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{"data":{"description":"Deadly Eldritch fungi that resemble strange, eyeless cave lions. My version of the warden mob from Minecraft with a bunch of fun personal lore.<\/p>","field1":"Singular: Warden Plural: Wardens One warden, two wardens Wardens are fungal creatures, deeply connected to a unique fungus known as sculk found deep underground.  Where there is the strange dark eldritch fungus, there will also be a warden and where there is a warden, there will be the dark sculk. Their colors are similar to the fungi, nearly black with bioluminescent specks that glow blue. They have boney growths down their backs, wrapping around their sides, and on their upper arms. The length of these growths a good way to tell the age and strength of an individual. They stand between 10-12 feet tall on average, though grow larger as they age. They are fierce and powerful, dangerous and highly aggressive. Highly territorial. Wardens have a symbiotic relationship with sculk, which to be a part of them and they a part of it, as they are always found together. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are sapient, capable of thought, reason and speech. Their language, however, is vastly different from the language of humans and they have trouble forumalating words. They can generally understand the speech of others alright, but have trouble actually speaking back. A warden's voice can be compared to the groan\/moan\/meow of a tiger combined with an infrasonic rumble and their unique clicking\/chittering.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n<h5>Physical Description<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\r\n Wardens entirely lack eyes. They see using echolocation, vibrations, and sound and have an extremely advanced sense of smell. They can navigate incredibly well in complete darkness, as they do not need light to see at all. While they lack eyes, they do still have eyebrows. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are usually in shades of dark blue, almost black, green, or teal.  They usually have light blue or aqua speck markings on their bodies that glow with their natural bioluminescence. Their mane resembles that of a lion, often wrapping around their neck fully, though it can cover less. The texture is shiny and silken.  The mane very often falls over where the eyes would be. Their fur is shaggy and thick, but surprisingly sleek. It feels damp to the touch, despite being dry. If one were to touch a warden, they would be cool to the touch, but produce an inner heat from their metabolism. Despite feeling cool and damp, their breath is hot.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have boney growths on their upper arms, around their sides, over their shoulders, and a line of boney spines down their back. This is usually pale in color, but can have hints of yellow or green to it. It is always noticeably lighter than the body. <\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have long ears with a pronounced curl around the end, which are actually the tendrils they use to echolocate. Some have mistaken these strange ears as horns, though they are flexible. They twitch and glow when in use. They can be used to emote. While wardens do not see with light, their echolocation is shockingly precise, allowing them to read body language, gestures, and posture. They have trouble tracking quick movements, so Warden gestures are usually slow and deliberate.<\/span><\/p>\r\nTheir face superficially resembles a feline face, with a flatter muzzle a bit closer to humanoid shape. Their nose, in shape, somewhat resembles a big cat, but this resemblance is superficial. They have fluff on their cheeks that can be compared to the fluff on a Lynx.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey appear anthropromorphic in their build with digitgrade legs and large paws armed with sharp, tough claws. Their pads are thick and tough, able to grip the ground. They are surprisingly light on their feet, despite being large, bulky creatures, standing between 10-12 feet tall on average with a thick, muscular build. A warden can move comfortably on all fours, and will often drop to all fours when charging. They move shockingly fast for such a large creature. While they do not have eyes, Wardens can see you quite well. You get the distinct feeling of being watched when they turn to face you.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have a long, uniquely textured tail, the movement of which can be a good gauge for a warden's mood. Surprisingly, their tendrils are actually able to detect light, though this is not used towards sight. It seems to be connected to detecting the bioluminescence of other wardens. Their tongue is wide and forked, feeling almost velvety and slightly rough like a dog's tongue. They have tusks that jut up from their lower jaw. Their jaws are muscled with a powerful bite force, with the back teeth designed for crushing with the front teeth designed for gripping. The front teeth are often used to carry their cubs by the scruff. <\/span><\/p>","field2":"Not much is known about wardens and where the creatures came from. They appear to be from another reality or another dimension, and have a lot of strange eldritch abilities and energy about them. While they have a connection to life energy or soul energy, they are not inherently magical creatures.<\/p>\r\nSome theorize that wardens once had an alliance with early humans when they were hiding underground from a strange dangerous darkness alluded to in old tales. This theory is reinforced by the ruins of ancient cities that can often be found deep underground. They have what appear to be shrines and statues in honor of the warden, and many still have a warden still dwelling there. One in particular is a warden known as the Phantom of the Deep. This unique warden is seen as a bit of a local cryptid by those living above its ancient city, and tell tales of a pale warden of great size, calm and quiet. The ruins this warden is said to dwell in are extensive, denoting a city that was once huge and thriving.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>","field3":"Wardens are generally solitary and territorial, and tend to chase off things they do not want in their territories, but they do have some social instincts. Sometimes, they can be seen in small family groups. This can consist of an elder, who is a large and powerful dominant individual, and up to three smaller, less dominant individuals and any young they may have. Young wardens still instinctively leave their dam’s territory when they reach maturity, so these small groups are generally unrelated individuals. The instinct for young to leave the territory and settle far away helps with genetic diversity, and keeps warden populations fairly healthy. They breed so rarely that genetic issues from inbreeding could be detrimental. Additionally,  they can recognize the scent of one who is related which further helps avoid accidentally inbreeding. These family groups will usually only have one cub among them at a time, though sometimes two if their territory is established enough. The cub is usually fathered by the larger, more dominant individual, the one seen as the leader and the main one whose territory the others have settled in.  