Sylthae

"Why would you ever want to leave? Catch some sun, eat some grapes, that'll kick those silly ideas about leaving right outta your system." — Darach Roche, The Elder of Community

Sylthae

Information
Homeworld	Elyndra
Habitats	The forests and jungles of Elyndra
Unique Traits	Bark-like skin, crests, flowering tails, and other features of plant mimicry
Writer(s)	Derek Ghoste

The Sylthae are a plant-inspired species present on the sphere of Elyndra. Despite appearing as though they are comprised of plants, the Sylthae are mammals, with their bodies comprised of layered, fibrous matter that resembles sinew grown in rings. Their tissue grows into a keratinized plate that resembles tree bark or the stems of plants. Sylthae vary in appearance, but most feature crests, spines, branching limbs, vine tails, horns, and other distinctive features that allow them to blend in with their surroundings. Sylthae enjoy basking in the sun for energy and fall ill when not in the sun for long periods of time. Their architecture represents their connection to the flora on Elyndra, able to control and manipulate them. Due to their connection with the flora and the ability to coax them to do their bidding, labor is seen as crude and lower-class. The Sylthae have mastered an ability known as ‘Twin Growth’, in which they enhance qualities of themselves from a plant, though this ability is much harder to do as their bodies grow tougher with age. Sylthae are all herbivores and can eat a variety of plants. Part of what makes their life easy is existing in such lush forests that food will always be at every corner. Their governing system is made of a collection of elders, all of whom see no reason to leave their Garden Sphere. It’s paradise, after all, and anyone who argues otherwise is a threat to such a paradise.

Core Worldview

Sylthae live in a paradise in which they’re taught to never leave. Leaving means death, monsters, and never coming back. And besides – who would want to leave such a perfect, calm life? This made up a large part of hesitance towards the Pathfinding Initiative.

Physiology and Design

Sylthae showing off tail, by Ghoste

Sylthae are not actually plants. Their physical attributes mostly derive from their parent, but a small portion from the environment itself, since they are creatures of mimicry and camouflage. They come in all shapes and sizes – if it is a plant, there is a Sylthae for it*. They tend to have crests, tails, thick bark-like skin, and leaf-like tissues that grow randomly on their body. Sometimes true plants grow on them, especially for older, slower folks.

Planty by Ghoste

They need adequate sunlight to be healthy. Their colors, especially those with flower-like appendages, appear dull without enough light. They have a bioluminescent “Sunny D” to help deal with periods of prolonged exposure to darkness, but it is not a permanent solution. While they do not photosynthesize, the plants growing on them do – even more incentive for sunlight.

*The only exception are Monotropa Uniflora (see “The Fomorians”)

Returning

As Sylthae age, their bodies become tougher and slower. Generally, their attitudes also relax and slow during this aging process. More plant-like tissues sprout between the cracks of their bark and in-between moss or ferns that decide to take home on them. Sylthae that manage to live up to over a century often have aggressive vegetation consuming them.

When they reach the end of their life cycle, they are possessed by the insatiable need to find a suitable place to settle. By this point, their bodies have slowed and numbed to a great degree. They gradually become overtaken by surrounding vegetation as their forms feed the garden in death, merging with the environment.

“Out of the many watermelon seeds produced by our fallen one, a large seedpod was seen forming – a new child for Elyndra” -- Mother Hallow, previous Elder of Thorn

Sometimes, before their bodies fully decompose, they create a false flower, fruit, or pod. The little sprout (what Sylthae call children*) emerges from the cocoon fairly developed and able to walk, unlike half-baked human children. They don’t need much effort to take care of them as they gradually find their way back to society once born, in which they’re then taken in and communally raised by other Sylthae.

*Twins are literally “two peas in a pod” and may be called peas instead

The Fomorians…

“Subterranean cannibalistic plant vampires” – or the fomorians – are monstrous, warped Sylthae that evolved without sunlight.

Long ago, a fissure cracked through the world. In a twig’s snap, hundreds of Sylthae plunged into the crawling darkness, trapped as the fissure sealed above them just as fast as it appeared. They ventured too far from home and into stable territory. Ever since, strange monsters have crawled out of the edges of Sylthae society or in the depths of caves, if a Sylthae ever sees such caves…

Young buds are reminded of this story. Stay in the light. Stay in the community. Never leave, and everyone stays safe and together in paradise. Variations of the story include “boogeyman” type characters or the equivalent to a monster under your bed, but Sylthae across every culture always have something.

