Mundus Deus (NSFW, Visions, souls and airships)

To eat the fruit of the ent is to be connected with the Ent until death. For the stumpkin, they would become Entkin and understand the Ent they connect with clear as day. In turn, the Ent can choose a successor from the Entkin, to become an Ent in its place after its passing.

The cube will glow brightly, and a sigil meaning "Fire" will appear on the side. When the sigil is finished, it will glow a bright red and radiate heat. This will be the first step towards the final function of the Cube.

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Spoiler Questions:
- I'm actually quite confused about the relative sizes of the various creatures here... I actually thought that the Gentlemenbug and the Stumpkins were bigger compared to the chick until the pic with them together. I thought Jackalotaurs were relatively bigger, too...... So, would it be possible to maybe see a size chart of some sort in order to avoid any future confusion?
- Until recently, you posted spoiler warned uncensored pics in addition to the censored ones, but not of the Merling, or of the Slixen pics...

P.S. When I suggested the Slixen, I actually just stated the first over the top silly (but not extremely silly) thing that came to my head. But these are just... Gorgeous. And their backstory is awesome as well. I really hope that they will play further parts in the story in the future.

Entfruit, have various effects on different races if ingested, but only be able to gestate inside a Jackalotaur.
I imagine that the Entfruit would act somewhat like an egg of a parasitic wasp. It would enter the Jackalotaur's digestive tract where it would hatch into an Ent larva. The larva would then develop and grow for a while in a specialized "intestinal pouch" inside the Jackalotaur's abdomen, before finally growing too big and leaving the body through the excretory orifice.
Birth, be rather difficult, but usually survivable for both the host and parasite.
Jackalotaur affected, develop an emotional obsession to take care of the Ent larva while it pupates, as well as to make sure the pupa gets proper growing conditions. While in this obsession, put the well being of the larva/pupa above all else, including one's own survival.
(Note: There is a kind of parasitic wasp that lays it's eggs in (or on? Can't remember) a caterpillar that contain a specialized virus to short-circuit the caterpillar's brain and stop it from pupating. Once matured, the wasp larvae then burst out of the caterpillar and pupate around it. But the caterpillar remains alive and brain-washed by the virus and spends the remainder of it's life aggressively protecting the cocoon containing wasp pupae from anything that might endanger it. I imagine something similar might happen to the Jackalotaurs.)

Chick, develop a strange, unpleasant sensation in your stomach. Realize instinctively that it can be alleviated by putting objects into your mouth and swallowing them (It's hunger). Do not, however, be able to tell yet what is edible and what is not.
Also, be relieved to be finally able to walk normally again with the shoes gone. Tear through the stockings fairly quickly, though.

Gentlemenbug, experience mixed emotions. On one hand, you really dislike being cuddled by such a huge (though very aesthetically appealing) monstrosity as the Chick, but on the other, really enjoy the attention and be happy that you've been able to help.

The cube will glow brightly, and a sigil meaning "Fire" will appear on the side. When the sigil is finished, it will glow a bright red and radiate heat. This will be the first step towards the final function of the Cube.

Slixen, do not take well to large amounts of dry heat for long.
Soon after the trouble start, splinter into two factions: One containing pretty much all of their observers and philosophers, as well as the majority of the commoners, support the idea of an emergency evacuation.
The other, containing most of the leadership and virtually all religious elements, support staying put until the problem solves itself.
Slixen society, find yourself on the verge of civil war. All the while as the problem keeps intensifying...

*Mini update*

I have nothing to add to this: only the editorial comments that I'm boggled by the amazing draughtsmanship of the illustrations, and I have definite flashbacks to the early 1970s from the art style and story path.

Thanks man :) im interested in what it reminds you of from the early 70’s stuff. I have no knoweldge of stuff art wise from that time.

Questions:
- I'm actually quite confused about the relative sizes of the various creatures here... I actually thought that the Gentlemenbug and the Stumpkins were bigger compared to the chick until the pic with them together. I thought Jackalotaurs were relatively bigger, too...... So, would it be possible to maybe see a size chart of some sort in order to avoid any future confusion?

- Until recently, you posted spoiler warned uncensored pics in addition to the censored ones, but not of the Merling, or of the Slixen pics...

P.S. When I suggested the Slixen, I actually just stated the first over the top silly (but not extremely silly) thing that came to my head. But these are just... Gorgeous. And their backstory is awesome as well. I really hope that they will play further parts in the story in the future.

Here's a size chart! tbh it will be handy for me too!
Might be fudged a bit, Some of the sizes might not match what i’ve drawn previously.
oh wind sharks grow bigger too (im not retconning honest!)

NSFW

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Spoiler

Im happy you like the slixens :D took me a while to think about them

Also here's the nsfw stuff

NSFW

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You're a very talented artist.