While many wardens do live individually, these family groups aren’t unheard of in larger fungal patches in the Depths. They are generally referred to as a pride, due to how wardens somewhat resemble large fungal cave lions. The best way to know if there’s more than one is the size of the sculk patch. Smaller sculk patches are most likely a single wardens, and probably fairly young. Much larger sculk patches can sustain more wardens, and thus are more likely to host one of these small prides. They usually only have a single older individual, but only large sculk patches will host a warden pride. <\/span><\/p>\r\nThe dominant elder, who is the leader of the pride, has a scent can actually be calming to territorial instincts in younger wardenss. wardens prides always have one larger more dominant individual among them, because without them the younger wardenss are far more likely to fight eachother over territory. The bigger wardens has a calming influence on the younger smaller ones.<\/span><\/p>\r\nSometimes, a warden will pair bond with another. When this happens, this pair bond will last for life. Occasionally, for very well established pairs, their young will stay with them even after maturity for a time. They will always eventually go off to found their own territory, but if the territory is established enough, they may help care for any cubs born to their parents for a time. Wardens, however, are long lived and powerful creatures, and don’t breed often. Because of this, they pour all their resources into insuring their cub reaches adulthood safely. The case of pair bonding is the only time a wardens pride will have two large older wardens, as they are too territorial otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\r\nBeing eldritch fungi, wardens do not follow the same genders\/gender identities as humans and more flesh and blood creatures. They are all capable of siring and bearing young. More submissive, smaller individuals are more likely to be the one to carry a cub and can be seen as more “feminine” while the larger more dominant individuals can be seen as more “masculine”.  However, this is more about their size and strength than their gender. They generally don’t understand gender, and don’t really care. Their Deep Eldritch language does not have gendered pronouns. They may see themselves as more feminine or more masculine, but otherwise don’t really care. Those that are exposed to humans or other creatures with genders\/pronouns when young, or taught about humans and other sapient beings are more likely to adopt a pronoun. Otherwise, they are simply referred to it\/its or they\/them. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are very territorial, but if you stay out of their territory and don’t bother them, they’ll usually leave you alone. Younger, more aggressive wardens are far more likely to attack. The best way to avoid getting killed is to sneak past, stay out of their territory, don’t provoke them. Sometimes the best way to avoid provoking one is just not be detected by it. Once they decide to give chase, though, you are very unlikely to escape. They are fast, and have a deadly ranged attack as well that can send you flying even from a distance.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn temperament, wardens can actually be compared to huge and dangerous cats, or tigers. They prefer to be left alone, only want interaction on their own terms, and tend to bond very closely with one or two people if they bond with anybody at all. Unlike a tiger, however, wardens are sapient, so one does not have to worry about a random attack if they do manage to befriend one. They are intelligent enough to hold back their wild instincts. Wardens are also not hunters or predators, so they have no prey drive or desire to hunt or chase. Their aggression is purely territorial and defensive in nature. Despite being massive, powerful and dangerous eldritch monsters, they are sensitive creatures, easily overwhelmed and overstimulated, which leads to aggression. While many wardens are highly territorial and attack anything deem as a threat or invader, others will simply observe and only attack if provoked. When not aggressive, wardens can actually be fairly curious. They are safer to interact with outside of their territory, as their territorial instincts are less apparent. While they don't like physical contact unless they trust you, a warden can become incredibly affectionate when they do bond with somebody. They will do a feline head bump, purr, or simply follow you around and settle nearby. A very closely bonded warden may lay curled around the person they've bonded with.<\/p>\r\nThey become very protective of their chosen Favorite Person, and can be incredibly possessive and territorial.<\/p>","field4":"Wardens are fungal creatures, but they have a lot of similiarities to flesh and blood creatures. The bone growths down their backs, on their upper arms, and around their sides are actually a form of chitin strengthened by the minerals they extract from the stone with their sculk growth, as are their internal skeletal structure. This makes their bones incredibly tough and surprisingly flexible.  They are covered in thick, shaggy fur. This fur can be compared to touching the cap of a mushroom, but the mushroom cap is made of fur. It feels cool and almost damp, but actually dry. They have thick manes that can go all the way down their backs. Warden claws are so hard and sharp they can dig through solid stone with surprising efficiency and speed. This also makes their attacks deadly, able to slash through even strong armor in a hit or two.<\/p>\r\nLike any fungi, wardens function in the nutrient cycling in whatever ecosystem they end up in. They will often venture to the surface to gather deadwood and leaf litter, but also anything that has died and begun to decay. They seem to prefer old growth forest, and will also eat driftwood, or water plants that have washed ashore and started to decay. They also extract nutrients from the stone with their sculk growth. Their sculk growth produces special buds, which the warden will eat. