Golthiar

Underground seedpods “ripen” in groups of four to six at a time, push to the surface, and peel open to reveal wet, wrinkly creatures the size of adult humans. Within an hour, the creatures completely mature into soldiers able to survive for centuries on sun and nutrients gathered from burying themselves in drit every few days.

Golthiars are humanoid creatures of woody muscle and barklike skin that smells of sap. Their bulbous heads hold single eyes surrounded by a fringe of jagged petals. Quick and brutal despite their plant ancestry, golthiars stand about 6.5 feet (2 m) tall. Trees that produce golthiar seedpods are not always similar in appearance. Sometimes they have great fronds, other times needles, and other times leaves.