This world is full of variety, in both life and in character. But we need something that binds them all together, and a judge to bring order to the ever growing chaos.

There is a world beyond dyed in shades of milky pink. Where the world of the living had a beating heart, the world of the dead has a soul, twisting and flowing as an endless river of silk, woven by the threads of consciousness that trap all beings to this plane. The surface is a cloud of white misery, thickened with the joys and sorrows of the world, and penetrable only by the spirits that dive and dart through the threshold of life itself. There is nothing here but the wailing ghosts of the dead and the yet to be born, and their caretakers - the very spirits of the world itself. As its very first inhabitants, they lend portions of themselves to the subjects of their care, content simply to watch what they do with the gift of life... but know the righteous from the wicked, and stand ready to collect their debts.

The boy tends to his balloon, and the girl to her ball. At night, their mother plays sweet lullabyes on her harp as her children dream the lives of billions, resting to play this endless game another day.

(As to why I'm reminded of the 1970s...a period in which I was a pre-teen...I do recall the work of Peter Max in particular, who used a very vivid colour palette, combined with some very interesting imagery that was, shall we say, chemically induced abstract.)

If you haven't seen the animated movie "Fantastic Planet" you might want to look it up. Some surreal imagery of an alien world and an amazing psychedelic jazz soundtrack.

You're a very talented artist.

*vibrates* thank you :)

The seeds have a hard waxy coating which requires they pass through the digestive system of a jackotaur before they can germinate. They also have to undergo a hard freeze. (They can't be easy to sprout, otherwise we would be overrun with ents!)

The ent fruit grants a temporary boon of Cosmic Vision (i.e. vivid hallucinations) to whomever eats it.

To eat the fruit of the ent is to be connected with the Ent until death. For the stumpkin, they would become Entkin and understand the Ent they connect with clear as day. In turn, the Ent can choose a successor from the Entkin, to become an Ent in its place after its passing.

They followed the jackotaur deeper into the forest and stop by a massive tree. The truck of the tree is hollowed out with the indentations of teeth marks around the wall of the tunnel entrance.

The jackotaur passed two guards and descended into the tunnel, fruit in hand.

The guards were armed with spears. The tip was made of a green gemstone, attached to a shaft made of a strange material not of wood.

The spear tip caught the stumpkins eye as it shined in the light.

She asked the ent to put her down and slowly moved to the entrance.

Just before getting a yard towards the entrance, the guards reacted with spears out in her direction, making loud clacking noise as a warning.

She tries talking to them “clack clack clack” they chittered and gestured hostilie with their spears.

She tried slowly approach with her hands up and talked to them again. The guards became even more agitated and stepped forward even more threatening and emitted a loud sound “KAARRK! KAARRKK! KAARRRK!”

she backed away and the guards lowered their stance. Keeping their attention on the stumpkin.

Guess they don't want vistors.

She walks back to the ent feeling a bit rejected. The ent picks one of the pink mangos from its head and gives it to her

Smiling she bit into the sweet pink fruit.
After a moment she became a little sleepy, then she saw shapes, like ghosts moving around.
She gasped and froze on the stop with fear.

Then the shapes became more clearer and took more recognizable form. They were stumpkins from her village, in fact she found herself back at the village.

However everything was covered in white and the leaves had fallen from all the ink trees.
No ink berries could be seen in sight. The stumpkins, They were starving to death and some had perished from the cold.

Then she heard something in the distance and looked in the direction of the forest.
The sound of grunting got louder

She woke up in the hand of the ent and spoke to it to return to the village quickly.
Plans had to be made and food to be hoarded. It will be cold soon


The cube will glow brightly, and a sigil meaning "Fire" will appear on the side. When the sigil is finished, it will glow a bright red and radiate heat. This will be the first step towards the final function of the Cube.

above the slixen palace, A sigil appeared. it burned brightly giving off heat that can be felt all over the island.

The slixens panicked and fled the palace as the heat became noticeable

The sigil burned for a while embedding itself into the cube. The flames then died down and glowed with a radiated warmth

They wondered what it meant and even tried to copy the sigil in their books, but as soon as the sigil was drawn in, the page combusted into flames. Taking the book with it and hours of writing.

Whenever the sigil is drawn or etched onto anything, it burns intensely until the material it was drawn upon, is consumed by the flames.

How it worked confounded the slixen scholars
Just like the unending waters that flow out of the mountains.

The fire sigil however brought new possibilities. Saunas, steam engines, hot air balloons, maybe thermal airships.

To explore and see the world without descending to the barbaric below, is a very exciting prospect for them.




Slixen, do not take well to large amounts of dry heat for long.
Soon after the trouble start, splinter into two factions: One containing pretty much all of their observers and philosophers, as well as the majority of the commoners, support the idea of an emergency evacuation.

The other, containing most of the leadership and virtually all religious elements, support staying put until the problem solves itself.
Slixen society, find yourself on the verge of civil war. All the while as the problem keeps intensifying...

The sigil generated heat around the whole island, which was slightly adverse to the slixens.

Public pools and fountains would be built everywhere.
plumbing became important in keeping everyone supplied with water.

Blacksmiths integrated a pool into their workshops, living rooms submerged in water.



The palace would be adorned with fountains around it and a greater one inside where they all gathered.

Only the libraries was free of water.

However some felt it was not safe to live around the cube, the sigils appearance heightened that concern.

A number of like minded slixens conspire to leave the island.

Detractors of the current policy of isolation, who wanted to explore the ground below.



Many airships were built under the guise of exploration, hiding the true nature of the plan.
While supplies and crew were being readied for departure, plans were being made to smuggle people onboard. Along with food, tools and weapons for the settlers

They would be the first of their kind to set foot on the world below.


Chick, develop a strange, unpleasant sensation in your stomach. Realize instinctively that it can be alleviated by putting objects into your mouth and swallowing them (It's hunger). Do not, however, be able to tell yet what is edible and what is not.
Also, be relieved to be finally able to walk normally again with the shoes gone. Tear through the stockings fairly quickly, though.

Gentlemenbug, experience mixed emotions. On one hand, you really dislike being cuddled by such a huge (though very aesthetically appealing) monstrosity as the Chick, but on the other, really enjoy the attention and be happy that you've been able to help.

The birdling, snake,ned, two stumpkins and the gentlemen bugs make their way back to the village.

The birdling is still hugging the bugs in her bosom.



“Excuse me my dear” said one of the gentlemen bugs “ I do not mean to be rude but could you release us? Not that we dislike your cuddles, your downing is quite soft ...ehem..but our ladybugs will be very cross with us if they see us like this.”

“Ah dont you worry none, i'll tell them you did me a good turn” she said

“Oh Dear!” he said nervously as they got closer to the village “madem I do insist, it would be better to tell them ourselves and on even level”

She stopped “hmm very well my little dearies” stooped down and let them go.
Tho sad to be released from her embrace, the consequences of a jealous ladybug would be worse.

They finally returned and saw the village, bustling with activity.
Construction of walls was being built made of stone, sticks and mud.
About 4 foot high and 3 foot thick all around the village.

Underground pantries and storages were dug out.
With their growth magic, crops of ink and wine berries were gathered.
Large caches of fruit stored away.
They seem to be preparing for something.
“The wall would not stop the og-rogs if they ever came here” thought Ned

As she watched this, the birdling had an odd sensation in her belly. Not a pleasant sensation at all.
She held her belly and moaned audibly.

“Oh your tummy is troubled, A fruit or two will resolve it on the double” said the snake

“What are you yakking about?”

“Your body requires succour, Let me…”

“Don't you dare succor on me you goofy snake” the birdling interrupted

“I mean no.. oh..fiddle diddle”

The snake whispered to the stumpkins. They nodded and ran off into the village.

A little later they return with arms full of berries. ink and wine berries.

The snake thanked them and offered a berry to the birdling.

“What do you want me to do with that?” said the birdling with a displeased look.

“Let me show you so it's clear” the snake then popped the ink berry in its mouth, bursting the fruits juices with its tongue. Then pointed as it swallowed the fruit.

“Now you try it my dear, this fruit will please you, have no fear”

The birdling reluctantly took the fruit.
Popping it in her mouth, she slowly quashed the fruit with her tongue.
The pleasant burst of sweetness washed over her tongue and without thought, swallowed the berry. Her stomach felt better but not sated.

“Oh my what is this?” she said, taking another berry offered by the stumpkins.

“Its ink berries. juicy and sweet, isn't that neat?” he said while watching her eat enthusiastically.

she wolfed down all the berries that was given to her, even the wine berries.

Alot of wine berries…



“The red berries im not sure, but the effects i can see, is assured” said the snake looking at the birdling as she ate the red berries.

