Y1078
Masons
Danger Level - 2/5
Masons live almost anywhere, but especially in the flatlands east of the Mari Sierra, where there are towering cities they have constructed. The Architecture of Masons is often strange and unsymmetrical, but at a grand scale nonetheless. Masons are perhaps the singular race that is openly social with humans and does not have some sort of ancient hatred against them. However, it is noted that due to our continued treatment of Farioka, and even some past incidents, there are certain colonies of Masons that act unfriendly or hostile to humans. Regardless, the majority of Masons are neutral or friendly to humans.
One of the reasons that Masons have received a lower threat level to humans than other humans have is because of their obvious presence. Masons come in large families called colonies, which are composed of a Queen, one or more Lords, and their children. The Queen, at later stages of a colony, is usually immobile and therefore they do not pose a direct political threat within the colony or neighboring colonies if you simply stay away from them. A single colony is usually incredible dense as well, and, though they have massive territories in order to gather nectar, as Masons consume primarily this along with some fruits and plants, the actual space in which they build and commune is centered around the Queen.
This makes unintentional intrusion on property fairly rare, though Masons usually don’t mind anyways. Further bumping down their rate of danger is the fact they are only awake during the warm seasons, when the main flower they drink from and have a mutual relationship, Resonance, is blooming. Exploring through the Great Woods, especially east of the Mari Sierra, during the summer, was particularly beautiful. The flowers were vibrant purple in color, and dripped with a pale green nectar. Masons, which I saw frequently drinking from these flowers with their long tongues, were enthralled with the amount of food, but moved highly efficiently. Some stopped to talk with me as I passed, but they seemed in a hurry. Perhaps their incoming hibernation due to the approach of fall motivates them to stockpile. When hibernating, Masons sleep deeply and are not any sort of threat.
Besides reasons shared with humans, Masons can be aggressive if you get near their Queen or Lords without permission, and if you are not escorted to their chamber by members of the colony. Mason Lords, as I have found, are also generally aggressive. I suppose one of their purposes, besides being the Queen’s mates, is to protect her as well. They are quite large and more muscular than the rest, so I believe tussling with one would probably end poorly without some kind of strategy. Additionally, females, which are much rarer than males and act as mothers to the eggs that the Queen produces, and may act aggressively out of defensive purposes to the young they raise.
In the case of conflict with a Mason, which should be rare in theory, it is important to note their speed; without being weighed down by having large volumes of food in their storage glands, Masons can move very quickly with their 6 legs. It is also notable that a Mason’s silk, which can be used to make things such as nearly inescapable nets all the way to rope, and even to molded weapons, is highly vulnerable to fire. This same thing applies to all structures they create with their silk. Though, please do not go around burning Mason cities if you happen to be wildly racist. Other than arson, similar techniques should be used when fighting humans, though it should be noted that Masons will never have difficulty finding one another, and are reluctant to fight.
If it comes to avoidance or retreat, Masons have a very weak sense of sight, besides shape and depth. Therefore, trying to blend in with an environment physically, as they cannot see color, may be more effective. However, Masons make up for this with a highly developed sense of smell, through which they can communicate emotions, signals, and intentions, and also locate one another. Because of this, scent-masking techniques should be used, or some way to overwhelm their sense. Climbing is ineffective due to the aptitude Masons have in this skill However, Masons cannot swim due to their body structure, so treading water or a river could be valuable assets for an escape.
However, due to the temperament that Masons generally possess towards humans and the human qualities that they clearly possess, I believe the prospect of classifying them as a danger, like some form of wild beast, is disgraceful. Therefore, please only take my words into consideration if it is a necessity. Peace with humans is a rare quality that Masons possess; we should not give them the reasons to discard it. I worked with Masons multiple times on my journeys, especially after my legendary climb of the Mari Sierra. They were generally helpful and aided me in documenting and naming several different areas. It is also apparent that they have a multitude of Cursed individuals among them, as I ran into one wielding the power of Acid, named Viktor. He was incredibly friendly, helpful and enjoyed studying geology.
Torchpods
Threat Level - 3/5
One of the lesser known and stranger races, Torchpods primarily reside in the Sea of Flames and the Rosewind Desert, which are highly hot and dry environments. They are not populous, possessing fairly small numbers, considering how few I encountered on my travels through these regions. Torchpods prosper specifically in such climates; it seems that not only their bodies rely on the heat in order for both operation and the use of their fire, but they use sand as a medium for both secure housing, catching prey, and cleaning their scales. It is highly unlikely that any Torchpod would willingly leave such an environment. Due to how sparse human presence is in these regions, it should be trivial to avoid any danger posed by Torchpods.
Humans have posed and continue to pose a threat to Torchpods in a multitude of ways, the most prominent of which is the collection of the shells of deceased Torchpods, which are ritualistically kept by the relatives of the deceased. Therefore, stealing and keeping one, especially for a purpose of decoration, is a particularly vile gesture, and is a major source of conflict between Torchpods and humans. Besides this, humans are much more proficient in the wielding of weapons, and have developed ways to counteract a Torchpod’s abilities.
Unlike most races, however, Torchpods actively avoid humans, likely because of their lesser physical ability and how easy it is for one to hide; Torchpods are great at digging in sand, and can use their long whiskers to sense vibrations in the world above. They are also nocturnal, in which they possess an advantage in their vision. The darkness doesn’t affect their strongest sense, touch, anyways. Additionally, due to their non-verbal communication using the apparition of fire within their shell, and their quadrupedal movement, they can be incredibly quiet in the desert sand. However, when cornered, or in the case of a Torchpod which is opposed to humans, either due to personal reasons or teachings from their community, the average Torchpod will not hesitate to fight a human.
Due to their webbed feet and small size, balanced by their fat and unwieldy weight distribution, a Torchpod moves at a similar speed as a human will in a desert environment. Torchpods possess thick scaly hide and large amounts of fat, which makes their body less susceptible to attacks, such as blunt ones, besides in their head. This is without considering their shell, which they can quickly curl into and do not leave any opening to attack into; a shell may be penetrated easily with a pickaxe or another similarly forceful mining tool. Exiting their shell takes longer than entering it, which may provide a cushion to your reaction time. However, underestimation in the time a counter-attack from a Torchpod previously on the defensive can be performed is common, and fatal.
Torchpods have far less technology than humans, and lesser proficiency with weapons. Surprise attacks are only effective at night, as they sleep, usually mostly buried in sand, or strange cave-like structures held by friction, during the day. This slumber is incredibly deep, and a Torchpod is usually curled in their shell at the time, not to mention that they give no sign of their presence. However, at night, communicating silently with their fire, Torchpods will use a combination of surprise attacks by reading vibrations in the sand and more human-like hunting, but are often above the dunes at this time, and therefore, are realistically possible to find and more vulnerable.
A tower shield or clothing lathered with a dense Aukami mixture should always be brought if you intend to draw out a fight or believe you cannot immediately destroy the Torchpod. This is because of their signature ability which can prove extremely dangerous, fire breath, especially due to a lack of any cover in the desert. Also take note that, as Torchpods can communicate from long distance, silently, and without possible interpretation from humans, they can easily organize sneak attacks, especially from below. Precautions could be taken, such as throwing rocks or other objects to fake vibrations, though fooling one with this may be wishful thinking and could, in some situations, attract more unwanted attention. Similar is the misconception that they may be scared of bright light, similar to Sempiscs; though their vision is powerful at picking up light and determining signals from other Torchpods, it is not particularly endangered by powerful light sources.
Torchpods can make noise if necessary, or when in pain, but it is apparent that either they do not have humanoid vocal structures to use verbal language, or they choose not to. Though, such a thing may be disadvantageous due to their environment and hunting patterns. Either way, any sort of human collaboration with a Torchpod has proven difficult to me due to their rarity and general dislike of humans. As of today, there are only a few decipherations of their visual language.
Midas’ Gardeners
Threat Level - 0/5
As the threat level considers the threat they have on the continuation of a human life, Midas’ Gardeners rest their level at a zero. However, if considering “injury” or “discomfort”, this level would certainly be far higher. As, during late Fall and Winter, when the time is right and they have no immediately distinct features compared to humans, they are completely obsessed with making humans consume the seeds of the fruit they produce, which will turn a human into one of them. After studying them for a few weeks, I would not wish such a fate on my worst enemy. Whether a Gardener is actually some sort of plant merged with a human or if it is actually one organism resembling a mixture is unknown, and until our technology, studies, and banks of knowledge develop further, such a question may remain unsolved.
During the warmer parts of the year, when they half-resemble somewhat of a fruiting flower, Midas’ Gardeners pose little threat, besides being nuisances. During the day, they will root themselves, absorbing water and nutrients with their hair-like roots and sunlight with their leafy vine-like fingers, and sleep. At this time, it is not difficult to disturb the ground around them or inflict injury in order to wake one up, in which case, as a human would when being woken up from sleep, especially considering the Gardener would have to uproot itself, they would likely be irritated if not for a good reason. During the night, Gardeners are active and mainly focus on drinking and eating as much as they possibly can, in which they may pose more of a threat due to their hunger. Nonetheless, Sempiscs remain as the only race listed thus far to eat humans regularly. However, food supplies should be secured unless blackmail or something resembling a threat comes into play.
Through the the warm season, Gardeners will produce nectar in their sleep, in which they highly resemble a flower, then pollinating one another through the same process any other flower would. I have also seen opportunistic Masons drawing nectar from Gardeners, and therefore pollinating them. Eventually, they will grow fruit. Though I will not go into detail with this besides the notion that they are a mismatch of flower and human biology, this is one of the most gruesome processes I have ever seen in my life, and upon realizing the implications of what was happening, I left the area immediately; I still possess no desire to share details. Notably, though, when the heat begins to wane, one half of Gardeners are immobile and dependent, while the other half gathers even more food, essentially resulting in no change with their wildly voracious eating habits.
Despite this cycle of suffering, and a drive by instinct, Gardeners were once human, and are still mostly human, possessing similar intelligence. Despite this, it is important to remember that their fruit has been finished by mid-fall and will not yet rot entirely until the end of winter, in which they will attempt to feed humans the seeds of the fruit, especially in their sleep or in their food, unless they have returned to a normal human sleep schedule in the peak of their humanity during the winter. As nobody should want to become a Gardener, it is suggested to check your food, though eating a seed without the fruit with it would likely be difficult; the flesh of the fruit they produce is addictive and is a laxative to your muscles, essentially dooming you to eating a seed if it is present within the fruit’s flesh you are eating, which it likely is. For anyone with knowledge of what the fruit they produce does, though, they will probably have an easy time avoiding the consumption of a seed.
Shadows
Threat Level - 3/5
Shadows are one of any of the humanoid races that have their body surrounded by a dark, smoke-like substance that directly withers any bio-matter that it touches. I have named it “Ruin”. They also have glowing eyes of a multitude of colors that shine through their gloomy veil. Most of their eyes were white, though some were blue or red. During their movement, I could see their bodies underneath the Ruin, most of them with naked or wearing torn garments, so it is evident that they are still technically “alive” physically, despite being coated in the dangerous Ruin. I could not examine a body, as the substance did not stop festering upon their form, even post-mortem.
They also seem to be able to control this Ruin to a degree, and even inject it into other beings in order to turn them into a Shadow, which they attempted to do repeatedly to us, swarming like rabid animals to a lure. Safe to say, they had not retained their previous intelligence, or had gone completely insane. As the only Shadows I found were at the end of my journey, while traveling through a place said to have been cursed for thousands of years, I did not get to learn much more than this about either them or the Ruin, nor did I want to when they converted one of my partners, and killed others trying to.
Though the said partner remained alive, but internally injured, coughing up blood, his eyes had turned a glowing, eerie, white color. The Ruin began to surround him as well, immediately, only stopping once we got away from the other Shadows and there was little of it present. However, he was immune to it’s effects, and he seemed to be able to push it away from himself, though it was futile and always came back to surround him once more. As I still had to continue my journey, my other assistants took precautions in order to return him home, and some place where he could be diagnosed, though I knew nobody would have ever seen something like this before, unless they had traveled here themselves. Unfortunately, I had received a letter that my former partner was forced to be killed after he, too, lost his mind, and began trying to spread his affliction to others.
As Shadows pose a threat to both your body, when trying to turn you into one of them and either succeeding and failing, and your mind, I have placed them at a moderately high danger level. It is not recommended to enter the westernmost isle, especially in the north, as the area is swarming with them. Other than these things, I do not know any way to fend them off besides long-ranged combat, as close ranged combat with them is suicide without armor to block their attempts to inflict your body with their Ruin, and they cannot be reasoned with. Bows and throwing spears should be effective, though I would rather one stay away from these monsters altogether.