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, and even simple protiens. Wardens tend to do best in areas with a fair amount of geothermal heat. Their sculk growth thrives on geothermal heat, which helps it break down and metabolise nutrients from the stone it's broken down. It also draws in life energy, or soul energy, or just simply magical energy found around, which they use to power their abilities. Wardens do not have eyes. Their skulls don't even have eye sockets. Surprisingly, however, their brain has a structure that works incredibly similarly to the part of the brains of creatures that process visual input. This is connected to their tendrils, which are attached to their ears. Their tendrils are sometimes referred to as ears, though their function is different. They have incredibly keen hearing. Their echolocation creates a constant driving thrumming which can be compared to the sound of a large, slow and deep heartbeat in its rythm. It makes being in the presence of one of these creatures unsettling and scary. The layers of infrasound combined with this thrumming bounce back to the wardens's tendrils forming an incredibly clear picture of the world around them with shocking detail. Things moving very quickly or very small aren't picked up as well, but they can navigate through even twisted and cramped caverns with ease. Surprisingly, they are able to detect light through their tendrils. While they don't see with it, it does enhance the images formed by the vibrations, though bright light is painful and makes it harder for them to detect what is around them. For this reason, wardens do not like sunlight or bright light and generally prefer to remain underground unless it is dark outside. A warden's unique vision would be compared to a 3D rendered environment, made of a static noise effect without color. Closer would be brighter, further would be darker, making it seem as if the warden is the \"light source\". Things that move show up much brighter compared to the surroundings, effectively highlighting things that are moving, causing them to stick out from the background. This is why you can escape detection if you are very quiet, but the warden will home in on you in an instant if you produce vibrations or move too quickly.<\/p>\r\nwardens are incredibly good swimmers, able to spend a lot of time underwater before needing to come up for air. They are also resistant to high heat. Their fur holds their natural moisture against their skin and can prevent them from drying out for a surprising amount of time.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nTheir internal biological systems works differently than any normal creature. They are eldritch fungal beasts, and they are deeply connected to the strange fungi that grow around their range.<\/p>\r\nwardens are cool to the touch, though their metabolism does produce heat within their bodies. Meaning that they are warm inside. Their breath is warm, though their tongue and lips would be cool. wardens breath, despite being a creature that generally consumes decaying organic matter, is surprisingly fresh smelling. It smells similar to petrichor, the smell right as it begins to rain, with a fungal undertone.<\/p>\r\nwardens can stand on two feet, or move on all fours equally as comfortably. Most individuals prefer to stand on two feet, though they tend to drop down to all fours when charging or running, as it is fast and efficient. wardens are shockingly fast for their large size, and can get into surprisingly tight spaces. If you manage to escape their claws, they can hit you with a sonic shriek, a powerful ranged attack that does a lot of damage. A terrible shriek that can pass through even solid objects and do damage up to 60 feet away.  It causes pain, disorientation, and can even break ribs and bones at close range.<\/p>\r\nDue to the infrasound wardens produce, being near them can be incredibly unsettling. It can feel like a strange buzzing thrum in the back of your head.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nWardens are omnivorous with an herbivorous tendency. They are able to eat meat, but it must be starting to decay or cooked. They also eat bone, though digest this much more slowly.  A fun side effect of this is that a wardens could swallow a small creature that passed away, digest the meat, and cough up the clean bones if they do it soon enough. It would be like an owl pellet or hairball, though it would smell pretty bad until the bones were washed.  They wouldn't have any reason to do this, but it is possible. The bone from whatever they eat gets integrated with the growths on their arms and down their backs, as well as their claws and teeth along with minerals from the stone their fungi grow on.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nBeing fungal creatures, wardens need a lot of water. They drink a lot.  It helps them digest, and helps keep them healthy and comfortable.  wardens wouldn't do well in dry heat, and would need to be around fresh water. Salt water would not work for them, too much salt would make them very sick, or even possibly kill them.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nWarden digestion is unique, and rather slow. They have two stomachs, to a point. One stomach that the easier to access nutrients are extracted from their food, and a second stomach, which is quite large, where the rest of their meal will be broken down by enzymes very similar to the enzymes put out by various molds and other fungi. This process is a lot slower, so wardens will eat the fungal buds from their sculk colonies and easier to digest stuff for quick energy boosts, while eating harder stuff, such as deadwood, bone, and other similar difficult to break down stuff goes to this second stomach. Like any creature, not everything a wardens ingests is broken down fully, and anything that doesn't get used is passed out the other end. Mostly just the solids. Their body is quite efficient so what is passed is actually mostly odorless. It might have an odd fungal or slightly moldy smell, but wouldn't smell like the poop of a normal creature. This remains true even if they eat rotting meat. It contains a lot of micro-nutrients for the soil. wardens love bread if they can get ahold of it, though wardens will often seek out rotting wood and leaf litter. This is one of the reasons they drink so much, makes the wood wet in their system, allowing them to break it down effectively. IThey can not digest fresh wood, it must be dead and rotting. wardens saliva actually has a powerful antibiotic property to it. It kills dangerous germs on whatever the wardens decides to eat. The side effect of this is thay their saliva can actually completely get rid of infection, so if you know a wardens and it doesn't hate you and you get hurt, it can lick your wounds and keep them from getting infected.<\/p>\r\nWhile there is little to no odor when they relieve themselves, getting sick is another story entirely. It's rare for a warden to vomit, but when they do, they empty both of their stomachs, and the smell is absolutely foul. It can be compared to something that has been sitting in the back of the fridge molding for who knows how long combined with stagnant bog water, sour and downright rotten. It looks as horrible as it smells, and there's more than would be expected from a creature their size due to the size of this secondary stomach.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nDue to drinking so much water, wardens pee frequently. It’s clear blue in color, and actually has a glow to it, though this fades within a few hours.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nIt functions to clear out metabolites and anything the wardens's body doesn’t need and to pass excess water, but it also serves a territorial purpose. The pee would have a very strong distinct smell but it wouldn’t be anything like a normal animal’s pee. The smell would be hard to describe, not particularly pleasant but also not particularly unpleasant. Just strange and very different. It’d be something that you’d easily recognize once you’ve smelled it once. A unique thing about it is there’d be no breaking down into ammonia and other toxic materials. It’d just break down into water and inert minerals, meaning that there’d be absolutely no contamination of the area around it. In fact, having a wardens around would be incredibly beneficial if you could get it to not want to sonic shriek you into the stratosphere, because it can eat stuff that would be unsafe, break it down, and basically pass plant fertilizer out the other end. A living composter, in a sense.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>","field5":"Wardens breed infrequently, and have, in general, low fertility. They become fertile when their sculk colony is established enough, at which point they are able to be fertilized and carry an egg. Wardens, unlike other fungi, reproduce sexually. They have both male and female organs, and do not really have a concept of gender. As they are both, and neither, at the same time. When catching the scent of another fertile warden, they will approach their territory, often carrying a peace offering of rotting wood. These encounters can be very dangerous with how territorial wardens are. Mating usually takes place outside of any established territory. The sire takes no part in caring for the cubs unless the mating happens within a pride or between a bonded pair.<\/p>\r\nWardens that live nearby eachother will often meet to mate when they are ready, so there are some wardens that have full siblings. Those who mate more than once will often get used to eachother, making subsequent matings a lot more safe and peaceful.<\/p>\r\nWardens carry their egg for about 6 months. During this time, wardens will eat more than they usually do, drink more water, sleep more, become even more protective of their territory and will begin to increase and add to their nest. The fungal buds their sculk produces increases as the warden will eat a lot more while growing the egg and the cub within. The egg is actually fungal in nature, resembling a puffball mushroom matching their fungal growth in color with little glowing blue specks on it. It will connect to the fungal growth and grow for another six to eight months, depending on how well established the wardens is. The cub will chew its way out of the egg when it is ready. The shell of the egg will become the cub's first meal. They are very small when they first emerge, and generally remain quiet unless in danger, and prefer to stay near the nest. They can be territorial and aggressive even at a very young age, and will bite and growl if provoked. Warden cubs are very sensitive to sound, especially in the weeks after hatching, and this can cause them to become distressed if there's a lot of sound around them until they get used to it. This can make them snappy and aggressive, even towards their parent. This can be stressful for the new parent at first, but more experienced wardens know how to calm their cub down and calm them calm so they are less aggressive. They will generally calm down after a bit, once they get used to things.<\/p>\r\nWarden cubs are very attached to their parent, though they are capable of being comfortable and happy alone in their nest for hours at a time. They do become curious sometimes, and will often wander around their parent's territory. Due to the fierce territorial nature of wardens, their cubs are very safe if they stay within the territory. They usually do on instinct, but occasionally will wander too far. The parent can find them easily enough, due to their incredibly sensitive noses.<\/p>\r\nWardens mature at roughly the same rate as humans, though they are much longer lived. They tend to instinctively leave their parent's territory around 20 years of age to find their own territory.<\/p>\r\nWardens have a form of ancestral memory, from special spores a warden dam passes on to their cubs. These spores carry with them knowledge the warden can use later on as well as some memories, though the memories are more nebulous. An example of the function of these spores is how all of the descendants of a warden known as the Phantom are able to understand several human languages, and even speak a few limited words because of the spores passed down through the generations.  Wardens are rare, and breed extremely slowly so this passage of knowledge from parent to offspring provides a clear advantage in their survival. This means that warden grudges will often pass down through the generations. A warden that has had a bad experience with humans, will pass on this aggression towards humans to their cubs, and along down the line making wardens from that lineage more aggressive and dangerous, while those who have had better experiences will pass that down, creating less dangerous and aggressive wardens.<\/p>\r\nIt is thought to be impossible for wardens to produce hybrids with other races. It is possible due to their unique eldritch nature, but extremely unlikely. For one, wardens rarely interact with other races, much less in ways that would lead to interbreeding. Second, warden fertility is incredibly low. The chance of conception is low even between their own kind. And third, their biology is very different from humans. While conception could happen, the chances are incredibly low and the hybrid would be caused by the warden's unique eldritch nature.<\/p>","field6":"Wardens can vary in their coat color, bone growths, mane type, shape of their tail and ears, and general build.<\/p>","field7":null,"parsed":{"description":"Deadly Eldritch fungi that resemble strange, eyeless cave lions. My version of the warden mob from Minecraft with a bunch of fun personal lore.<\/p>","field1":"Singular: Warden Plural: Wardens One warden, two wardens Wardens are fungal creatures, deeply connected to a unique fungus known as sculk found deep underground.  Where there is the strange dark eldritch fungus, there will also be a warden and where there is a warden, there will be the dark sculk. Their colors are similar to the fungi, nearly black with bioluminescent specks that glow blue. They have boney growths down their backs, wrapping around their sides, and on their upper arms. The length of these growths a good way to tell the age and strength of an individual. They stand between 10-12 feet tall on average, though grow larger as they age. They are fierce and powerful, dangerous and highly aggressive. Highly territorial. Wardens have a symbiotic relationship with sculk, which to be a part of them and they a part of it, as they are always found together. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are sapient, capable of thought, reason and speech. Their language, however, is vastly different from the language of humans and they have trouble forumalating words. They can generally understand the speech of others alright, but have trouble actually speaking back. A warden's voice can be compared to the groan\/moan\/meow of a tiger combined with an infrasonic rumble and their unique clicking\/chittering.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n<h5>Physical Description<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\r\n Wardens entirely lack eyes. They see using echolocation, vibrations, and sound and have an extremely advanced sense of smell. They can navigate incredibly well in complete darkness, as they do not need light to see at all. While they lack eyes, they do still have eyebrows. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are usually in shades of dark blue, almost black, green, or teal.  They usually have light blue or aqua speck markings on their bodies that glow with their natural bioluminescence. Their mane resembles that of a lion, often wrapping around their neck fully, though it can cover less. The texture is shiny and silken.  The mane very often falls over where the eyes would be. Their fur is shaggy and thick, but surprisingly sleek. It feels damp to the touch, despite being dry. If one were to touch a warden, they would be cool to the touch, but produce an inner heat from their metabolism. Despite feeling cool and damp, their breath is hot.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have boney growths on their upper arms, around their sides, over their shoulders, and a line of boney spines down their back. This is usually pale in color, but can have hints of yellow or green to it. It is always noticeably lighter than the body. <\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have long ears with a pronounced curl around the end, which are actually the tendrils they use to echolocate. Some have mistaken these strange ears as horns, though they are flexible. They twitch and glow when in use. They can be used to emote. While wardens do not see with light, their echolocation is shockingly precise, allowing them to read body language, gestures, and posture. They have trouble tracking quick movements, so Warden gestures are usually slow and deliberate.<\/span><\/p>\r\nTheir face superficially resembles a feline face, with a flatter muzzle a bit closer to humanoid shape. Their nose, in shape, somewhat resembles a big cat, but this resemblance is superficial. They have fluff on their cheeks that can be compared to the fluff on a Lynx.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey appear anthropromorphic in their build with digitgrade legs and large paws armed with sharp, tough claws. Their pads are thick and tough, able to grip the ground. They are surprisingly light on their feet, despite being large, bulky creatures, standing between 10-12 feet tall on average with a thick, muscular build. A warden can move comfortably on all fours, and will often drop to all fours when charging. They move shockingly fast for such a large creature. While they do not have eyes, Wardens can see you quite well. You get the distinct feeling of being watched when they turn to face you.<\/span><\/p>\r\nThey have a long, uniquely textured tail, the movement of which can be a good gauge for a warden's mood. Surprisingly, their tendrils are actually able to detect light, though this is not used towards sight. It seems to be connected to detecting the bioluminescence of other wardens. Their tongue is wide and forked, feeling almost velvety and slightly rough like a dog's tongue. They have tusks that jut up from their lower jaw. Their jaws are muscled with a powerful bite force, with the back teeth designed for crushing with the front teeth designed for gripping. The front teeth are often used to carry their cubs by the scruff. <\/span><\/p>","field2":"Not much is known about wardens and where the creatures came from. They appear to be from another reality or another dimension, and have a lot of strange eldritch abilities and energy about them. While they have a connection to life energy or soul energy, they are not inherently magical creatures.<\/p>\r\nSome theorize that wardens once had an alliance with early humans when they were hiding underground from a strange dangerous darkness alluded to in old tales. This theory is reinforced by the ruins of ancient cities that can often be found deep underground. They have what appear to be shrines and statues in honor of the warden, and many still have a warden still dwelling there. One in particular is a warden known as the Phantom of the Deep. This unique warden is seen as a bit of a local cryptid by those living above its ancient city, and tell tales of a pale warden of great size, calm and quiet. The ruins this warden is said to dwell in are extensive, denoting a city that was once huge and thriving.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>","field3":"Wardens are generally solitary and territorial, and tend to chase off things they do not want in their territories, but they do have some social instincts. Sometimes, they can be seen in small family groups. This can consist of an elder, who is a large and powerful dominant individual, and up to three smaller, less dominant individuals and any young they may have. Young wardens still instinctively leave their dam’s territory when they reach maturity, so these small groups are generally unrelated individuals. The instinct for young to leave the territory and settle far away helps with genetic diversity, and keeps warden populations fairly healthy. They breed so rarely that genetic issues from inbreeding could be detrimental. Additionally,  they can recognize the scent of one who is related which further helps avoid accidentally inbreeding. These family groups will usually only have one cub among them at a time, though sometimes two if their territory is established enough. The cub is usually fathered by the larger, more dominant individual, the one seen as the leader and the main one whose territory the others have settled in.  