Social Structures and Community

Occupations

Elyndra provides everything a Sylthae needs to live, allowing for the luxury of laziness among many in their communities. The concept of “working” and

“Effort” is seen as something that is a burden. Those that work are not looked down upon, but pitied. They would unironically censor the word “job.”

“Oh you have to work? That must be such a burden, I’m so sorry for you." -- anonymous Sylthae

For menial work, elders may make golems. These are non-sentient magical creatures of rock, soil, and leaf created for singular purposes such as carrying beverages, turning cogs on machines, or delivering messages. They are very simple creatures. While a golem can help a builder carry and place down wood, the placement is nonsensical without direct orders, which creates the need for proper jobs.

a little lean green beer-getting machine, but yknow not a machine because its a magical plant golem

The Elders choose who in their community will work, often rotating the selection every few days. A chosen individual will go through Twin Growth to specialize them in their task (allows for fewer individuals to be burdened with work and, for those that do work, have the strength/ability to complete their tasks).  Since very few get chosen from large communities, most people don’t work often.

*irl comparison is like getting chosen for Jury Duty

The Elder Trees

The “government” is made up of a collection of Elders who do their best to keep everyone living together on this paradise of a planet. They are the oldest Sylthae in their community who, by some reason or another (said to be chosen by nature itself) grow a large, flowering crown from their headcrests later into life.

Like old growth trees, they tell stories from tattoo-like carvings on their skin and pass down traditions through telling such stories verbally – especially to promote staying within the community. They are not seen as “higher than” anyone else, and they tend to spend much time with the youngest sprouts in their towns and cities. Elders usually fill up to five roles, though they are mostly symbolic (elders don’t do many tasks themselves, but mostly keep order as it naturally flows and oversee such flow; maybe at one point, or in some struggling cities, elders take up a more proper array of responsibilities). However, elders usually do magic (creating golems, aiding in Twin Growth) and choose which individuals in the community shall do work and of what kind.

Darach (Oak): Tree of community

Fuinseog (Ash): Tree of hope

Dealg (Thorn): Tree of spirit

Cuileann (Holly): Tree of protection

Coll (Hazel): Tree of wisdom

Instead of nurturing the environment for a regular plant when they die, they gradually transform into enormous trees named after their role. These trees are often used centuries later as meeting spaces, places to live, and overall representations of the community.

Religion and Spirituality

Many Sylthae view the planet itself as a living being, one that nourishes them and provides them with everything they could ever need. They treat Elyndra like a person (literally their motherland). For specific religions, some Sylthae hold ceremonies in and around the largest and oldest trees. Additionally, religions tend to center either the soil or Sun.

As a part of their dogma against exploration and leaving the planet, the Elders tell stories about the horrible monsters that lurk in the dark, pale as a ghost and waiting to gobble you up whole! There are plenty of variations on this tale, but all Sylthae know the stories well.

Magic

Culturally, Sylthae are very attuned to their environment and especially to the plants around them. They mimic them physically and spiritually, eventually leading to them finding a pattern in the flow of life (“flow" may be used interchangeably with "nectar") that would give way for magic. They use magic chiefly to manipulate light and plants. In very early Sylthae society, only the eldest of the community had the time and knowledge on how to manage this. That piece of history is still retained in The Elder Trees, who continue to be the primary users of larger magics, but most of Sylthae society understands the basics of the flow (most of Sylthae society has a small bit of Twin Growth, even if they did not create the attunement themselves, and have learned to manipulate light or plants to some extent).

They mostly use their bodies or plants to “cast” magic. It is less of “casting a spell” and more of gently guiding flow and attuning oneself to it. Naturally this lends their magic into the realm of nature and body constellations. There are no rules, but there can be certain taboos – for instance, fighting against the flow or studying it in depth is seen as strange. Magic is supposed to be one of the many gifts of their paradise, not something to be scientifically analyzed. Magic is primarily used to make life as luxurious and blissful as possible: opening up canopies to flood cities with natural light, causing food to grow at a rapid pace, shaping the roofs of their houses to capture rainwater, and reducing the stress of work on one’s body. To outsiders, the flow of a plant is messy and complicated, but Sylthae have grown to embrace and follow it smoothly, as taught by their Elders.