Reapers
Threat Level - 4/5
I have intentionally encountered five separate Reapers in all of my travels, three of which over 500 years ago; despite being rare, they are incredibly easy to locate due to how much Cerulean energy they emit, and the amazing conflict of such energy within them, along with the strange link their mind has with their body. They also seem to connect to somewhere I cannot perceive All of the Reapers seemed particularly focused on myself, rather than the others around me, oddly. Do they eat Curses, as well, or is there some sort of effect a Curse has on my flame? It is difficult to say. Reapers are incredibly mysterious.
Through my own experience and vague folklore surrounding the Reapers, it is clear that they are some sort of “holy being” that gathers Cerulean Flames in order to bring back to the “Grand Flame”, whatever that means. Nonetheless, they can appear as any of the races, but they are most often human. There is no distinguishable difference between them and who they represent. Reapers can communicate like humans, and, according to some dubious studies and communications, they have this as their apparent job and lifeblood. Though, as mentioned, the credibility of this information, or what they really gather. Similarly, it is also thought that Reapers are the reasons why all Cerulean Flames eventually disappear, and why there isn’t as much dissipated Cerulean Energy in the atmosphere as one would think.
It is notable, though, that they do not seem to consume flame within their body, instead, storing it. Perhaps such is true, after all. It has also been said that they have some sort of marking and that they are corpses controlled by such. This I can confirm by having observed a Reaper who had no Cerulean Flame with them at all, besides in such a marking on their forehead, which had some sort of blatant energy connection with their body. It is possible that this may connect back with Curses, a link to which appears rarely in some sorts of old legends. However, I wouldn’t give much credibility to this, either, until there is proper evidence or sources available.
Therefore, despite having a chance of reasoning at one (Though a few of the Reapers I have met were completely insane), the prospect is feasible at best. Reapers are after Cerulean Flames. Despite being present in the air and the world around, as any Bender or Cursed can see, Reapers primarily target the flames within something freshly killed. Likely, this is due to it being diluted very little from post-mortality. It is also notable that Reapers can sense Cerulean Flame even without being a Bender, which is usually a necessity for such. However, after trials I have had with them, they cannot sense any other kind of energy, such as that from my own attacks. They seem to be able to influence flames to a small degree as well, but only enough to where they can pull in disembodied flames, or extract a fazed one from the living using the gateway of spirits; the mouth.
Since you cannot hide from a Reaper, either run until someone/something else would be a better use of their time, or attempt to mutilate it. Reapers do not feel pain (Though they can sense their own body as any individual can), but they still rely on their body as their vessel in order to weaken you to extract your soul. Therefore, harming their body with the intention to reduce mobility may be effective against them. I have done this a multitude of times to Reapers, which has proven relatively effective. However, it is apparent that they eventually regenerate, and, as I have experienced, they may track you down using their ability to sense flame, which may allow them to locate and move towards specific individuals from very far away. As a Reaper is practically an invincible enemy due to this, it is unwise to attempt and make an enemy with one by employing more than necessary measures to ensure your escape.
In any case, a Reaper is a dangerous opponent due to this, though it seems that, despite their seeming immortality and eventual regeneration, they seek to avoid damage to their vessel. Reapers, being essentially like us, will use a variety of methods in order to kill. So, dealing with one that seeks to kill you is the same as dealing with a determined murderer of your own race. Though quite scary and difficult to defend against, survival is plausible, as long as you do not rely on the infliction of pain to fend one off. Though this complicates things greatly, at the end of the day, they are really quite mortal when face to face… if they take such a direct approach to the dirty work of Death.
The Weeping Ones
Threat Level - ???
Weeping Ones are by far the most enigmatic Unnaturals. Only a few have ever appeared in history, and they are rumored to have ugly scars and rashes surrounding their glowing, horrible eyes (Hence the name), and possess potent and varying abilities. However, when one appears in this world, every bender will know. In Y1014, a daunting and indomitable presence entered the mind of benders across the globe, for about an hour. It was very far away from me, but I can’t imagine the consequences of coming anywhere near whatever that thing was. However, it left as suddenly as it appeared. Are the Weeping Ones not of this world? Similar events have been recorded simultaneously to the records of the appearances of the Weeping Ones.
Due to their nature, it would be wise to either run or do anything that they ask. I cannot give any further advice in this subject as I have not experienced the direct, physical presence of one myself.
Curious how this ties in with the Cerulean flames in your game that you mentioned some time ago. If Cerulean flames are the fire of life that come from a grand flame, does that mean the grand flame is God, or the creator of all life?