets of arms to compensate for heavy lifting and placement of infrastructure.Circle of Protection:
Warriors, spawners of Spore Servants, these Myconids are dedicated to the long term protection of the City of Rot. They tend the Fungal Wilds and ensure their defences are adept at keeping out unwanted; dangerous visitors. Often found to be taller and with wide set shoulders, these Myconids carry more spores on them than most to ensure any dead found can be put to work defending their home.Circle of Decomposition:
Workers of the grim reality, that all living matter decays and festers, these dedicated Myconids accelerate the natural process and ensure waste is properly decomposed and sent into the Sprouting Soils to create fertile earth for their offspring to grow in. They will rot anything within their domain, dead animals; dead humanoids; trees; fabrics, everything can be decomposed down into nutrients, everything that has been wasted can be made useful again. The Myconids of this Circle are often stout and hardy looking, their fungal flesh often slick with oils and greases of their grim duty, they carry the scent of decay wherever they go.Circle of Learning:
Keen to share knowledge and pass on the legacy of the Myconids, this Circle is dedicated to educating their young and ensuring the next generation of Fungal-Folk is prepared for the world outside. As the City of Rot is far more open than most Myconid Colonies, it is considered of the utmost importance that all know and understand how flesh and blood creatures work and behave, to better foster relations with them in a positive way. Everything learnt at this Circle is then filtered through the rest of the Colony by Melding. The Myconids dedicated to this Circle are often smaller than others, more lithe in appearance and stature with larger and more pointed and decorated caps, distinguishing them as scholars.Circle of Growth:
Possibly the most important Circle in the City of Rot, the Circle of Growth is responsible for the production and growth of the mushrooms and fungus which makes up the structure of the city; the flourishing of the Fungal Wilds and the growth of their young. They are the life bringers, the nourishers, the guardians and the directors, giving pace to all growing things in the Colony. Due to their light hearted and dedicated role, these Myconids are often found in brighter colours with lumiscent veins.History
The City of Rot was once known as Arborea, one of the major settlements in the Empire of the Rune Keepers prior to the assault of the Kasarian Conclave. Arborea had stood for hundreds of years, founded by five Elven individuals around one hundred and fifty years after the Landing. Among these founding mothers and fathers was Arborus Halathyr, a man of Druidic nature who took special care that in the construction of the city there was as little damage done to the surrounding ecosystems and natural balance as possible. Though his exact Circle has long been lost to history, many believe he had a special affinity for mushrooms and fungi. During the siege of the Kasarian Conclave, Arborea was taken by the Dragon Hybrid, Al'Artaris. She, herself, a Hybrid born of the Circle of Spores had the Druidic power to call nature to her and bend it to her will. This ultimately resulted in a mass of fungal spores and vines bleeding down through the stone infrastructure of the city and finding the Catacombs deep within. It is believed her intention, though forced by Kasaria's control, was to raise a Myconid Sovereign loyal to her and by extention Kasaria. In so doing, raising an entire army of Myconids to fight alongside them against the Empire, their allied forces and the Adventurer's Guild. Stories tell of her ritual being disrupted by a Druid of the Spore Circle, who was able to rewrite the purpose of the ressurrection to allow the Myconid Sovereign free will. When it rose, Sovereign Arborus - who was indeed born of the remains of Arborus Halathyr - remembered its long ago purpose to protect and presevre nature and the City it had helped to build. Sovereign Arborus swore its loyalty to the cause of fighting alongside the Guild and the Empire, to stop the machinations of the Kasarian Conclave, and rose its Colony from the corpses of those who had resided in the Catacombs alongside it. When the city was purged of the Dragon threat, Sovereign Arborus claimed its remains for the Myconid Colony, and with too few survivors to populate a city of its size, the Elven people willingly relinquished the ruins, giving way to the City of Rot.
Points of interest
The Fungal Wilds:
Formed as a rough ring around the exterior layer of the City, the Fungal Wilds is a stretch of boggy soil which is difficult to traverse with any speed. Acting as a living palisade of fungal creatures, awakened shrooms and venom spores ready to defend their home.The Melding Pools:
Myconids share everything through the act of Melding, Rapport Spores carry a tiny bit of all other Myconids to other Myconids in their circle, to be absored and reside within them, and creating a telepathic familial bond. When the Myconids of a Circle gather to Meld, they share their individual insights, fears, hopes and dreams. Through the art of Melding, all Myconids join together to form the heart and soul of a Colony. As there are five Circles in the City of Rot, there are five Melding Pools. Deep pits of peaty moss and soil in which the Myconids settle and rest for elongated spans of time Melding with one another.The Sprouting Soils:
Found in the Underground Marshes, the Sprouting Soils are deep in the subterranian layer of the City of Rot, surrounding the pools and streams formed by trickling waters, the marshy and rich fertile soil in the surrounding area is used for the majority of the growth of the Myconid's offspring.Architecture
Enormous mushrooms fill the space around the city, forming walkways and paths and open spaces filled with fungus, mushrooms and other plant life. Bugs and birds and mutated animal life roam free among the Myconid Colony. The Colony has reused and recycled what remained of the ruins, forming thick layers of fertile soil and peat within which to plant and grow their Spawn and Sprouts to expand their numbers. They have guided nature to retake infrustracture and stone, growing enormous mushrooms to blot out the sunlight and protect them from it. The City of Rot is an enchanting exotic forest of strange alien archetecture and serene peace. There are beautiful amalgamations of dozens of different mushroom types growing larger and richer than they would in the wild, vibrant colours and smells enrich the area and mix with Rapport Spores in the air to allow constant communication, bioluminscent fungus provides a soft glowing hue of multi-coloured shades, illuminating paths and underground caverns with just enough light to see without being overwhelming.
Climate
The sealed canopy of giant mushrooms mixed with the Rune Keepers natural summer-round heat causes a heavy humidity to linger in the City of Rot, perfect for the decomposition process the Myconids perform. The climate is humid, tropic and damp.
Natural Resources
Due to the nature of the City of Rot, there is an abundance of mushrooms and plantlife which can be both boons and banes depending on one's knowledge. Some area provide edible mushrooms, shrooms with medicinal benefits and some with poisonous and lethal concotions. Knowing ones fungi is imperitive for traversing the realm of the Myconid Colony.
Founding Date
Year of the Dragon
Type
City
Population
1000+
Inhabitant Demonym
Myconid, Druids
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank