[ World ]

Colossal, amorphous fleshy meat-factories with steam-spewing spires rising from their backs. While in their passive phase, roots extend from their bloated, wrinkled bodies and burrow deep into the surrounding earth, absorbing nutrients. Every few seasons they churn out a batch of about a half-dozen newborn Teratomas. They do nothing to care for their vulnerable offspring; they are sedentary, only uprooting themselves to migrate when nutrients in the area are low or if activity in the area is getting too boisterous. While uprooted, Teratoma Mothers are in their active phase, and have a more defined form.

Mothers gossip to one another by sending sound waves echoing along channels in the earth carved out by large subterranean annelids. Information about weather conditions, nutrients, how ugly their last batch of offspring looked, and local activity is shared, among other things mothers chatter about.

Few risk pestering an easily irritable Mother, as one swing from a sturdy root or a blistering blast of steam can kill in an instant.

The massive offspring of the Teratoma Mothers with an adoration for nature but generally little respect for each other. They have a somewhat humanoid form and live short, violent lives. When they first emerge from their Mother’s flesh, they are minuscule, frail, and easy morsels for predatory creatures. Young Teratomas survive by concentrating in groups with a strict pecking order, which they begin establishing quickly after birth. Newborns are carnivorous and will attempt to eat any living creature within reach, even if it’s equal in size. Later in their lives they’ll start snacking on the various poisonous flora that populate the world, slowly growing a tolerance to the poisons and giving themselves an alternative source of nutrients.

Teratomas are born with a certain set of adaptations depending on their Mother, often these adaptations don't become visible until after a few weeks of growth. Throughout their lives Teratomas can change drastically to adapt to their surroundings, how well and quickly they adapt depends on their mutation rate, which can be manipulated by consuming certain plants and creatures. Consuming other Teratomas provides the highest mutation rate boost.

Once Teratomas near adulthood they begin parting from their groups, seeking out territories and natural resources to defend. Some Teratomas may choose to remain together or to accompany others they meet along their travels. Groups of adult Teratomas are nomadic, and rarely remain in the same area for an extended period of time.

Teratomas viciously protect the ecosystems they rely on and are an indicator of the local ecosystem’s health. Solitary Teratomas serve as warden over a single domain or a chain of small territories along a migratory route. Groups of Teratomas traverse continuously from one region to another to avoid depleting too many vital resources. The damage a lingering group of Teratomas can inflict on an ecosystem can take years to recover, if recovery is possible. Due to competition over resources, Teratomas traveling in groups tend to be more aggressive and unpredictable. It is not uncommon for Teratomas to prey on each other to reduce competition.

The smallest variant of Teratomas, and one of the most dangerous. They grow within a Teratoma Mother shortly after the Mother’s emergence, but lie dormant until near the end of the Mother’s life where they emerge from the Mother’s lumpy, wrinkled flesh. A Teratoma Mother produces roughly 10 wriggly Drones. After waking from their slumber, the Drones immediately get to work tracking down a desirable host. They hunt down healthy, powerful Teratomas by their scent and follow the trail relentlessly. Once they track down their target, they attempt parasitization of the potential host. If parasitization is successful, the two become a Teratoma Queen. If parasitization fails, and the Drone is not mortally wounded, they will attempt to track down another target. Teratomas generally fear Drones, as they prefer their current lives and are not prepared for the changes that becoming a Queen, and eventually Mother entails. There are some Teratomas though who have interest in Drones, either due to a desire to become a Mother (or short-lived Queen) or to consume them for a mutation rate boost.

A Teratoma that has been parasitized by a Drone, and is undergoing growth and mutation to prepare for metamorphosis into a Teratoma Mother. This period of growth lasts about 10-15 years, during this time their mutation rate increases and they grow more aggressive and less sociable. Queens that were part of a pack of Teratomas may eventually split from their group or challenge for a leadership position in the pack. Teratoma Queens that stick with their pack are highly protective of the other Teratomas in their group, though this protectiveness may come from a sense of dominance over the other Teratomas rather than genuine care for their wellbeing.

Supermassive Teratomas that appear every few millennia. Their presence ushers in an era of prosperity, abundance, and higher mutation rates. During their centuries long reign, the Teratoma Mothers go dormant. The population of Teratomas grows sparse during this time, as the Teratoma Mothers produce fewer offspring due to plentiful resources that do not require protection. A Teratoma Queen has potential to metamorphose into a Titan under specific conditions, what exactly these conditions are is unknown. Populations of megafauna and megaflora rise during Titan Eras, these being what the Teratoma Titans mainly feed on. There are rarely more than 3 Titans stomping about at one time during a Titan Era.
Teratoma Titans are much like their smaller variant, acting as guardians of natural resources, just bigger and stompier. Titans are revered by the more spiritual of the Cysts, being seen as deities made physical. They are seen as healers of the land, bringing a moment of peace after multiple millennia of vicious survival. Though this peace will eventually have to end.
Titan Eras come to a close when resources eventually deplete, unable to sustain the megafauna and megaflora the Titan’s rely on. The length of Titan Eras have been gradually decreasing due to increased Cyst activity, and it has been over 4 millennia since the last Titan was seen.

Humanoid beings resembling root vegetables that make a nuisance of themselves wherever they go. They’re social creatures that live together within communities consisting of hundreds of different individuals. Communication is done through a mixture of vocalizations and gestures. Cysts tend to come up with creative solutions to problems and do not fare well when left alone with their thoughts for too long. Some have a disturbing interest in fire and changing the land (and wildlife) to suit their whims.

A rare biological event: at dusk millions of thread-like organisms emerge from the earth to weave themselves together to form the skin of these massive siphonophore-like structures, when the sun begins to rise they dissipate and return to the soil. These structures commonly appear as long colossal tubes with stringy limbs that slowly stride across the landscape. The interior of these structures are hollow and are much like a wind tunnel. Occasionally airborne creatures will get caught by air flowing into a Baron’s gaping maw, and eventually shot out of the various openings of the Baron’s body. Unlucky creatures however may find themselves caught within the Baron’s woven skin, usually resulting in death.

Airborne creatures that build their nests among the chimneys that rise from the Teratoma Mothers’ backs. The hot blistering steam produced by the Teratoma Mothers can easily kill, but the thick tough skin of the Spire Keepers protects them from being cooked alive. A favorite food of the Keepers are parasites that grow near the opening of the Teratoma Mothers’ steam spires and within the crevices of their wrinkly flesh. If their host Mother is releasing offspring, the Keepers may help release any stuck meatballs (newborn Teratomas) from the Mother’s flesh by using their hooked, knife-like claws to cut them loose. Younger Spire Keepers are known to playfully roll around newborn Teratomas like a toy, a very confusing and disorienting introduction to life for the newborn meatballs. A sign that a newborn Teratoma is destined to become a vicious hunter is when it eats the Keeper that toys with it.

Organic constructs of artificial nature created by a group of cysts led by Doc. Their purpose is to serve Cysts, and to usurp the place of nature where the Cysts have left ruin. The first prototype of these biological machines, the Hound, was deployed to patrol pastures and keep livestock safe from predators. However the homunculus would occasionally attract the attention of Teratomas, whom could see through the artificial nature of the construct, causing a feeling of uncanny valley. The Teratomas would react to this with curiosity, or violence.
As development techniques advanced, the homunculi became more complex and their creation more demanding. With the violent dance between the expansion of Cyst territory and the natural world's drive for survival, resources viable for the production of homunculi are becoming scarce, resulting in a turn to desperate and insidious measures.