Darko
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Ah, OL. Living the dream. Surrounded by gribbly fungus-things looking for dinner, and your response is to make a giant you to yell 'Come have a go if you think you're hard enough!' Although, you do have some advantages against them. Like fire.31st December 2012
19:21 GMT -3
Dozens of lumpy fungoid faces staring at me from their perches in the rotten boughs of the Green. I mark their locations as I slowly gain height. There doesn't seem to be a 'roof' to this place, but at a certain point there are fewer tree-representations trying to reach for it.
I create a giant construct of myself.
"Yeah?! You want some too?! This is the Green!"
To be fair, someone strong enough to eat one of yours and then ignore you while fixing the damage you did might just be a little intimidating...I continue making repairs to this tree while I still have their attention.
"And you're invaders! Leave, or be cast out!"
At least their presence is obvious. Imagine fighting an army of invisible, spore-chucking mooks in a forest of mushrooms...Most vanish back inside their trees, with a few staying on lookout duty. The trees they're in don't seem to be getting… Notably worse, so I assume that they're building something to fight me. Still not seeing Euanthe or Isley, but the tree I'm working on is almost back in a functional state. In fact, that's the last of the rotten sections gone and all the bark is connected up.
But it still feels… Incomplete.
Just don't go too deep into the Treebeard impression...I wince as I form the mandala. Okay, what could I have been doing wrong? Everyone I know who does this is a weird plant person either naturally or by adoption. I try to command plant life. Does that sound like something that Euanthe would do? No. Euanthe considers herself to be part of the plant continuum. She nudges and encourages, she doesn't just restructure piece by piece as she will.
The body is earth, the blood is magma. Think like a tree-. No, feel like a tree.
"Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep! Bombadil is talking!"Not blood. Desires. The world is the soil where my roots grow and feed. Those concepts that I need to form the shape of myself flow up my skin and to the parts of me that need them. I reach out, taking what I need to grow.
I want to be… A tree.
Once you filled its' figurative belly, it knew what to do.Ah. I think that's working.
I mean, I've got no idea how to do anything complicated, manipulating it this indirectly. But for just getting the whole thing started up again, that appears to be doing it. I can see the tree looking more… Alive, than it did before. Parts that I didn't know what to do with are sprouting, small branches growing and leaf buds appearing.
Now, would it be worrying or not if he got a reply?One down, an entire plane to go.
"Tree, have you got any idea where Euanthe is?"
Heh. Like naming a single bee in a hive and trying to keep track. Or an ant.The tree says nothing.
"Fine. Fungoid, your name is now 'Gary'. Confirm directive."
Assuming it wasn't working on instinct...
Yeah, I bet it's like a smorgasbord for them. An all-you-can-eat buffet with no restrictions. And no way for them to make themselves sick from overeating."We are lead to a land of food which enriches the soul, nourishing us."
"This food would be… These living spiritual representations of plants?"
Hmm... 'Something' made them seem dead? The Anti-Life, or something a littler deader?"They were alive. We struggle to eat the living wood. But something made them smell of death, taste of death. Taste of food."
I remember a film reviewer once saying that when the squids arose from the sea to dominate the Earth, Hellboy would serve as evidence of out causal anti-squid racism. I don't want to be racist against fungi. I'm sure that they serve a very useful ecological niche, and the fact that they're usually found on dying trees isn't proof that they made them die, any more than finding maggots in rotting flesh is proof that they made it rot.
And that would no doubt kill the Green. Whoopie.But still.
"What has to happen for your kind to leave?"
"We will leave when there is nothing to eat."
Argh, the joy of talking to intelligences with a different frame of reference."The place you were before this. What was it like?"
"Waiting, as a spore waits to germinate. Sometimes we would hear food and we would extrude one of us to consume it. But all there are as we are."
And wasn't that just the smartest thing anyone ever did back in the day?Ah, it's the old 'rabbits in Australia' problem. In a creature's own ecosystem there are all sorts of other creatures that live in balance with it, eating it or otherwise using it. Take it out of that, and it reproduces uncontrollably.