While many wardens do live individually, these family groups aren’t unheard of in larger fungal patches in the Depths. They are generally referred to as a pride, due to how wardens somewhat resemble large fungal cave lions. The best way to know if there’s more than one is the size of the sculk patch. Smaller sculk patches are most likely a single wardens, and probably fairly young. Much larger sculk patches can sustain more wardens, and thus are more likely to host one of these small prides. They usually only have a single older individual, but only large sculk patches will host a warden pride. <\/span><\/p>\r\nThe dominant elder, who is the leader of the pride, has a scent can actually be calming to territorial instincts in younger wardenss. wardens prides always have one larger more dominant individual among them, because without them the younger wardenss are far more likely to fight eachother over territory. The bigger wardens has a calming influence on the younger smaller ones.<\/span><\/p>\r\nSometimes, a warden will pair bond with another. When this happens, this pair bond will last for life. Occasionally, for very well established pairs, their young will stay with them even after maturity for a time. They will always eventually go off to found their own territory, but if the territory is established enough, they may help care for any cubs born to their parents for a time. Wardens, however, are long lived and powerful creatures, and don’t breed often. Because of this, they pour all their resources into insuring their cub reaches adulthood safely. The case of pair bonding is the only time a wardens pride will have two large older wardens, as they are too territorial otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\r\nBeing eldritch fungi, wardens do not follow the same genders\/gender identities as humans and more flesh and blood creatures. They are all capable of siring and bearing young. More submissive, smaller individuals are more likely to be the one to carry a cub and can be seen as more “feminine” while the larger more dominant individuals can be seen as more “masculine”.  However, this is more about their size and strength than their gender. They generally don’t understand gender, and don’t really care. Their Deep Eldritch language does not have gendered pronouns. They may see themselves as more feminine or more masculine, but otherwise don’t really care. Those that are exposed to humans or other creatures with genders\/pronouns when young, or taught about humans and other sapient beings are more likely to adopt a pronoun. Otherwise, they are simply referred to it\/its or they\/them. <\/span><\/p>\r\nWardens are very territorial, but if you stay out of their territory and don’t bother them, they’ll usually leave you alone. Younger, more aggressive wardens are far more likely to attack. The best way to avoid getting killed is to sneak past, stay out of their territory, don’t provoke them. Sometimes the best way to avoid provoking one is just not be detected by it. Once they decide to give chase, though, you are very unlikely to escape. They are fast, and have a deadly ranged attack as well that can send you flying even from a distance.<\/span><\/p>\r\nIn temperament, wardens can actually be compared to huge and dangerous cats, or tigers. They prefer to be left alone, only want interaction on their own terms, and tend to bond very closely with one or two people if they bond with anybody at all. Unlike a tiger, however, wardens are sapient, so one does not have to worry about a random attack if they do manage to befriend one. They are intelligent enough to hold back their wild instincts. Wardens are also not hunters or predators, so they have no prey drive or desire to hunt or chase. Their aggression is purely territorial and defensive in nature. Despite being massive, powerful and dangerous eldritch monsters, they are sensitive creatures, easily overwhelmed and overstimulated, which leads to aggression. While many wardens are highly territorial and attack anything deem as a threat or invader, others will simply observe and only attack if provoked. When not aggressive, wardens can actually be fairly curious. They are safer to interact with outside of their territory, as their territorial instincts are less apparent. While they don't like physical contact unless they trust you, a warden can become incredibly affectionate when they do bond with somebody. They will do a feline head bump, purr, or simply follow you around and settle nearby. A very closely bonded warden may lay curled around the person they've bonded with.<\/p>\r\nThey become very protective of their chosen Favorite Person, and can be incredibly possessive and territorial.<\/p>","field4":"Wardens are fungal creatures, but they have a lot of similiarities to flesh and blood creatures. The bone growths down their backs, on their upper arms, and around their sides are actually a form of chitin strengthened by the minerals they extract from the stone with their sculk growth, as are their internal skeletal structure. This makes their bones incredibly tough and surprisingly flexible.  They are covered in thick, shaggy fur. This fur can be compared to touching the cap of a mushroom, but the mushroom cap is made of fur. It feels cool and almost damp, but actually dry. They have thick manes that can go all the way down their backs. Warden claws are so hard and sharp they can dig through solid stone with surprising efficiency and speed. This also makes their attacks deadly, able to slash through even strong armor in a hit or two.<\/p>\r\nLike any fungi, wardens function in the nutrient cycling in whatever ecosystem they end up in. They will often venture to the surface to gather deadwood and leaf litter, but also anything that has died and begun to decay. They seem to prefer old growth forest, and will also eat driftwood, or water plants that have washed ashore and started to decay. They also extract nutrients from the stone with their sculk growth. Their sculk growth produces special buds, which the warden will eat. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, and even simple protiens. Wardens tend to do best in areas with a fair amount of geothermal heat. Their sculk growth thrives on geothermal heat, which helps it break down and metabolise nutrients from the stone it's broken down. It also draws in life energy, or soul energy, or just simply magical energy found around, which they use to power their abilities. Wardens do not have eyes. Their skulls don't even have eye sockets. Surprisingly, however, their brain has a structure that works incredibly similarly to the part of the brains of creatures that process visual input. This is connected to their tendrils, which are attached to their ears. Their tendrils are sometimes referred to as ears, though their function is different. They have incredibly keen hearing. Their echolocation creates a constant driving thrumming which can be compared to the sound of a large, slow and deep heartbeat in its rythm. It makes being in the presence of one of these creatures unsettling and scary. The layers of infrasound combined with this thrumming bounce back to the wardens's tendrils forming an incredibly clear picture of the world around them with shocking detail. Things moving very quickly or very small aren't picked up as well, but they can navigate through even twisted and cramped caverns with ease. Surprisingly, they are able to detect light through their tendrils. While they don't see with it, it does enhance the images formed by the vibrations, though bright light is painful and makes it harder for them to detect what is around them. For this reason, wardens do not like sunlight or bright light and generally prefer to remain underground unless it is dark outside. A warden's unique vision would be compared to a 3D rendered environment, made of a static noise effect without color. Closer would be brighter, further would be darker, making it seem as if the warden is the \"light source\". Things that move show up much brighter compared to the surroundings, effectively highlighting things that are moving, causing them to stick out from the background. This is why you can escape detection if you are very quiet, but the warden will home in on you in an instant if you produce vibrations or move too quickly.<\/p>\r\nwardens are incredibly good swimmers, able to spend a lot of time underwater before needing to come up for air. They are also resistant to high heat. Their fur holds their natural moisture against their skin and can prevent them from drying out for a surprising amount of time.<\/p>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nTheir internal biological systems works differently than any normal creature. They are eldritch fungal beasts, and they are deeply connected to the strange fungi that grow around their range.<\/p>\r\nwardens are cool to the touch, though their metabolism does produce heat within their bodies. Meaning that they are warm inside. Their breath is warm, though their tongue and lips would be cool. wardens breath, despite being a creature that generally consumes decaying organic matter, is surprisingly fresh smelling. It smells similar to petrichor, the smell right as it begins to rain, with a fungal undertone.<\/p>\r\nwardens can stand on two feet, or move on all fours equally as comfortably. Most individuals prefer to stand on two feet, though they tend to drop down to all fours when charging or running, as it is fast and efficient. wardens are shockingly fast for their large size, and can get into surprisingly tight spaces. If you manage to escape their claws, they can hit you with a sonic shriek, a powerful ranged attack that does a lot of damage. A terrible shriek that can pass through even solid objects and do damage up to 60 feet away.  It causes pain, disorientation, and can even break ribs and bones at close range.<\/p>\r\nDue to the infrasound wardens produce, being near them can be incredibly unsettling. It can feel like a strange buzzing thrum in the back of your head.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nWardens are omnivorous with an herbivorous tendency. They are able to eat meat, but it must be starting to decay or cooked. They also eat bone, though digest this much more slowly.  A fun side effect of this is that a wardens could swallow a small creature that passed away, digest the meat, and cough up the clean bones if they do it soon enough. It would be like an owl pellet or hairball, though it would smell pretty bad until the bones were washed.  They wouldn't have any reason to do this, but it is possible. The bone from whatever they eat gets integrated with the growths on their arms and down their backs, as well as their claws and teeth along with minerals from the stone their fungi grow on.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nBeing fungal creatures, wardens need a lot of water. They drink a lot.  It helps them digest, and helps keep them healthy and comfortable.  wardens wouldn't do well in dry heat, and would need to be around fresh water. Salt water would not work for them, too much salt would make them very sick, or even possibly kill them.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nWarden digestion is unique, and rather slow. They have two stomachs, to a point. One stomach that the easier to access nutrients are extracted from their food, and a second stomach, which is quite large, where the rest of their meal will be broken down by enzymes very similar to the enzymes put out by various molds and other fungi. This process is a lot slower, so wardens will eat the fungal buds from their sculk colonies and easier to digest stuff for quick energy boosts, while eating harder stuff, such as deadwood, bone, and other similar difficult to break down stuff goes to this second stomach. Like any creature, not everything a wardens ingests is broken down fully, and anything that doesn't get used is passed out the other end. Mostly just the solids. Their body is quite efficient so what is passed is actually mostly odorless. It might have an odd fungal or slightly moldy smell, but wouldn't smell like the poop of a normal creature. This remains true even if they eat rotting meat. It contains a lot of micro-nutrients for the soil. wardens love bread if they can get ahold of it, though wardens will often seek out rotting wood and leaf litter. This is one of the reasons they drink so much, makes the wood wet in their system, allowing them to break it down effectively. IThey can not digest fresh wood, it must be dead and rotting. wardens saliva actually has a powerful antibiotic property to it. It kills dangerous germs on whatever the wardens decides to eat. The side effect of this is thay their saliva can actually completely get rid of infection, so if you know a wardens and it doesn't hate you and you get hurt, it can lick your wounds and keep them from getting infected.<\/p>\r\nWhile there is little to no odor when they relieve themselves, getting sick is another story entirely. It's rare for a warden to vomit, but when they do, they empty both of their stomachs, and the smell is absolutely foul. It can be compared to something that has been sitting in the back of the fridge molding for who knows how long combined with stagnant bog water, sour and downright rotten. It looks as horrible as it smells, and there's more than would be expected from a creature their size due to the size of this secondary stomach.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nDue to drinking so much water, wardens pee frequently. It’s clear blue in color, and actually has a glow to it, though this fades within a few hours.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"k31gt\">\r\nIt functions to clear out metabolites and anything the wardens's body doesn’t need and to pass excess water, but it also serves a territorial purpose. The pee would have a very strong distinct smell but it wouldn’t be anything like a normal animal’s pee. The smell would be hard to describe, not particularly pleasant but also not particularly unpleasant. Just strange and very different. It’d be something that you’d easily recognize once you’ve smelled it once. A unique thing about it is there’d be no breaking down into ammonia and other toxic materials. It’d just break down into water and inert minerals, meaning that there’d be absolutely no contamination of the area around it. In fact, having a wardens around would be incredibly beneficial if you could get it to not want to sonic shriek you into the stratosphere, because it can eat stuff that would be unsafe, break it down, and basically pass plant fertilizer out the other end. A living composter, in a sense.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>","field5":"Wardens breed infrequently, and have, in general, low fertility. They become fertile when their sculk colony is established enough, at which point they are able to be fertilized and carry an egg. Wardens, unlike other fungi, reproduce sexually. They have both male and female organs, and do not really have a concept of gender. As they are both, and neither, at the same time. When catching the scent of another fertile warden, they will approach their territory, often carrying a peace offering of rotting wood. These encounters can be very dangerous with how territorial wardens are. Mating usually takes place outside of any established territory. The sire takes no part in caring for the cubs unless the mating happens within a pride or between a bonded pair.<\/p>\r\nWardens that live nearby eachother will often meet to mate when they are ready, so there are some wardens that have full siblings. Those who mate more than once will often get used to eachother, making subsequent matings a lot more safe and peaceful.<\/p>\r\nWardens carry their egg for about 6 months. During this time, wardens will eat more than they usually do, drink more water, sleep more, become even more protective of their territory and will begin to increase and add to their nest. The fungal buds their sculk produces increases as the warden will eat a lot more while growing the egg and the cub within. The egg is actually fungal in nature, resembling a puffball mushroom matching their fungal growth in color with little glowing blue specks on it. It will connect to the fungal growth and grow for another six to eight months, depending on how well established the wardens is. The cub will chew its way out of the egg when it is ready. The shell of the egg will become the cub's first meal. They are very small when they first emerge, and generally remain quiet unless in danger, and prefer to stay near the nest. They can be territorial and aggressive even at a very young age, and will bite and growl if provoked. Warden cubs are very sensitive to sound, especially in the weeks after hatching, and this can cause them to become distressed if there's a lot of sound around them until they get used to it. This can make them snappy and aggressive, even towards their parent. This can be stressful for the new parent at first, but more experienced wardens know how to calm their cub down and calm them calm so they are less aggressive. They will generally calm down after a bit, once they get used to things.<\/p>\r\nWarden cubs are very attached to their parent, though they are capable of being comfortable and happy alone in their nest for hours at a time. They do become curious sometimes, and will often wander around their parent's territory. Due to the fierce territorial nature of wardens, their cubs are very safe if they stay within the territory. They usually do on instinct, but occasionally will wander too far. The parent can find them easily enough, due to their incredibly sensitive noses.<\/p>\r\nWardens mature at roughly the same rate as humans, though they are much longer lived. They tend to instinctively leave their parent's territory around 20 years of age to find their own territory.<\/p>\r\nWardens have a form of ancestral memory, from special spores a warden dam passes on to their cubs. These spores carry with them knowledge the warden can use later on as well as some memories, though the memories are more nebulous. An example of the function of these spores is how all of the descendants of a warden known as the Phantom are able to understand several human languages, and even speak a few limited words because of the spores passed down through the generations.  Wardens are rare, and breed extremely slowly so this passage of knowledge from parent to offspring provides a clear advantage in their survival. This means that warden grudges will often pass down through the generations. A warden that has had a bad experience with humans, will pass on this aggression towards humans to their cubs, and along down the line making wardens from that lineage more aggressive and dangerous, while those who have had better experiences will pass that down, creating less dangerous and aggressive wardens.<\/p>\r\nIt is thought to be impossible for wardens to produce hybrids with other races. It is possible due to their unique eldritch nature, but extremely unlikely. For one, wardens rarely interact with other races, much less in ways that would lead to interbreeding. Second, warden fertility is incredibly low. The chance of conception is low even between their own kind. And third, their biology is very different from humans. While conception could happen, the chances are incredibly low and the hybrid would be caused by the warden's unique eldritch nature.<\/p>","field6":"Wardens can vary in their coat color, bone growths, mane type, shape of their tail and ears, and general build.<\/p>","field7":null}},"title":"Warden","is_visible":"1","summary":"The Terror of the Depths","utility_tag":["wip"],"page_tag":null}

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