Ned picked up a berry and tried to put it in his non existing mouth, only to splatter it on Ned’s self,
Then it disappeared into the Nedvetory adding 1 splattered ink fruit



Entfruit, have various effects on different races if ingested, but only be able to gestate inside a Jackalotaur.
I imagine that the Entfruit would act somewhat like an egg of a parasitic wasp. It would enter the Jackalotaur's digestive tract where it would hatch into an Ent larva. The larva would then develop and grow for a while in a specialized "intestinal pouch" inside the Jackalotaur's abdomen, before finally growing too big and leaving the body through the excretory orifice.
Birth, be rather difficult, but usually survivable for both the host and parasite.
Jackalotaur affected, develop an emotional obsession to take care of the Ent larva while it pupates, as well as to make sure the pupa gets proper growing conditions. While in this obsession, put the well being of the larva/pupa above all else, including one's own survival.
(Note: There is a kind of parasitic wasp that lays it's eggs in (or on? Can't remember) a caterpillar that contain a specialized virus to short-circuit the caterpillar's brain and stop it from pupating. Once matured, the wasp larvae then burst out of the caterpillar and pupate around it. But the caterpillar remains alive and brain-washed by the virus and spends the remainder of it's life aggressively protecting the cocoon containing wasp pupae from anything that might endanger it. I imagine something similar might happen to the Jackalotaurs.)

In the nest of the jackotuars the chamber of the king and queen
The pink fruit was shared to the other egg attendants.
The tiny seeds embedded themselves on the walls of the stomach, waiting for the cold to come.




This world is full of variety, in both life and in character. But we need something that binds them all together, and a judge to bring order to the ever growing chaos.

There is a world beyond dyed in shades of milky pink. Where the world of the living had a beating heart, the world of the dead has a soul, twisting and flowing as an endless river of silk, woven by the threads of consciousness that trap all beings to this plane. The surface is a cloud of white misery, thickened with the joys and sorrows of the world, and penetrable only by the spirits that dive and dart through the threshold of life itself. There is nothing here but the wailing ghosts of the dead and the yet to be born, and their caretakers - the very spirits of the world itself. As its very first inhabitants, they lend portions of themselves to the subjects of their care, content simply to watch what they do with the gift of life... but know the righteous from the wicked, and stand ready to collect their debts.

The boy tends to his balloon, and the girl to her ball. At night, their mother plays sweet lullabyes on her harp as her children dream the lives of billions, resting to play this endless game another day.

The blue and pink humanoids sat beside the harp maiden.
The maiden welcomed the company and plucked soothing notes that relaxed them.

In the hands of the pink humanoid was a pink sphere.
The pink sphere was not like the other planet, it swirled with white clouds that left the sphere in motes of white smoke. The smoke seems to travel in the direction of the blue planet, and smoke coming from the blue planet joins with pink planet.

It was not smoke but life force, souls.



On the surface of the sphere, spectral caretakers manage the intake of life force, souls to be prepared for the return journey to the living world.

Clean souls are threaded and weaved between their spectral fingers, then sent away back to the soul stream, departing to the blue world.

Chaotic souls however had to be deconstructed, cleansed and re-weaved back again into the life force

No soul was too tainted to be cleansed, no souls so far that couldn't BE cleansed.



“So the pink planet is a laundrette for souls?” said one of the vanar

“What about Heaven and hell?”

“What about punishment and reward for bad and good souls?”

“Why bother? When they die, it matters not what they did. This is more streamlined! Once they go through the caretakers their previous lives are all washed away”

“Washed away to where”

“Where what?”

“Their past memories, where do they go?”

“They just vanish”

“So anything they achieve is forgotten?”

“It only remembered to those who live if they choose to”

“Thats kinda lazy if you ask me, everyone should be documented of their deeds”

“Oh no, the heaven and hells we made were a clerical madness made manifest. Documancey backlog caused the undead apocalypse on one world.”

“Then the heaven and hell wars started, both sides blaming each other for the world's collapse”

“Here all souls are equal as life force and the only thing differencing them from one and the other are the mortal bodies they end up inhabiting. None of that administrative pish posh documancy nonsense”

As the land of live has the cube to record all things earthly, so shall the land of the dead have a sphere to record matters of the spirit.

It will not judge, it will not question why the souls passing through do what they do. It simply records their lives, and leaves the caretakers to handle the rest.
Immediately next to it is a tiny podium inscribed with an apology for only being mostly complete. It's not its fault it wasn't at the dawn of creation.

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SpoilerGood to see another update.
Very nice fire glyph on the cube there!

(As to why I'm reminded of the 1970s...a period in which I was a pre-teen...I do recall the work of Peter Max in particular, who used a very vivid colour palette, combined with some very interesting imagery that was, shall we say, chemically induced abstract.)

didnt know who peter max is but i checked him out. i see he paints with tons of colours which is pretty neat.

If you haven't seen the animated movie "Fantastic Planet" you might want to look it up. Some surreal imagery of an alien world and an amazing psychedelic jazz soundtrack.

watched that online and its weird, tho interesting.

As the land of live has the cube to record all things earthly, so shall the land of the dead have a sphere to record matters of the spirit.

It will not judge, it will not question why the souls passing through do what they do. It simply records their lives, and leaves the caretakers to handle the rest.
Immediately next to it is a tiny podium inscribed with an apology for only being mostly complete. It's not its fault it wasn't at the dawn of creation.