"How mentally complex are you?"
"What?"
It is what it is... Or was, rather. Like Fatty, who existed solely to consume.Right. It's never been anything else; how would it know how to compare itself to anything else? It's an elemental creature, not a normal person who happens to be fungus-based. Even if it can engage in conversation, that doesn't mean that it can be persuaded to act out of its element any more than Euanthe can.
"Am I correct in assuming that you're some sort of fungus elemental?"
Betting it was either the Anti-Life or the Black. ...Where did Dark Druid get to, again?"Yes."
"Do you know what it was that made this place feel edible?"
Ah, the good old spell-like abilities. Rot on a conceptual level, weaponised..."No."
"What were those decay-related abilities you used on me?"
I wonder if it's a net-positive process, or a net-minus?"An extension of my nature. I am decay to things that are not like me."
"You can induce decay, and not just feed on it."
Right. Euanthe, Ivy, the Parliament of the Green, former Avatars, anyone..."It is tiring. But I am well-fed." For the first time it forms an expression. I think it's confused. "I was well-fed."
"Are there intelligent beings here who are not like you?"
As much as it has a sense of taste, anyway...
Oooh, gribbly. I'm guessing that's how it eats. So it's basically giving OL the old 'licking its lips' expression."Not… Now. But if I was not like this…"
Its structure changes, odd fronts projecting from hits head and neck and waving in the air.
As soon as he leaves, one of the others with more courage will probably go pouncing on it."Yes."
Which means that I can't leave it to the mercy of the others… Wait.
So roughly net-positive."Using your abilities on things that aren't rotting uses your strength. Whatever it is that made this place feel edible didn't actually make it edible. You had to use your powers to fully rot these trees, didn't you?" It nods as it pulls its fronds back in. "So how come you aren't all starving to death here?"
"There is more to eat."
And as bad as things are on Earth right now, this could be worse in the long run.Then… They have to be a symptom. Or possible a distraction. Magic loci resist being changed; you can't just take one and then add its strength to your own without losing something. Did something… Magnify their ability to rot things? And if so, where is the connection to this realm?
I want to defend something I've built, but I don't think that's the correct thing to do here. I need to find something more significant to work on.
Looking to plug the hole, then you can deal with the swarm that's already here...
Thank you, corrected.
Australia excites and disappoints by turns. Deadliest trees and spiders in the world, but the mammals are shit.And wasn't that just the smartest thing anyone ever did back in the day?
Doesn't he already know a lot of Johns, though?
ItsIts structure changes, odd fronts projecting from hits head and neck and waving in the air.
My guess is the fungus is eating the rot caused by Anti-Life. If they could get rid of Anti-Life that easy I doubt Pam and Euthane would have locked themselves away.
Thank you, corrected.
'right hand'?"Oh God, Oh God. I…" His right clasps the side of his face. "What happened to me?"
'part'With the helmet on, I… Felt that I was a.. tiny, completely replaceable parts of some… Great machine.
Holy shit that's small. That makes Starbreaker eating the universe a lot less impressive. I mean, still incredible, but orders of magnitude less so.This universe contains seven galaxies. Each contains about a hundred billion stars.
'Rot'?
'led'"We are lead to a land of food which enriches the soul, nourishing us."
'casual'?Hellboy would serve as evidence of our causal anti-squid racism.
'fronds'?Its structure changes, odd fronts projecting from hits head and neck and waving in the air.
Thank you, corrected.From previous days:
'right hand'?
'part'
'led'
'casual'?
'fronds'?
The SI doesn't know that that's a distinct place.
No, I think that's okay.
If a thing's popular enough, it's not that strange.Tangentially, I discovered and watched Freeman's Mind over the last couple of days, and I saw a comment from the Mr Zoat YouTube channel on one of the episodes. Small world, or something.
Sure, but I think it's at least worthy of a little surprise that I saw your comment of all the thousand plus that were there.
The no should be orange as well."No." Again, he… It? Makes a confused expression. "Can you control your seeds?"
"Can you control your seeds?"
"Yes, but it's not a common ability." And Jade finds it unsettling.