Additionally, their magical capabilities are not combative or harmful in any true sense of the word. Sure – shining light in someone’s eyes or hitting someone with rose thorns would hurt, but that isn’t the main use or function of their magic. To re-emphasize, their magic is almost entirely selfish, helping to ease the burdens of everyday life and make living more enjoyable – not for harming others. They may also use magic to help others, though the efficacy varies depending on the target. Healing an injured plant is easier than healing a Sylthae, and much less complicated than healing a non-Elyndrian. Sylthae magic is primarily built for Sylthae use, though there have been cases where more adventurous plantkin helped members of other species, usually through creative use of healing magics and Twin Growing.

Most Sylthae can gently grow a plant into Twin Growing with them (this kind of attunement makes it slightly easier to guide the flow of their plant) and guide light in small ways. Some, but fewer, can extend this skill to other plants (example: guiding a vine to drop grapes onto your lap). Older Sylthae, or those that took the time to learn, may be able to attune a plant to themselves through Twin Growth. However, only The Elder Trees of their community have garnered the skill, patience, and presence to apply Twin Growth to others and create non-sentient golems. Additionally, The Elders often have etched “tattoos” that tell stories (similar to the etchings on the bark of a tree). Sometimes, these etchings may represent flow, further aiding spell guidance for themselves and to show to others.

Twin Growth is when a plant’s flow connects with the flow of a person, intertwining the two. It is easier to guide the flow of another when intertwined, but only as long as the flow remains intact (taking care of the plant both in the literal and magical sense). This can then be used to make oneself taller, stronger, more decorative, or any number of things that plants or one’s body can grow into. Magic is natural to their society, and not utilizing it is seen as an unnecessary difficulty. However, because of their flippant use of magic, excessive and rampant use causes prolonged and extreme lethargy, which ironically inspires the use of more magic to make life easier. For Twin Growth specifically, the fast growth and bonding aspect of this magic takes years off of Sylthae lifespans and speeds up their natural life cycle, especially if they don’t know how to pace themselves with the flow. Symptoms of this include hardening skin (like bark) and overall slower movements (older Sylthae or those that use a lot of magic appear much more relaxed), forcing their bodies to shift into an early version of Returning: the process by which a Sylthae fully hardens in death and returns to the nature of garden they call home (death). Managing a large quantity of magic in a short period of time can essentially turn the Sylthae into a still, lifeless statue – a large, uncontrolled explosion of magic can instantly succumb the Sylthae to returning, rapidly growing a rather deformed tree in their place. This can be somewhat prevented if the flow of another plant takes the place of one’s own, damaging that plant instead, but many Sylthae either don’t know how to incorporate this into their use of magic or would rather not harm their home. The Elders live so long partially because they do use this method of flow guiding (a key feature is their large flowering head crest, which can only be properly created by mastering this exchange of flow), and are seen as the few who can use it responsibly. To suppress Returning itself, Sylthae may also bathe themselves in more sunlight than usual and take an extended break from magic, but other symptoms of magic overuse remain.

Technology and Science

Technology is less metallic and more organic. There is a heavy emphasis and reliance on both photokinesis (light) and phytokinesis (plants), essentially doing the bare minimum amount of magic they need in order to have the plants in the environment do the work for them. Doors with vine hinges that open and close on their own, pitcher plants that serve as toilets, altering the boughs of fruit trees to grow right into your home and bare fruit every day.

Foods and Drinks

This is the most popular category of invention. They have developed a drink made from pre-photosynthesized chloroplasts in order to help their ailments and deficiencies when exposed to long periods of darkness. It's bioluminescent Sunny D.

In conjungtion with Nythera neighbors, a few Sylthae have also created unique forms of recreational drugs, drinks, and snacks. This is very useful for party hours.

Twin Growth is one of their top advancements, aside from plant golems (however, golems are limited to the Elders, meanwhile Twin Growth is commonplace throughout Sylthae societies).

Twin Growth

Twin Growth: Named after plants that grow within each other. Sylthae utilize the growing patterns and features of plants through twin growth to enhance themselves: grow stronger (bonding with a redwood tree to harden their bark-like skin), taller (bonding with a bamboo or otherwise lengthening their limbs), gain more abilities (using the bonded plant like an extra appendage), or heal wounds (using the structural integrity of certain plants to temporarily or permanently cover injuries). Sylthae generally have a longstanding symbiotic relationship with flora (e.g., older folks may have real plant growths chilling on them, and much of their society and architecture is centered around plants), but this is facilitated by following the “life flow” of a plant, allowing such plants to bond to a Sylthae and rapidly grow in whichever way is needed -- the only caveat being a shorter lifespan, as too much magic use stiffens Sylthae's skin and speeds up their natural aging processes.

