Red lips Species in The Call of The Tree | World Anvil

Red lips

"Hello, Peter."
"How do you know my name?"
"Michael told me."
"You mean you killed Michael and took his memories."
"Same thing. I might have a deal for you..."
The living anomaly, the Red Sea is a curious creature. Whatever it can't kill and absorb its knowledge immediately piques its interest. This curiosity pushed it to create a new "organ" made out of its fungal flesh. The red lips serve as messengers of the Red Sea. But just because they are messengers, it doesn't mean that they aren't as deadly as other creations of the anomaly.  

Appearance

The first red lips were just holes in the ground moving inside in such a way that they replicated basic speech. But as the Red Sea studied living beings, their anatomy, and how they communicate, it started creating way more complex red lips. With each iteration, they started resembling real mouths, with teeth and tongues, and lately, even the internal parts required for speech are replicated such as the larynx, lung-like growths pumping the air, and the windpipe. Sometimes, the Red Sea might create or summon other structures close to the red lips to make them look more like a face. It doesn't understand yet that the sight of a face completely covered with vein-like growths and lidless eyes is pretty terrifying for most people and doesn't look too sympathetic.   Red lips can be as small as a few centimeters or stretch out across the land like valleys. Similarly, their teeth vary in size, shape, and number between each specimen of their "kind", with some being sharp, rounded, or flat, and the largest reaching the size of a few meters. Even though they look like teeth, this part of the creature merely replicates the real ones. Just like the rest of this organ, it is completely made out of the fungal flesh of the Red Sea, but the anomaly made it denser to replicate normal teeth.  

Senses

Red lips can't see or hear and don't possess a sense of taste. The only way they know someone is close to them is thanks to other "organs" in the area or when the Red Sea senses something touching its surface. The Red Sea didn't give them a sense of taste since according to it, the taste wouldn't give it too much information that interests it and it would waste energy that could be used in many other, more useful ways.  

A "fair" trade

When it doesn't come to a fight, red lips will instead try to start a conversation with those who entered the domain of the Red Sea. It will often propose a fair deal - a question answered for a question answered. During such a conversation, one will quickly learn that the Sea is way more cunning than one would think. It'll steer their questions to unimportant things while trying to get answers on exactly the kind of things it needs to become stronger in some way. It will use memories of those absorbed, especially those close to the one it talks to to gain any possible advantage.   There are rumors about the very few individuals who managed to turn this strategy against the Red Sea and keep it unaware of this fact long enough they left its domain. Once in a while, the Red Sea will ask its new visitors about those who managed to do so, and at those moments, a sound of cold hate can be heard in its voice.
Geographic Distribution:
Just like it is with the other "organs" of the Red Sea, red lips cannot exist outside of their "main body". Additionally, they require so much support so they don't collapse on themselves that the Red Sea isn't capable of creating any but the smallest ones close to its edges.
Weaknesses:
As cutting and smashing at a mycelium-like structure isn't too effective, the best way to deal with the Red Sea and its creation still is fire, or if someone has some Elemental Crystals, the Elements of Ice and Electricity can work as well as the Fire ones. The only problem with destroying the red lips is that as long the Red Sea stays in the area, it can easily just rebuild this structure, with it being so simple compared to some others.
Growth:
A single pair of small red lips can be created by the Red Sea within a minute. The really large ones could take a few hours or even more, less if there is already something like a hole or a valley in the area it can use as a support.

More than just bark

When someone angers the red lips, either by being uncooperative during the conversation, interrupting them, or attacking them when they talk, the red lips will often "show their teeth". While not flexible or strong enough to grab someone, the tongue of red lips is still powerful enough to push someone into the hole of its mouth. There, their protective suits can be pierced by the teeth and give the Red Sea a chance to absorb the victim. But if that also doesn't work, the "creature" can just crush them as if it chewed them.  

Whispers of madness

There is another way the Red Sea uses its lips. When dealing with someone it can't hurt but one it wants to break or someone who completely ignores it, the Red Sea will start to create many lips around them, moving wherever they move. At that point, each pair of lips will start to talk nonsense, scream, sing, whisper, only to drive the victim mad or make them submit and finally talk to it. It can create sounds so low, that they can be heard all across one's body and so loud and strong, that they can pierce one's eardrums.

Comments

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Jan 13, 2024 17:41 by Olarae & Astaroth Arcaine

The name - intriguing. The header image - truly horrifying! I love the fungal eldritch horror theme you've created for this species! You've written something that will truly haunt my phobia of the seas, wonderful stuff :D

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Jan 18, 2024 22:35

Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm happy to hear you liked my article!