That sounds like a phenomenally bad idea, considering how plugged into the status quo it is. Around the level of Mannheim getting the Spear of Destiny bad.
That would kinda be like enforcing a depressing genre shift onto the DC brand. All their media, comics tv shows and movies, suddenly becoming 'Anti-Life' flavor. I imagine that would be unpleasant for people like Paul who live in there.
Man, OL is just roasting everything around him. Probably for the best. Any flesh the trees have lost to the fungi is dead, and as long as the trees have enough nutrients left in their root systems to begin regrowth, the fire is an inconvenience.31st December 2012
19:26 GMT -3
I fire another wave of flames down, the spore cloud that had been rising to meet us crackling and burning. No, not a cloud; it's more like a mist, diffuse and all-enveloping. The spacing is enough that I can't just burn the whole thing with a single gout of fire, though it does clear out the area around me. Which suggests that it's not aimed at me.
"Gary, you attacked me with spore clouds. This isn't an attack. What is it?"
Well, of course he does."Home."
"Your home is filled with spores all of the time. You consider that normal."
Too bad for everyone and everything else, though."Yes, but that is not all. This will make this place part of home. When we are everywhere and everything."
Ah.
To be fair, it's like breathing. Short of holding your breath or covering your mouth, there's not much you can do to manipulate what you breathe out.
...Define 'seeds'. Because OL has some freaky talents..."But can you control them?"
"No." Again, he… It? Makes a confused expression. "Can you control your seeds?"
Oh god, we did not want to hear that. Ew. Odd reaction from the spores, though. The Construct Lantern doesn't register as being alive, but it didn't trigger any hostile response, either? Could be useful."Yes, but it's not a common ability." And Jade finds it unsettling. "Are the others of your kind doing this deliberately, or is it automatic?"
"This..?" It floats down and waves its left arm through the miasma. Interestingly, they don't try settling on it or leaching its power. "No. This is simply a product of us being here."
So, what you're saying is... Burninate the countryside?"Can you destroy them?"
"Yes. It isn't hard. But not more easily than you can with fire."
Well, then. Not much use, are you?"Can you recall them-" It gurns at me. I.. suppose I can see where it's coming from. "-or shut down the things producing them?"
"I could go lower and tear them out of the food. That would stop them. But they would become more faster than I could do it."
Best to start at the edge and work your way inwards, then. Once the source is blocked, anyway.I peer down through the spore mist and spot the places where the growth is just beginning. Purging fire is looking more and more like the best option.
"Fine. Carry on."
I mean, how far have you flown? Not that time and distance mean all that much in an eldritch realm like this...He doesn't bother coming back up, flying through the upper part of the miasma in the direction of what I hope to be the origin point. The land below is looking more like a swamp rather than a forest of rotting redwoods, though I don't know if that's just because the fungus has been working here longer or because this is a different region of the Green.
Ring, are we..? Getting anything useful?
Not unexpected. Not much need for emotions when your only purpose is to consume and reproduce.Lack of baselines makes accurate analysis difficult. Fungoid elementals have stunted emotional range by human standards. Fungoid elementals have stunted emotional range by observed dryad standards.
More emotionally simple than Euanthe.
I expect 'insufficient data' or something...
Huh. To be fair, it probably does have more cognitive abilities now than it used to.Unknown. Lack of baselines-.
Yes-. Yes. "Gary, what do you want-" I let out another blast of fire to clear my way. "-out of life?"
Very easy-going, then."Nothing. I exist in continuity with my environment and nature."
"But you can talk."
To be fair, that logic works. Humanity looms large within Earth's thaumaturgic networks, with its' minor variations like Atlanteans a mere blip in the noise. Belief shapes existence, and all that."I was told that elementals emerge from the world's magic as a result of human expectations. I mimic humanity. I do not possess it. I am a fungus that can talk, not a human with fungus magic."
"Do you know the name 'Mannheim'?"
What would a fungus have needed names for? It is what it is, and all else is fodder.
Which is a worthwhile question, as both terms do have metaphysical weight to them..."No. Maybe. I don't register human names. Just whether they smell like food or not."
