Difference between revisions of "Gorgon Lore"

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[[Category: Documentation]]
== Gorgons ==
== Gorgons ==



Revision as of 13:43, 7 February 2018

Gorgons

It is always interesting and, dare we say, cathartic, dissecting a nightmare. We feel sure these are the Gorgons of yore, the originals, though the implications of this are still disturbingly vague.

Gorgons have proven a difficult breed to study. While Gorgonoids have so far appeared plentiful and bold, the Gorgons themselves remain elusive, even shy. From our outside perspective, it would have been easy to classify them as the same exact thing, and yet, upon further investigation, it becomes clear that Gorgons are far older, scarcer, and possessed of deeper intellect and power. The most obvious way to tell them apart is that, while Gorgonoids appear as misshapen, corrupted animals, Gorgons bear no obvious correspondence to one particular beast or bird, and are rather composed of an odd assortment of physical traits unlike anything we’ve yet seen. While they come in a variety of shapes, Gorgons possess a common language, and seem to commune more deeply by latching tentacles with each other.

Ah yes, tentacles! They’re oily, and tongue-like, black. The tentacles are most often sheathed in the appendages of the body, and perhaps they are the more essential composition of the Gorgon, the invariable essence of these monsters. Whatever the case, they are intriguing specimens, and react interestingly to various metals, objects, and forces. When we slit the tentacles open, it is to reveal tough brown sacs full of tight-packed pale seeds. The seeds remain whole and moist, even outside of their casings, suggesting that they continue to live… or whatever it is they do.

The actual purposes of the Gorgons remain arcane to us. While they go about, spreading their sickness to creatures, causing them to mutate and become receptive to commands, the ultimate goal of this behavior is frighteningly unclear. Is it possible that they seek to turn all beings into their slaves? This seems impractical, and rather simple-minded. We suspect their designs to be far more complex, since some of the brains we’ve dug out of these corpses are the size of pumpkins, and the Gorgons we’ve been able to observe have been discriminating with what creatures they choose to infest.

Nothing is known of how Gorgons came to be, from whence they come, or where, if anywhere, they gather. We have begun to wonder if… rather drastic means might be needed to gain insight into their inner processes and, possibly, their schemes. We will continue to consider unconventional courses of illumination.

--These Informed Opinions submitted by the Order of Kralar on <Date>


Gorgonoids

Have you ever looked at an animal, a sheep, say, and said to yourself, ‘Yes, but what if it lost all its fur, developed razorblade genitals, and was covered in fire-spewing pustules?’ Apparently, this type of thought occurs to Gorgons all the time. Thus, we are given Gorgonoids.

The pitiable result of Gorgon infestations (what we originally thought of as the sickness, Gorgonism), the Gorgonoids were once beasts or birds, their bodies tortuously acted upon by strange pale seed-clusters planted in their necks. The seeds sprout many-branched fibers that run throughout the animal’s limbs, working some change with variable, but always monstrous result. Spiders of grotesque size and demonic appearance, flying stomachs with endless teeth to match endless hungers, even deer, it would seem, charged with mystic power, full of seemingly indiscriminate wrath.

Aside from these fully-developed abominations, we have also observed partial results: bears struggling under the weight of one enormous mace of an arm, or an otherwise normal chicken with small sightless eyes beneath its feathers. We have no idea what implications these discoveries have, but we know enough to be conscious of the possibility that the body can somehow fight the infestation. The eventual outcome of this theoretical case remains frustratingly unclear.

Gorgonoids eat, but it isn’t proven that they actually require nourishment. The seeds, when destroyed, cause the fibers to wither and curl like burnt hair, after which the host-creature invariably dies. It would seem that once implanted, the seeds become so finely laced with the life-force of the beings they inhabit, that they are inextricable. We cannot more gravely recommend avoiding close contact with Gorgons, and would further encourage all adventurers to be wary… the placement of the seeds indicate that Gorgons are remarkably stealthy, when they chose to be. Do not be caught unawares!

As far as classifying the purpose of creatures such as these… They seem to serve no purpose, save destruction. However, a chance magical cohesion has shown that the bodies of the beings will act as conduits for primal forces, though to what effect remains a mystery.

It is now certain that they are very much inedible.

--These Informed Opinions submitted by the Order of Kralar on <Date>