Behemoth

Rising out of the vast and humid Gerokessian Jungle is an immense tree, one nearly a mile tall.

Yet the closer one comes the more that the tree description begins to fall apart. Scaffolding surrounds the immense bulk which is dark in colouration with jutting spikes. Numerous branches spread from its crown, bereft of leaves.

Finally, a visitor will find themselves in a great clearing looking up at the supposed tree, and there that facade is truly gone for this is no great arboreal wonder. Three huge trunk-like pillars sunk into the soil provide support, leading to its body. Wooden structures like stairs and walkways and balconies cover its surface, as does does openings that resemble fanged maws. And the eyes, hundreds of them great and small. Some closed, some open. The latter gaze ever outward, lazily watching the tiny scurrying figures who go about their lives in and around it.

This is Behemoth, a God-Beast unleashed upon Caenar around five centuries ago. It was part of a vast army summoned forth to bring an end to the age by a cult whose name is long since lost. Yet something went wrong and Behemoth was alone. It rampaged mightily, destroying all it saw. Yet it grew weaker for the Stars Were Not Right and its time not yet come. As it slowed its rampage a group of Dewyn gathered together and through much effort and sacrifice were able to contain Behemoth within a great clearing in the jungle, creating a ring of megaliths upon which sealing glyphs were cast. Behemoth could not escape, could not return to its home Realm, and went into hibernation.

The Town of Behemoth

In the centuries since, Behemoth has become a settlement of sorts. It is kept in a torpid state by an industrial level of narcotics manufactured from the abundant resources of the jungle around it. The humans and Orcs who call Behemoth home are mostly the descendants of outcasts from across the continent, finding the towering God-Beast a relatively safe sanctuary as no one dares assault in case such activity would awaken it. Thus, they have over the years burrowed holes into its hide, creating a network within its body, contending with the large, aggressive and seemingly endless number of parasites who call its body home. There are workshops and alchemical laboratories, storerooms and more within the interior chambers of Behemoth, though only the most hardened can stand the humid heat, slowly pulsing tunnels and organic, fleshy enviroment for long.

Strange fruits are grown from soil watered with a cocktail consisting of Behemoth blood, and from its flesh is carved God Meat, a peculiar tasting meat that the strange folk of Behemoth subsist upon. The denizens of Behemoth worship the God-Beast, giving praise to the bounties it offers and on occasion feeling an urge to go deep inside the slumbering titan and cast themselves into a pulsating hole to become one with their God.

Around Behemoth a shanty town has formed and it is a major trading hub for those travelling the region. A myriad of drugs, fruits and the aforementioned God-Meat is sold there, though the latter is best avoided by those who do not wish to remain in Behemoth forever.

Alien Parasites

Behemoth is a host to a plethora of parasites, a bewildering array of vicious creatures with a number of forms yet a singular wish to eat and spread. The people of Behemoth routinely conduct purges to reduce the numbers of these parasites, but they are rarely gone for long. Most are a nuisance, some though are particularly dangerous.

The Whispering

Some, particular those who imbibe too much of the God-Meat, begin to hear in time a faint whisper in their heads in proximity to Behemoth. This, or so the denizens say, is the voice of Behemoth. They rarely understand what is being said for it is nonsense for the most part. A babbling string of words with little connection and meaning.

Occasionally though, someone will hear a word or sentence that is clear and concise.

"Free me... release me... kill me."

It is speculated by outsiders about what would happen if the megaliths around Behemoth were broken and the narcotics keeping it docile would cease.

Type

Arcology / Residential Complex