Blue

Blue

Art by Snejkha

Relatives	Grandmother Fungus (great-grandmother)
Languages	Common, Mycelial Hum (Fungril Tongue)
Affiliations	Gravekeeper Tribe
Aliases	Aa’luumaalem (Roughly Translated Mycelial Hum Name)
Marital Status	Has woven roots with Verdigris (open relationship)
Place of Birth	North Caskin (Wanderborne)
Species	Fungril
Gender	Nonbinary (she/they)
Height	4’8
Weight	75 lbs
Eye Color	Blue

Blue is a Fungril from the nomadic Gravekeeper Tribe. They greatly enjoy the opportunity they have been given to help Motherboard and travel with companions, though they didn’t really think prison was all that bad. She is a Pact of the Endless Warlock of Motherboard.

Physical Appearance

Blue is a short Fungril with light blue skin, blue eyes, and a mushroom cap atop her head. She has no nose or mouth and communicates through a form of telepathy that utilizes the Fungril mycelial network. Blue wears a silver and blue leafy cloak composed of dyed dead leaves and carries a silver and bronze staff named Emissary that acts as her Ikonis. She usually walks barefoot as is commonplace among the Fungril of her tribe, though she has sturdy brown sandals stashed in her pack in case she needs them. Blue also carries around a large blue backpack woven from leaves that stores multiple miscellaneous objects including several dryroot cookies.

Personality

Blue has a tendency to be oblivious unless she is curious enough to believe something requires her immediate attention. This, combined with her tendency to see the best in people (unless they are allied with Sonrise or make the mistake of attacking her allies), led her to accidentally become involved with an illegal data mining operation. Even in prison, Blue wasn’t the type to become depressed by her circumstances: she has a roll with the punches attitude when things don’t go her way. Her connection with Motherboard has led her to revere the Mother in much the same way she reveres Grandmother Fungus. Woe to those who would threaten either of Blue’s mothers.

History

Blue sprouted from the spores of two Gravekeeper lore weavers. She spent her early childhood being taught the ways of the tribe: their death rites, their allegiance to Motherboard, and their connection to the mycelial network. Blue was happy to absorb all the information as she was an incredibly curious child, a trait that stuck with her into adulthood. From the time she could first fully delve into the Fungril network, Blue was fascinated by the tales of Motherboard’s construction and how she was the centerpiece of Kim’s infosphere. It wasn’t long before Blue began to view Motherboard as a parental figure much like Grandmother Fungus. Blue took the chance to become a lore weaver herself with a great deal of enthusiasm: so much enthusiasm that she would often spend days delving into the depths of the mycelium even when she was only supposed to deposit information. Blue often found herself daydreaming about leaving Caskin to explore and returning to add more tales to her tribe’s collection. When the Gravekeepers were encamped near the border to Southern Caskin, a shifty group of Katari approached Blue with a proposal to “improve” one of Caskin’s data wells by making it better able to retrieve and process information. Blue happily agreed, but the “improvement” attempt backfired dramatically. A wave of static pulsed out from the data well and Blue’s consciousness was plunged into the mycelial network where it reached out and connected to Motherboard. Afterward, Blue was unconscious for two days, and woke up in the custody of Caskin’s prison. She reacted surprisingly well to being forced into a work release program, opting to view it as a new experience.

Languages

Blue sprouted with the ability to speak the Mycelial Hum and was taught to speak the Common Tongue by the elders of her tribe. Since she has no mouth, her method of communication with non-Fungril entities consists of adapting the music of the Mycelial Network into sounds recognizable as Common. Non-Fungril who attempt to listen to the Mycelial Hum usually become overwhelmed by the various frequencies and pure thought essence used in the language. Despite this, some non-Fungril members of the Gravekeeper Tribe have learned to listen for the direct meaning communicated by the Hum’s sounds; most of them still aren’t adept enough to actually speak the Hum, though.

Powers and Abilities

As a Warlock of Motherboard, Blue has learned to harness the Mother’s power into bursts of technological power that could be considered spells. Though she can speak telepathically without Motherboard’s assistance, she can weave her Mycelial voice together with the Mother’s to speak words of pure torment to someone (Voice of Dread). One of her favorite attacks when angered is to open a small portal through which she can summon tendrils of electrified steel and wire to strike an opponent (Blighting Strike). With a bit of strain, Blue can invoke the Mantle of Motherboard and don the visage of a sparking, staticky amalgamation of remnant aspects to strengthen herself and terrify others (Patron’s Mantle).

