Corpsevines

A race of sentient plants growing out of dead bodies or on living beings, overtaking their host.

Appearance

Coprpsevines are highly varied in their appearance, as there are many different varieties and even for the same variety, the body they grow out of strongly influences their growth as well.

Some naturally resemble trees or certain water plants, in which case, an adult would most likely look like a living tree, with some possible resemblance to the animal or Higher Being they originally grew out of.

In general, the tallest and strongest Corpsevines are the ones that grew out of the body of a higher being, especially ones that were still alive. Of course, the environment and availability of nutrients also heavily influences growth, so even this is just a general rule.

Some of the most unique Corpsevines have physiologies similar to mosses or mushrooms growing on stones or on other plants. These often require only little flesh and blood to survive and grow very tall. They usually root themselves deep into whatever they are growing out of and incorporate it into their bodies. There are even some Corpsevines that barely resemble plants at all and look more like living stones overgrown with moss.

[Ryxos]'(../ryxos.md) Curse

Ryxos' influence strongly altered the life cycles of Corpsevines. In their original forms, when one would die, they would simply wither and decompose with their seeds implanted in their bodies. Then a new Corpsevine could often grow without any animal or higher being involved at all.

But their bodies got corrupted, and now it is impossible for a Corpsevine to grow and survive without a jump start of flesh and blood in their young days. And even more devastatingly, when a Corpsevine dies, they will explode into a cloud of seeds that spread far and wide, and are even carried by the wind for long distances. When such a seed then encounters another creature, it attaches itself and starts feeding on the attached body, slowly overtaking the host and taking the body for themselves.

Cultures

Due to their unique circumstances surrounding death, most Corpsevines have a very rigid procedure when they know their life is about to come to an end. Once a Corpsevine has reached their final stage of life, they take a pigrimage to the Moonveil Fen, visiting the Everbloom and sending one last prayer to Eryssa. Afterwards they search for a quiet place where they settle and wait for their life to end. Once their seeds are then spread, most will stay in the Fen and not bloom at all or bloom on some animals living there, rather than some higher beings. While this does not stop some from dying under different circumstances and possibly killing many other higher beings in the process, this ritual is enough to both keep the population of Corpsevines fairly small.

As this also means most Corpsevines grow up deep in a swamp where they have to fight for their survival for many years, many of them never leave the Fen, even if they live to adulthood. The ones that do, never having had any upbringing or contact with any other higher beings, are often extremely lost and cannot integrate into most societies. Often, they die very soon after leaving the swamp, which brings some more variety to their species. But this is also a reason why most people avoid the Fen and its surrounding areas for fear of getting hit by their spores.

To make sure their species does not die out, there are some Corpsevines that live near or even inside the swamp and take in young ones, teaching them about life and allowing them to live normal lives once they have grown to adulthood.

There is another fairly large community of corpsevines in the Skywood Grove. While this a fairly large distance from the Moonveil Fen, it is also far from most other large cities and population centers, somewhat mitigating the danger even when a Corpsevine dies without reaching the Fen. As can be seen from the Skywood Trees, this is also an environment that is amicable to the growth of most plants, allowing the inhabitants to thrive and live long lives. The Corpsevines here are also known the grow the largest of their species.

Religion

Due to their strong connection to the Moonveil Fen and the Everbloom, most Corpsevines primarily worship Eryssa, the goddess of patience and time. Because of her strong connection to nature, many also hold Kalia in very high regard as well.