“Say what's that?” said the vanar pointing towards something in the vision portal



In the mist was a massive floating white sphere. Souls passed through it and departed with its memories.

“Wha! Where did that thing come from??” “I didn’t sing that in the melody”

“Hmm didn’t see something like that ether in the song, how odd”

“Looks like the souls are going through it, I think it’s taking away the memories”

“Oh no, now it's going to chronicle everything, even a nats misadventures into a og-rogs maw”

“What's that underneath it?”



There was a tiny podium underneath the sphere, so tiny at a glance it would go unnoticed.

The podium was made of a white stone and was unfinished.
Propped up against it was a white stone tablet, written on it was a apology of sorts

“Apologies, this podium is behind schedule, estimated completion is 2 centuries, please make your way to the nearest caretaker for processing. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

[NSFW]

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[NSFW]

Now a villainous character appears who practices Foul Documancy to dredge up the records of the dead.

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“Apologies, this podium is behind schedule, estimated completion is 2 centuries, please make your way to the nearest caretaker for processing. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Woops. I'll try to be a bit more specific in the future.

Another smaller stone tablet beside the first one containing an addendum.
"Addendum: Podium itself is finished, the great sphere above the podium is behind schedule and will have finished the current soul queue in two centuries. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will leave further tablets at this podium as needed. Thank you for choosing SPHERE to assist in your reincarnation."

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Mim

A new creature to roam the land of the dead. The Mim, floating eyes with thin, clothlike arms and fingers. When eating, the Mim's eye is replaced with a mouth. Here in the land of the dead they are fairly harmless, albeit a terrible nuisance as they sustain themselves by stealing and eating memories meant to be processed by the sphere. Although there are many of them, they do not normally reproduce and their number is relatively static. They cannot be slain permanently, but application of force can disrupt them for a long time, and a shortage of food can force them into dormancy.

However, if they somehow arrive in the land of the living, everything changes. The memories they sustain themselves on are no longer in such readily available quantities, often leading them to turn to eating the life of the living. This allows them to sustain themselves in the land of the living, but at a terrible cost. Their eye turns bloodshot, and they develop a taste for active malevolence. They can still be disrupted, (even sending them back to the land of the dead) but it will not cure their hunger. For that, they must be purified by a caretaker, lest the Mim turn on its own kin and become even more corrupt.

Is it just me, or is your art getting more and more elaborate with every update?


Sphere, be slightly disruptive to the soul cleansing process. Normally, do not cause anything noticeable, but on very rare occasions prevent the memories to be removed, mostly partially or even entirely on extremely rare occasions.


Birdling, feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Break into a happy dance.
As you drunkenly stumble around, somehow manage to keep your balance. Do not, however, be able to prevent on stepping on a number of things that would best not be stepped on. Or want to be stepped on.


The first Slix explorers/colonists, venture out towards the four compass directions.

- The vessel heading east, find another floating island just beyond the horizon. The island is a bit smaller than their home island, with no constantly running water and supporting a lot less vegetation. Do not have much in a way of value, except that it contains veins of a mysterious mineral with strange, but rather useful alchemic properties. Slix government, decide to set up a mining outpost there, staffed primarily by their most unwanted citizens.
Constant exposure to large amounts of the mineral, cause miners to develop odd, but strangely uniform mutations, one of which is the strengthening and enlargement of their lower arms to the point that they can be comfortably used as a pair of legs. Mutant miners, find the changes to be rather useful in maneuvering in the narrow mine shafts. Most other slixen that know of this mineral effect, consider the mutants to be disfigured abominations, best never to be exposed to the normal slix society ever again.

- The airship heading south, run into a pack of spotted golden felimoths, just as it's crossing a vast savanna. The beautiful but predatory felimoths, do not normally be a threat anything as big as an airship (or even to slixen themselves), as they ordinarily only prey on small animals, but in a panic cause enough damage to the balloon to force it to crash land.
Once on the ground, the explorers and settlers are forced to do their best to not only repair the airship, but to merely survive against both dangerous predators (such as the dreaded cheetapillar, the fastest running predator in the savanna, which is also the larval form of the spotted golden felimoth) as well as the primitive and aggressive Leopines, which are the only sentient species native in the region.

- The airship heading north, find yourself over a cold boreal forest.

- Airship heading west, be forced to cross a vast ocean, dotted with reefs and islands.


The Jackalotaurs that eat the entfruit, first begin experiencing mood fluctuations and other pregnancy symptoms due to the hormones emitted by the ent embryos. Soon, however, develop insatiable hunger in order to feed the growing ents inside their rapidly expending abdomens.

Is this story dead?