Ikonis (Weapon) 

Blue’s Ikonis, Emissary, takes the form of a metallic silver and bronze staff that’s curled at the top. It has vines curling around it from top to bottom and has the kohd for Motherborne engraved into the base. Emissary is capable of firing bolts of electric energy, maintaining potency and accuracy from even far range.

Relationships

Grandmother Fungus

The matriarch of the Gravekeepers. She is the eldest of the Gravekeeper Tribe and the one whose spores spawned the tribe’s first generation. Grandmother Fungus is a caring leader for her tribe members, though at times she’s a bit more aloof than some of them would like. She was the one who decided to allow non-Fungril into the Gravekeepers and she treats them like her own children and grandchildren. Beyond this, Grandmother Fungus is a bit of an enigma. No one knows the story of how she grew or how old she actually is. Her true name, which she has confirmed is not Grandmother Fungus, is also a mystery.

Vii’delleea

Vii’delleea, or The Five Spears, is a guardian of the Gravekeeper Tribe. They are the firstborn of Grandmother Fungus and have held the rank of head guardian for most of their existence. Although all Gravekeepers are capable of at least basic self-defense, it is Vii’delleea’s responsibility to fend off threats to the tribe (whether they are external or internal). As a result, they are distrustful of outsiders and doubt that anyone not raised among the Gravekeepers could fully understand the significance of their rituals. However, they hold no ill-will towards non-Fungril members of the tribe. After all, being a Gravekeeper is more than skin-deep. Their title, The Five Spears, stems from their combat style wherein they conjure and attack with five root spears. They also refuse to go by a Common name. Vii’delleea wishes Blue would practice more caution and discernment; they have had to rescue Blue from predicaments caused by her airheaded nature on more than one occasion. However, Blue has succeeded in making Vii’delleea break their stoic nature with a smile at least two times.

Spore Siblings

The spore siblings are large, visible spores that drift amongst the tribe but have not yet developed Fungril bodies. They exclusively speak the Mycelial Hum and often speak as one, but individual voices sometimes speak up (usually when one develops a particular interest). Not all Fungril of the Gravekeeper Tribe begin as spore siblings, but a good amount of them do. When she was with her tribe, Blue would often spend time talking to the spore siblings to ensure that they always felt included. The siblings, for their part, enjoyed Blue’s rambling explanations about things like her various art projects and attempts to make Vii’dellea happy.

Verdigris

Verdigris is Blue’s root partner and the foremost lore weaver for the tribe: it’s the duty of the lore weavers to ensure that the stories, trials, and triumphs of the Gravekeepers are properly integrated within the Mycelial Network. Blue and Verdigris began bonding when Blue herself first became a lore weaver. Since Verdigris was around three years older than Blue, they acted as her mentor. This led to the two of them seeking each other out for company during their hobbies (artistic work for Blue and attempts to combine technology and nature for Verdigris). Blue and Verdigris eventually underwent the root weaving ceremony and became root partners, though they don’t expect exclusivity from each other. Verdigris didn’t want Blue to go on the data mining operation that led to her imprisonment because, unlike Blue, Verdigris has a sixth sense for when people are bad news.

Heliotrope

Heliotrope and Blue sprouted around the same time and they grew up considering each other siblings/brother and sister. From the time he was young, Heliotrope had a natural understanding of the innate magic of the natural world. He is one of the Gravekeeper’s foremost healers, though their version of healing involves channeling the power of rot—something he has excellent command of. It was Heliotrope’s research (which involved consulting deeply with the Mycelial Network with Blue’s assistance) that led to the reemergence of the tribe’s Rite of Piercing Decay. When not creating new medicinal concoctions, Heliotrope loves to make music.

Death Rites of the Gravekeepers

1. The Rite of Witnessed Death
   1. When a member of the Gravekeeper Tribe sees someone die, they must perform a ritual to formally acknowledge this death. This ritual consists of drawing a circle of leaves and dirt around the body, reciting the Hum of Rot, collecting a memory from the deceased, and dabbing blood from the corpse on one’s body in the shape of Mycelial sigils.
   2. If the deceased is a member of the Gravekeeper Tribe, the corpse must be buried and ingested through roots over the course of three days.
2. The Rite of Piercing Decay  
   1. A taxing but effective ritual that can completely cleanse certain ailments, though it permanently weakens the bodies of those who undergo it.
3. The Rite of Demise
   1. This ritual is a last resort, and that is all Grandmother Fungus will say when asked.

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