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Posts tagged flora and fauna

The Provinces of Pocalo: Muru Overview

The Provinces of Pocalo: Muru Overview published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - Muru overviewThe web structure that spans almost the entire length and breadth of the valley is a country known as Pocalo.

Each level of the web structure is a separate province, and each province has its own distinct flora and fauna, culture, dialect, food, and so forth. There are elevators connecting the provinces that allow for travel up and down.

Muru is the third tier of the lower provinces, making it the topmost province that is still in direct contact with the ground. Muru is a bit of a rough place to make a go of things, as there are a number of predators roaming about who view humans as a tasty snack. The porous nature of Muru’s borders means that people can come and go as they please, making it a desirable location for those who wish to operate outside the law.

Most settlements in Muru are built high off the ground due to the aforementioned predators and bandits. Because much of the interior is in the shadow cast by the upper provinces, almost all major settlements in Muru are found around the outer edges. The city the arrow is pointing to is Duvane, an outpost town that is not at all flashy, but a good spot to head to if you have goods to sell or trade.

Despite being rough and difficult to navigate, Muru forms a cornerstone of the Pocali economy. It is home to many rare flora and fauna which are used to make medicines. The majority of runners spend at least some of their time foraging in Muru.

Pocalo Technology: Lights

Pocalo Technology: Lights published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - lightsPocalo doesn’t have electric lighting (or electric anything, for that matter).

Their interior lights are instead made of tiny ecosystems of bioluminescent fungi. The fungi have been domesticated to produce a brighter, whiter light than their wild counterparts.

The fungi survive by eating their own dead cells, so a well-balanced light can shine indefinitely. In practice, most lights don’t last forever: the glass gets cracked and throws the ecosystem off balance; the fungi reproduce too quickly (sometimes overgrowing to the point of bursting the glass); or they reproduce too slowly and die off. But a light made with a high level of craftsmanship may well last for hundreds of years.

There is no way to turn a particular light “on” or “off” (the fungi are either alive and glowing or dead and dark). In rooms where one wishes to achieve periodic darkness, like a bedroom, the lights will have some kind of hood which can be opened and closed.

A popular style of dimmable light is colloquially called an “eyelight,” as it has two adjustable lids which can allow for modulating both the intensity and the direction of the glow.

Flora and Fauna: Shriekers

Flora and Fauna: Shriekers published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - shriekersShriekers are one of the largest predators in the Valley. They are typically found where forests meet open space, and typically prey on herd animals of various sorts.

They are pack hunters whose main strategy involves sneakily encircling the herd they’re hunting. Shriekers at the rear let out a horrifically loud, piercing scream that either a) roots you in place in absolute terror, whereupon they grab you, or b) sends you fleeing in panic, directly towards the rest of the pack, who then grab you. All the shriekers close in around the prey to prevent escape. The shriekers at the rear can take care of any stragglers.

When their preferred prey migrates away during the winter months, shriekers go into hibernation. Like most hibernating animals, they will wake up periodically during the cycle, whether to engage in routine maintenance or because they’ve been disturbed by interlopers.

Ecology and Economy

Shriekers are keystone predators, making them essential for environmental balance in the Valley. Get rid of shriekers, and all of a sudden the herd animal population explodes, eats a bunch of plants that were keeping other plants in check, and the unchecked plants completely take over and kill off that one rare medicinal flower.

Since the Valley’s economy is so heavily dependent on materials gleaned from unique microclimates, the people want to avoid making any drastic changes to the ecosystem. As such, despite their fearsome nature, it is illegal to kill shriekers except in self-defense.

How Not to Get Eaten

“Why not just use repellents to avoid the shriekers?” you ask. Unfortunately, repellents don’t work especially well on shriekers. Since so much of their hunting strategy involves running prey into traps, individual shriekers may be too far out of range to ward off with a repellent. Because they move so quickly, they’ve already bitten you in half before they notice the unpleasant smell.

The best strategy is simply to move (quietly) during their hibernation season, or to monitor a pack and wait until they’re distracted by a hunt to sneak by.

If they decide to go after you, find some low, dense shrubbery to hide in, and then stay as still and as quiet as possible. You may have to sit there awhile, but eventually the shriekers will lose track of you and wander off.

Flora and Fauna: Merev Gombi

Flora and Fauna: Merev Gombi published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - merev gombiThe names humans have for many of the flora and fauna of the Valley come from Rovari, the Daraz language (Daraz are native to the Valley, humans are not). This particular creature is called merev gombi in Rovari, which literally means “hard sphere.” Humans usually just call this animal “merev.”

Merev are the beast of burden of choice for this region. Opportunistic grazers, they’ll eat just about anything placed in front of them, making them extremely easy to maintain. They’re slow but sturdy, and nearly indestructible. When spooked, they don’t run: they pill. If you get into a spot of bother, you know your cart will be more or less where you left it.

The merev’s hide is too tough for many predators to pierce, and its center of gravity too low for them to knock it over. So most predators simply don’t bother with them. YOU might get eaten, but your pack animal won’t.

The merev is not an insect; it is yet another of the many monotreme species in the Valley.