Very few (if any) don't participate in Twin Growth, especially since it helps society function in terms of jobs (if you're chosen to do a certain job, it is highly surprising that any Sylthae would turn down Twin Growth to make the job easier). It's also possible to have multiple plant bonds (to your detriment) and many Sylthae have one plant they bond the most closely with (usually for decorative purposes, and does not use too much magic). And like mentioned before, temporary growths exist (usually for small jobs or injuries), and any can be unbonded if the Sylthae wishes. However, the longer a plant is bonded, the more difficult it is to remove (remnants of the plant may still remain).

This process can be done at any time during life, with it getting slightly more difficult as the individual ages because of the skin becoming harder and harder as they get older.

Space Travel and Trading

Most technology is created to make life as easy as possible for themselves. Given their stigma against leaving their home sphere, they have not created any space faring technology of their own. They rely on visitors from other spheres or neighboring Nythera for technology such as space crafts. Some Sylthae could have instructed golems to create space vessels based on foreigner ships, though most who opt to leave the comfort of their homeworld usually find room on someone else's ship rather than creating one from scratch.

Most cities only recently began integrating space docks for ships, but they are small, and far and few between. Anyone who wants to go to the Sylthae side of Elyndra would normally go through Nythera first, as their interspacial ports are larger and more accessible.

There was also a rumored ship that crashed on Elyndra, nearby one of the Sylthae settlements, with a strange fellow who offered to take any Sylthae wishing to join the Pathfinding Initiative as a token of gratitude for helping him recover from the crash.

When it comes to trading, Sylthae are more than happy to share the plentiful bounty of their paradise world. After all, they have much excess, why wouldn't they be generous to (cough take pity upon) those who come to their verdant garden? It is also one of the only ways they can get non-organic materials and technology.

Fashion

Fashion tends to center flowy fabrics, robes, or flower decor. Most Sylthae do not overdress or have layers (Elyndra tends to be temperate-warm) and instead opt for simpler, looser outfits. Some Sylthae choose to not wear shoes (easier for climbing and connecting with the soil), but this is up to personal preference.

Oftentimes, dresses and other fabrics are sewn to mimic the plant life around them. High fashion is more intricate and delicate than regular-wear, with an array of designs (embroidered or layered) to appear as petals, flowers, and vines. Sylthae may create these types of outfits in their leisuretime if they find sewing enjoyable, but others would rather wait years for golems to finish a piece instead.

*irl inspirations include Midsommar and Greek Togas

Fun Facts

They are highly resistant to substances derived from plants, including but not limited to: wine.

Notable Locations

A lot of Elyndran cities are isolated to Sylthae. Buildings from these cities are formed in a way that maximizes the utilization of natural resources like rainwater and sunlight. For example, lots of open buildings that channel light and water throughout its infrastructure, roofs that catch rainwater (or let it trickle down in pretty ways), and houses built from the dirt and trees themselves.

Most of the buildings are made with the help of large boulder-golems, led by a small handful of rotating chosen architects (see Occupations).

Their land appears more wild and overgrown than neatly farmed, though those areas do still exist in patches between their cities. Sometimes, these gardens are isolated to individuals who tend to them for fun. At some point in Sylthae history, one of these personal gardens was owned by a very passionate Elder, and thereforth all governing buildings of the Elders showcase wonderful farmland all around the base of their trees.

Interactions With Other Species

While very, very few Sylthae have ventured out, Elyndra in recent times has been a center of travel and vacation for other species.

Party Hours

All of Elyndra has a culture of "party hours" throughout the years and days. These include annual celebrations, but also the casual festivities that occur every dawn and dusk. Parties at Dawn, or sunrise, are hosted by Sylthae in honor of long sunny day ahead. Parties at Dusk, or sunset, are hosted by Nythera, to rejoice in the dim glow of the moonlight all night long. While Sylthae and Nythera may celebrate these separately, they often come together in "Party Towns" to celebrate together. This is a very special bond since dawn and dusk are the only times where it isn't too dark for Sylthae nor too light for Nythera.

Inspiration Images

Concept Art

Art By Ghoste

Elder Sylthae concept art by Ghoste