I hope it's not over because I went a bit overboard with my suggestions...

ah no just havent had time to paint the scences.

plus im now working as sprite animator with gobbosoft's game monolighter (nsfw)

here is what was planned and what was done

Nedventory
1 splattered ink fruit

Now a villainous character appears who practices Foul Documancy to dredge up the records of the dead.

A sound of chipping and tapping came from behind the podium *tink tink tink tink* then a voice was heard. “ Ah there! Done!” a tablet then appeared moving from behind the podium, little sounds of strained “eh eh” as it moved and propped itself by the foot of the podium. It reads..

"Addendum: Podium itself is finished, the great sphere above the podium is behind schedule and will have finished the current soul queue in two centuries. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will leave further tablets at this podium as needed. Thank you for choosing SPHERE to assist in your reincarnation."

Then something from underneath the tablet skittered back behind the podium.

The sound of claws on stone could be heard as something was climbing up the podium.



A small dark creature appeared behind the podium and sat at the edge of the top.
It had a tiny hammer and chisel in its hands.

It huffed and wiped its brow after a long spell of chiseling.
Suddenly it became aware of a presence

It sniffed and looked around “hmm.. I smell something is observing, peeping on little old me”

Then the creature looked directly at the vanar

“Does it see us?” said one of the vanar

“Ah! Yes I do vanar!, let me introduce myself. I am Inkarn Qweak, and I am fixing this little afterlife you have created. Not documenting of the dead??? How unruly I say! No deeds recorded? Terrible idea, Absolutely, Terrible. The living will forget fo sure!”

“This creature is not what it seems” said a vanar

“Indeed I am not! I am a great proprietor of dead and undead matters. A world without hungry spirits roaming it, is a world without feeling, don't you think?”

“Did we sing this little creature into existence?”



“Oh no hahaha no vanar, I was here after the singing was done, just like someone sung something into this world secretly”

The vanar who sung the bird for the stumpkins began to worry if he has been discovered.
Looking around no vanar was looking at him with suspicion. The vanar noticed something...

Someone was missing.

“Now why did you make a world without a proper afterlife and a caretaker to care for it? Hmm? Thats down right negligence that is! What's wrong with the old ways?” said the little black creature

The vanar replied

“We tried that with heaven and hell, that didn't end well for the last world”
“Those two departments never worked together, neglecting the balance as they warred over soul possessions”
“Not to mention the mortals bickered over religious differences, even killing each other”
“Demons giving things that no mortal should ever have”
“Angels gifting boons that were misused”
“Both offering eternal life, with nothing for want”
“Killing others and themselves to get there, disregarding the privilege of life”
“Souls with memories in the afterlife and never shedding their self being, never leaving”
“The world became devoid of life”
“Not even the plants grow there, life force has been hoarded on both sides and never allowed to leave. Not that there's anything to be born to”
“Still at war even now over a dead dusty world”
“Dreadful end that”



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Mim

A new creature to roam the land of the dead. The Mim, floating eyes with thin, clothlike arms and fingers. When eating, the Mim's eye is replaced with a mouth. Here in the land of the dead they are fairly harmless, albeit a terrible nuisance as they sustain themselves by stealing and eating memories meant to be processed by the sphere. Although there are many of them, they do not normally reproduce and their number is relatively static. They cannot be slain permanently, but application of force can disrupt them for a long time, and a shortage of food can force them into dormancy.

However, if they somehow arrive in the land of the living, everything changes. The memories they sustain themselves on are no longer in such readily available quantities, often leading them to turn to eating the life of the living. This allows them to sustain themselves in the land of the living, but at a terrible cost. Their eye turns bloodshot, and they develop a taste for active malevolence. They can still be disrupted, (even sending them back to the land of the dead) but it will not cure their hunger. For that, they must be purified by a caretaker, lest the Mim turn on its own kin and become even more corrupt.

“Bah! That was due to your inactions it died! not getting your hands dirty in the muck, I the caretaker god will plunge my paws into the muck and bring life and death in a orderly manner!”

“but thats already delt-”

Inkarn qweak cuts vanar off “Enough! I have things to d-” the little black creatures ears perked up, there was a sound of sharp breathing above him.

The inkarn looked up at the sphere and saw the Mim’s.



the source of the sound was very clear.
Mim’s covered one side of the sphere, inhaling the motes of memories into their shape shifting mouths

“EEEEK!! My soul memories!”

The black creature hurled itself and landed on the sphere and chased the mims away with its tiny hammer and chisel

“Bloody mims! Get away from my soul sphere!”

“So that's where the memories go” said the vanar



With hammer and chisel, innkarn dissipate the mims as they disintegrate into puffs of smoke

“Uh oh” the smoke then followed the stream of lifeforce and flowed back to the world of the living

The mim materialised in the forest amongst woodboars as they laid about, sleeping and fat from the surrounding trees, that are now stripped and ruined.