Flora and Fauna: Melaine Mushroom

Flora and Fauna: Melaine Mushroom published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - melaine mushroom

Melaine is a carnivorous fungus that typically feeds on insects or small animals like birds and rodents (the size of the prey depends on the size of the mushroom). Prey are lured in by the sweet-smelling ball bait at the end of a hair trigger. The treacherous ball is extremely sticky, and the struggles of the stuck prey trigger the hair to yoink them forcefully into a bowl of viscous digestive juices. The larger the melaine the more potent the goo, and the larger melaine specimens can eat away at human flesh.

For humans, it’s a “better safe than sorry” situation. If you see (or smell) a patch of melaine, give it a wide berth, lest you accidentally step in one and get splashed with a caustic substance.

Since the digestive goo is viscous and sticky, getting it off once it’s on you is a challenge to say the least. As with poison ivy oils, sometimes efforts to remove the substance just spread it over you even more. You will, at the very least, wind up with some lovely chemical burns, if not open sores.

The Daraz Harcos have significantly thicker and less sensitive skin than humans, so they aren’t as likely to be harmed by the melaine’s digestive juices. They have discovered that a small mushroom isn’t potent enough to do significant damage to the skin, but instead acts as a disinfectant for wounds, and the sticky nature of the goo helps stop bleeding by sealing the cut. Instead of avoiding melaine at all costs, the Harcos seek it out as an important tool in field medicine.

Flora and Fauna: Carnivorous Plants

Flora and Fauna: Carnivorous Plants published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - carnivorous plants

The Valley in which the Provinces of Pocalo sit is ringed by a range of high red mountains. The poor nutrient content of the red soil, coupled with the erosion issues on the cloud spider web structure (and low sunlight in many areas), make it difficult for many species of plants to take root.

As a result, several of the more successful plants in the region are ones that had evolved to draw their sustenance from the delicious flesh of insects, and other things (cough, ahem) larger than insects. Birds, perhaps. A rat or two. Maybe, I don’t know, a human sometimes? Who’s counting, really?

Sticky tendrils, grasping appendages, alluring lights, digestive juices: the flora of the Valley have a wide range of adaptations for ensnaring and devouring hapless fauna.

Several of the plants, like the melaine mushroom, have useful medicinal applications, provided one can harvest them without being eaten.

Flora and Fauna: Blue Beetle

Flora and Fauna: Blue Beetle published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - blue beetleAh, the humble blue beetle, such a common sight in the Valley it gets the most obvious possible name. It’s also one of the main sources of animal protein for the citizens of Pocalo. So delicious, so nutritious.

Humans typically cook these insects prior to eating, as the texture of raw bug is not especially appetizing (similar in consistency to raw poultry). At the same time, “appetizing” is a luxurious concern for one who hasn’t had anything to eat in awhile, and humans can eat the beetle flesh raw if need be.

Daraz, meanwhile, aren’t accustomed to cooking food first (they can’t have fires in their underground cities or they’d all die of asphyxiation). But, whether raw or cooked, Daraz don’t typically care much for the taste of blue beetle and only tend to eat it out of necessity. The Rovari name for this particular insect translates roughly as “edible, I guess.”

Humans don’t just use the blue beetle for food. The shells are collected and ground into powder, which is then made into fabric dye. This particular dye is called “blue beetle blue,” JUST in case you were confused about the color or the source. Any dyed fabric is fancier than un-dyed fabric, but blue beetle blue still doesn’t rise much above “better than nothing.”

Flora and Fauna: Sweetberry Bush

Flora and Fauna: Sweetberry Bush published on

Valley of the Silk Sky - sweetberry bush

Sure, giant mudbats can be scary if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, but by far the most dangerous thing in this picture is that massive green shrub, the sweetberry bush.

As the name would imply, the bush produces a delectable fruit. It’s quite edible and nutritious! Some enterprising soul who encountered the bush in its native habitat thought, “Why don’t I bring this lovely, innocent little plant back to Pocalo with me, that I may cultivate its delicious produce?”

Well, it turns out birds took a liking to the berries and cheerfully dispersed the seeds in their poop, and the sweetberry bush really, REALLY took a liking to the province of Muru in particular. It spread explosively, and has choked out countless native species in its rampage across the landscape.

Economic and Social Effects

Muru’s economy has long been heavily dependent on the collection and sale of the various rare medicinal plants that grow throughout the province. Runners who specialized in a particular species found themselves out of work after the sweetberry bush showed up in their region and destroyed the indigenous flora.

The resulting economic instability has led to a significant increase in crime throughout Muru, with many former runners becoming bandits. Meanwhile, the extinction of numerous medically beneficial species has caused a resurgence in various previously-treatable diseases, resulting in waves of epidemics throughout Pocalo as supplies of medicines have run out. Social services are stretched thin dealing with both the crime and the epidemics.

The Poison Marsh

Attempts to control the bush have ranged from the ineffective to the utterly disastrous. The worst of these was an experiment with an herbicide whose runoff collected into a low-lying area, rendering a whole region dangerously toxic. This area is now simply known as the Poison Marsh.

Worst of all, the herbicide not only failed to kill the bush, but destroyed various other plants, opening up even more of the landscape to colonization by … THE DREADED SWEETBERRY BUSH.

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