"How about 'Darkseid' or 'Anti-Life'?"
Ah, good catch. After all, it has little need to differentiate between the aspects..."No."
"'No' as in 'definitely not', or 'no' as in ' I didn't register it'."
Interesting. VEry interesting. Even the Black has a concept of what should not be..."Darkseid is just a name. Anti-Life, that has meaning. If someone had told me that something was Anti-Life, I would remember it. We near it."
I frown. "Anti-Life?"
Praise the Emperor and pass the blessed promethium! Catachan Guardsmen would feel right at home."Home."
Then it's time to put a little more effort in. A huge fuel tank construct forms behind me, orange light being transmuted directly into fuel. Twelve fuel hoses project down, pilot lights burning faintly as I plot a firing solution. And… Burn.
...There must be a hell of a lot of it down there...
Heh. Not much defence against being incinerated before you can even assume a battle-ready pose.It accelerates down through the murk… Definitely reduced levels of illumination down here. Other fungoids… Larges ones, pull their way out of the mire below and adopt a hostile posture… For a few seconds before my hoses reach them and render them a non-issue. The ground they were hiding in proves to be a little more resilient to my attentions, the moisture oozing back from underground.
Don't worry about that. Flames to the sides and above, and follow Gary.
Looks like the Green is already fighting back, with a little of the pressure off.And… Huh. Some of the plants lying close to the ground aren't-. Don't appear to be dead. Not much: a few leaves and small sprouts. I move the flames to avoid burning them, using constructs to shield those that are too close to major piles of rot to be avoided. No coherent response from the fungoids, but I suppose… Fungi aren't exactly known for being proactive, and it's not as if I'm making a real difference to their numbers.
"We are near."
They most be close to a major node of green consciousness, then, if it's taking direct action. Looks like you've found someone."Alright, what does-?"
And there's a huge tree, standing a good two hundred metres tall and.. sort of.. bent over. There's a faint green glow around it which appears to be keeping the spores at bay… Mostly. I see a small conk growing near the base, only for some sort of Venus flytrap mouth to chomp into it and tear it off. The wood beneath repairs itself a moment later. Further on, a part of the tree appears to be growing into the ground, the green glow there more intense.
Heh. Regrowing faster than they can consume. But how long can the being keep that up before they expend all the resources nearby?"It look like."
Around the tree I see rows of the same sort of brambles around Brasília. The fungoids are attempting to break through, but they appear poorly organised. Their rot-based powers appear to make a degree of headway, only for a surge of growth to make good the Green's losses and cut into them.
...Nice. I guess you could say she's now got huge tracts of land?I fly upwards to try and get a better view. The shape of the tree is… Odd. It looks more like three or four trees are growing together, which would make sense if the growth were directed, but-.
Oh.
The giant wooden form of Doctor Pamela Isley slowly turns its head to look at me.
Other fungoids… Larger ones, pull their way out of the mire below and adopt a hostile posture…Other fungoids… Larges ones, pull their way out of the mire below and adopt a hostile posture…
What does conk mean? I tried looking it up for an obscure definition, but I couldn't see any that fit.
Wonder if this is how she becomes the May Queen in this continuity- or attracts the attention of that elemental if it exists.
Thank you, corrected.
It would explainj a lot, though.That would kinda be like enforcing a depressing genre shift onto the DC brand. All their media, comics tv shows and movies, suddenly becoming 'Anti-Life' flavor. I imagine that would be unpleasant for people like Paul who live in there.
Thank you, corrected.Other fungoids… Larger ones, pull their way out of the mire below and adopt a hostile posture…
Flat fungus growth projecting from the side of a dead or dying tree.What does conk mean? I tried looking it up for an obscure definition, but I couldn't see any that fit.
Most of the chapter is orange. I don't think that's on purpose.
"Gary, you attacked me with spore clouds. This isn't an attack. What is it?"
"Home."
"Your home is filled with spores all of the time. You consider that normal."
"Can you manipulate the spores?"
"I can make more."
"But can you control them?"