At first the mim did nothing and floated around them looking for souls memories to eat.

Finding none, it then picked up a sleeping woodboar with its ghostly hands. It sensed life force from the hairy ball of flesh.
Its eye slowly turned into teeth and its hand gripped the woodbores neck and strangled the life from it as it inhaled the life force.

Not satisfied, the mim began grabbing every living creature it could see in sight, ripping and strangling them.

Every living creature ran from the mim and it gave chase, not stopping till it was sated

Is it just me, or is your art getting more and more elaborate with every update?

Only what you tell me what to do and I figure out what happens :)

Sphere, be slightly disruptive to the soul cleansing process. Normally, do not cause anything noticeable, but on very rare occasions prevent the memories to be removed, mostly partially or even entirely on extremely rare occasions.

Somewhere a soul memory of a wind shark got into a woodbore hatchling. It became aggressive and began devouring the other hatchlings and eggs. It grew in size and its body shaped in a beasty manner, becoming a monster, the first of its kind.

Its body was devoid of hair, muscles rippled around its pink fleshy body, from its eyeless head, tentacles now barded with sharp fangs and a constant vile smelling spew dripped from its mouth.

It was double the size of a wood boar and would give even a Springtopuses pause

Birdling, feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Break into a happy dance.
As you drunkenly stumble around, somehow manage to keep your balance. Do not, however, be able to prevent on stepping on a number of things that would best not be stepped on. Or want to be stepped on.

A new peculiar feeling came over the birdling, she became merry and started dancing while singing out of tune.

As the birdling danced the ground sprouted flowers that bloomed in seconds.
wineberry vines grew rapidly around the trees, platforms and walls.
The ink trees grew higher and thicker causing the platforms to crack and separate but held together by the wineberry vines.

The stumplings panicked as their homes where now higher in the trees and out of reach.

“Please stop dancing! Your making everything grow uncontrollably!” said the snake

But the birdling did not listen as it danced around the ink trees as they grew and bloomed around her.

Stumplings and gentlemen bugs scattered away from the prancing birdling lest they be trampled.

The birdling then stepped on the snake's tail, causing it to yelp and roll on the ground holding it. At this moment the birdling then trod on a storage hut full of berries.

The crushed berries became slick slippery goo and caused the birdling to slip and fall on her back, giggling then falling asleep.

The Ent and the Female stumpling then came over to see what the commotion was all about and saw the birdling laying the ground unconscious along with the snake who is still rolling on the ground with pain.

From all this at lest the walls where now fortified from the vines.
The homes however where a little out of reach.
The female stumpling now the stumpling leader instructed everyone to build on the vines to reach the homes high above.



The first Slix explorers/colonists, venture out towards the four compass directions.

- The vessel heading east, find another floating island just beyond the horizon. The island is a bit smaller than their home island, with no constantly running water and supporting a lot less vegetation. Do not have much in a way of value, except that it contains veins of a mysterious mineral with strange, but rather useful alchemic properties. Slix government, decide to set up a mining outpost there, staffed primarily by their most unwanted citizens.
Constant exposure to large amounts of the mineral, cause miners to develop odd, but strangely uniform mutations, one of which is the strengthening and enlargement of their lower arms to the point that they can be comfortably used as a pair of legs. Mutant miners, find the changes to be rather useful in maneuvering in the narrow mine shafts. Most other slixen that know of this mineral effect, consider the mutants to be disfigured abominations, best never to be exposed to the normal slix society ever again.

So it shall be! The Slix-Bovem they are. No longer restricted to walking pace, they can now run and even sprint with the power of their lower arms which are now pseudo legs

The miners where primarily formed of dissidents or those who disagreed with the isolation policy

After a few years being exposed to the dust of this new mineral the children of the exposed developed more longer and stronger lower arms.

The mineral had a effect when hit emitted a warm light. When mixed in with metal, the alloy is light, strong and slightly glows when hit.

When processed to its purest form into a block, hitting it produces a burning light that, unfortunately for the researcher, disintegrates all flammable materials that the light comes into contact with. Including flesh and fur.



- The airship heading south, run into a pack of spotted golden felimoths, just as it's crossing a vast savanna. The beautiful but predatory felimoths, do not normally be a threat anything as big as an airship (or even to slixen themselves), as they ordinarily only prey on small animals, but in a panic cause enough damage to the balloon to force it to crash land.
Once on the ground, the explorers and settlers are forced to do their best to not only repair the airship, but to merely survive against both dangerous predators (such as the dreaded cheetapillar, the fastest running predator in the savanna, which is also the larval form of the spotted golden felimoth) as well as the primitive and aggressive Leopines, which are the only sentient species native in the region.

