The Grass Elves of Callio
Every seventeen years, clutches of grass elf hunters from the village of Callio, venture out onto Alizarin Steppe in search of giant cicada nymphs. On clear nights, under the canopy of stars and the light of the recurring comet Aolothuwee, the clutch matriarch trained in the ways of soil tasting, samples her way across the dusty shelf. She stops at the tell tale sign: a salty acid brine mixed with the taste of honey and ammonia on the tongue. The team is signaled and begin to dig. Just below the surface is a deposit of golden jelly- an excretion produced from the nymph's neck glands prior to the act of molting. The elves take care to scoop every drop of this rare medicinal delicacy into clay vessels. The clutch then begins loosening soil, digging out in a ten food ring from the deposit. Not far below, the great nymph lies burrowed and sleeping. It’s golden head a yard across with black saucer eyes the size of mans head. Its monstrous ribbed body lies buried below. If aroused, it could awaken in a fury. An elf poisoner is lowered down to the nymph. She draws a long hollow reed loaded with a dose of paralytic moon lotus water, slips it into the exposed crease beneath the gland, and blows. Once sedated, the nymph is then drawn out with ropes, tied down upon a sturdy pallet, and born away by the troupe toward its final destination: The Grand Ampulla of Calyx.
The Painted Ascetics of Calyx
In the tent village at the base of Calyx, the Painted Ascetics worship the “the Father of Ten Thousand Forms”. They draw spirals and eyes upon their naked bodies with an intoxicating paste in order to commune with his "singing presence". Tattered fabric tents and prayer flags emblazoned with elder signs flutter in the desert wind. Day and night, thick clouds of incense & burning sage rise and commingle with the sound of sonorous chanting.
The blue ghost centipede is at the center of the cult of the Ascetics. When ground into a paste, eaten, snorted or ingested through the skin it provides an addictive euphoria & manifests unpredictable psychic phenomena. Prolonged eating stains the teeth, tongue, gums, and face a shade of deep indigo. Eventually the ascetic's vocal cords become paralyzed and they lose the faculty of speech. Some speculate, however, that cultists who reach this advanced level have no need for speech, having mastered the gift of telepathy.The Arcanum of Calyx
No merchant of Calyx dares park his stall in the shadow of the Arcanum, for fear of the demon-sworn magi that dwell within. The Arcanum appears as a matte black hexagonal tower rising 60 feet above the busy market district--each of its sides emblazoned with great silver sigils that slowly change over the course of the day. The Arcanum is doorless and windowless, with no apparent way in or out. Calyx's magi dwell here, and study their occult formulae in sworn secrecy. The wizards are given a wide birth at the market. They can be seen in their black silk robes wordlessly collecting exotic regents from terrified vendors, only to vanish suddenly from sight. Accessing the college is a feat only the mad would dare. It is said that at on certain nights at sunset, on the western wall, a riddle written in silver script can be seen, catching the last light of the setting sun. If the correct answer is written in chalk upon the wall, before the sun sets, a magical door is said to appear granting access. When the sun slips below the horizon, the riddle and the door are lost.
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