Suddenly the airship was struck by a creature, causing the balloon to rupture, escaping steam hissing from the punctures. The airship began to freefall into the savanna plain, crashing into the foot of a mountain.

The surviving crew began making fortifications and repairs to the balloon, confidence in escaping was high, even the risk of dehydration, starvation, significant boiler water loss did not deter them in the repairs.

Researchers observed the savanna and the creatures that roamed it.
They started to notice something very quickly. The creatures were approaching the airship.



Spotted larvae creatures were fast approaching the airship, being ridden by feline looking beings with long thick head quills like porcupines. Wielding spears and bows.

The cheetapillar smashed through the wooden crate fortifications and the leopines swarmed the slixens.
Those who were not killed are captured and dragged off into the savanna.
The dead eaten by the cheetapillars
The airship was looted of food and tools.
Then a leopine got into the sigil stone containment which caused a fire on the airship

With the ship burning the leopines left and return from whence they came with their newly acquired slaves


- The airship heading north, find yourself over a cold boreal forest.

This airship was crewed with like minded dissidents disembarked and settled in the swampy moist forest. Ideal for slickens if a little cold for them.

The airship embarked once again to return home, smuggling more settlers down below.

- Airship heading west, be forced to cross a vast ocean, dotted with reefs and islands.

They observed the merlings and ogre folk og-rogs on these islands

Og-rogs bulls brawled constantly and when they were not doing this they seem to be preoccupied with chasing after the merlings or trying to eat the eggs that they laid

The og-rogs see the airship above, throwing boulders with no success and landing on other og-rogs causing another brawl.

With there observation satisfied they turn back to report

The Jackalotaurs that eat the entfruit, first begin experiencing mood fluctuations and other pregnancy symptoms due to the hormones emitted by the ent embryos. Soon, however, develop insatiable hunger in order to feed the growing ents inside their rapidly expending abdomens.

Other jackalotaurs notice the change of moods in the infected and the erratic behavior they displayed, eating more than they need, becoming fatter.

The affected were dragged up topside, far away from the colony. Leaving them to fend for themselves. the spawn got bigger inside them.

Soon a gross and messy outcome would befall them.

Hmm hmmm.
Those ents are much to sturdy. Those stumpins are spoiled rotten, winter or not. Plenty of big predators but little control. This all lack some much needed little ones to get that ecosystem flowing in circles.

Let there be the industrious tiny carpenter bug with saw manbiles and drill forelimbs whose swarms feed on all hat is wood at night, they particularly like the taste of Ent.

The industrious calcultor bugs, a singe onevis naught to look a, but like little fatter ants with no eyes and some soft bodies and no apparent sentience. But their hives are things of wonder, actual natural engineering of wood, moss and earth, capable of adapting in davance to the incoming weather, daner and forthos who knw te patterns to see an window into the future.

To control these, they can be eaten by the trunked beaked birds whose many thin glue covered tongue can fetch their prey even in the tiniest galleries. Those can be prey to the windsharks, the felimoths and the Sprintopusses


The Tailor spidertick who no just drink the blood of the Leopines and cheetapillar but steal their fur to weave litte garments of them to attract their mates. The fancier the better.

The slow crimson carnivorous mosslugs , slow as they are they only canibalize long left bodies but they grind bones and their slimme is an excllent fertilizer and their blood the source of many remedies.

The tiny leaping predatory kangoomantis and dragonladybugs of al sizes to keep all of that in check.

All that is wood will be subjected to the bane of the wodrot flu, that'll strike stumpkins and Ents too. Sometime it's harmless, sometime ...not so.

For those of flesh, we willhave the painter parasite that makes it's victim skin turn into many multicolor paterns to make them easier for the predators In which it ill lay eggs in to devour it's host

And the bartender spore, which normaly lives in the entfruit but sometime when eaten wil tansfe into the host liver and ferment their shugar, alway making them a litte drunk

And finaly the rare but deadly and contagious virus of the plague of bones. On which even monsters themselves can succumb. The bigest the flesh creaure, the more sensitive. Tragic pehaps for the Slixen and the og-rogs, yes, but necessary I think.

We most certaily cannot have mims and monsters rampaging all willy nelly. Oh no, siree. And so we will have the lovely transluscent harp maiden beetle, it's chant and bright light repulse everyting that has the taint of the escaped afterife, monsters or mims alike

All we really need is the barbarous Barberbug, which sings jolly songs by day, and by night creeps upon its slumbering victim and gives them lamentable haircuts. Haircuts that end relationships and start long, tedious quests. Haircuts of War!

The story's not dead? Yay!
I can't wait to see the pics when they are finished.
And Monolighter seems to be an interesting game. Kind of makes me wish I could donate a bit... But my current financial situation is fairly poor, so maybe once it improves?