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Description

While there are countless searing parasites who can serve as the face of the Arimakki, to all, there is only one symbol, one heart, that truly defines them. It is a thing that is even more mysterious than the odd bugs themselves, something that many still struggle to understand. Even its name fails to properly describe what it truly is, but there are no other words to use for it: The Vile Red Tree. Yet, it is no tree, it isn't even a plant. There is no bark, no leaves, yet it grows like an insidious weed. It has no need for sunlight, or water, as it lives underground, growing in the heart of every Arimakki colony. It is no animal or plant, yet it lives. Its hardened brittle form slithers and splinters as it spreads throughout the underground, eating its way through ancient flesh and soil. From its stony red flesh emanates a sweltering heat, a feverish temperature that only an Arimakki can love. It is a searing atmosphere it exudes, far greater than any single parasite can muster. It is this burning presence that makes each Arimakki colony an oven, the heat so intense that no other living creature can survive long without protection. And as it grows, the heat follows, baking the earth and clearing the way for its horrible children.

This bizarre burning organisms does not grow alone, as with it are the White Worms and other strange creatures. To most, the White Worm is an unassuming thing, a pale featureless squirming thing, found infesting every Arimakki. But where the Vile Red Tree grows, the White Worm is close at hand, writhing through the earth and dancing amongst its subterranean branches. What the connection is between the two is unknown, as folk aren't even sure how they play into the Arimakki themselves. The best guess is that the Vile Red Tree and the White Worms are crucial to the reproduction and spread of the Arimakki. Why else would they be found within the heart of every colony? Why else would these pale worms be filling every cavity of the parasites? It seems both are needed for these horrible bugs to survive. The Vile Red Tree is believed to create the horrible heat that is needed for Arimakki eggs to hatch, while the White Worm burrows through the world around them and prepares the flesh for infestation. It seems the Vile Red Tree can only grow through substrate that has been thoroughly infested by the White Worm, and perhaps the internal worms are how the Arimakki digest their food. But in the end, these are only guesses, as every part of the Arimakki hive is nearly impossible to study, let alone survive.

Due to the critical role the Vile Red Tree plays into the spreading of the Arimakki, many are correct to assume that its destruction is necessary to dispel this threat. Smaller hives who have had their trees destroy turn sickly and weak, and the bugs are seen desperately trying to reseed their dying tree. Yet, eradicating the Vile Red Tree is no easy task. Blows against it shatter it and scatter its pieces, raining blistering sharp shards across the land. Wherever a fragment lands, a tree will be soon to follow, as they regenerate and spread like a disease. Those who get its barbs into their flesh are nearly driven mad from the experience, as it is a searing needle that digs deeper and deeper into the flesh, spreading fever, burning and crazed itching. Those who still have it within them experience horrible hallucinations and are tormented by twisted impossible nightmares. If a doctor is not able to extract the sliver from their flesh, most are driven to such insanity that they will gnaw their way to it and tear it out with bloody teeth.

To make matters more confusing is that the White Worm is not the only thing that writhes amongst the buried branches of the Vile Red Tree. A whole slew of terrible worms spend their entire lives around it, playing some role or purpose that no one can understand. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, yet their jobs are a mystery. The blanket name of "Arimakki Wamu" is given to them, and it seems that they need the Vile Red Tree as much as it needs them. With how the variety of Arimakki seems to be endless, one can only figure that these are another staple of these colonial organisms, a handful of the many that make the Arimakki whole.

The Vile Red Tree and the White Worm remain a mystery and a terror, haunting the land and many dreams. Maddened tongues speak of its growing through the earth and beneath our feet. Crazed visions see the earth cracking open into writhing worm-filled wounds. The shivering sleepers look up in their dreams and see a boiling sky and a horrid tree of red devouring the heavens.

-----------------------------------------------

And I forgot to add the White Worms! Confound it!

Description

While there are countless searing parasites who can serve as the face of the Arimakki, to all, there is only one symbol, one heart, that truly defines them. It is a thing that is even more mysterious than the odd bugs themselves, something that many still struggle to understand. Even its name fails to properly describe what it truly is, but there are no other words to use for it: The Vile Red Tree. Yet, it is no tree, it isn't even a plant. There is no bark, no leaves, yet it grows like an insidious weed. It has no need for sunlight, or water, as it lives underground, growing in the heart of every Arimakki colony. It is no animal or plant, yet it lives. Its hardened brittle form slithers and splinters as it spreads throughout the underground, eating its way through ancient flesh and soil. From its stony red flesh emanates a sweltering heat, a feverish temperature that only an Arimakki can love. It is a searing atmosphere it exudes, far greater than any single parasite can muster. It is this burning presence that makes each Arimakki colony an oven, the heat so intense that no other living creature can survive long without protection. And as it grows, the heat follows, baking the earth and clearing the way for its horrible children.

This bizarre burning organisms does not grow alone, as with it are the White Worms and other strange creatures. To most, the White Worm is an unassuming thing, a pale featureless squirming thing, found infesting every Arimakki. But where the Vile Red Tree grows, the White Worm is close at hand, writhing through the earth and dancing amongst its subterranean branches. What the connection is between the two is unknown, as folk aren't even sure how they play into the Arimakki themselves. The best guess is that the Vile Red Tree and the White Worms are crucial to the reproduction and spread of the Arimakki. Why else would they be found within the heart of every colony? Why else would these pale worms be filling every cavity of the parasites? It seems both are needed for these horrible bugs to survive. The Vile Red Tree is believed to create the horrible heat that is needed for Arimakki eggs to hatch, while the White Worm burrows through the world around them and prepares the flesh for infestation. It seems the Vile Red Tree can only grow through substrate that has been thoroughly infested by the White Worm, and perhaps the internal worms are how the Arimakki digest their food. But in the end, these are only guesses, as every part of the Arimakki hive is nearly impossible to study, let alone survive.

Due to the critical role the Vile Red Tree plays into the spreading of the Arimakki, many are correct to assume that its destruction is necessary to dispel this threat. Smaller hives who have had their trees destroy turn sickly and weak, and the bugs are seen desperately trying to reseed their dying tree. Yet, eradicating the Vile Red Tree is no easy task. Blows against it shatter it and scatter its pieces, raining blistering sharp shards across the land. Wherever a fragment lands, a tree will be soon to follow, as they regenerate and spread like a disease. Those who get its barbs into their flesh are nearly driven mad from the experience, as it is a searing needle that digs deeper and deeper into the flesh, spreading fever, burning and crazed itching. Those who still have it within them experience horrible hallucinations and are tormented by twisted impossible nightmares. If a doctor is not able to extract the sliver from their flesh, most are driven to such insanity that they will gnaw their way to it and tear it out with bloody teeth.

To make matters more confusing is that the White Worm is not the only thing that writhes amongst the buried branches of the Vile Red Tree. A whole slew of terrible worms spend their entire lives around it, playing some role or purpose that no one can understand. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, yet their jobs are a mystery. The blanket name of "Arimakki Wamu" is given to them, and it seems that they need the Vile Red Tree as much as it needs them. With how the variety of Arimakki seems to be endless, one can only figure that these are another staple of these colonial organisms, a handful of the many that make the Arimakki whole.

The Vile Red Tree and the White Worm remain a mystery and a terror, haunting the land and many dreams. Maddened tongues speak of its growing through the earth and beneath our feet. Crazed visions see the earth cracking open into writhing worm-filled wounds. The shivering sleepers look up in their dreams and see a boiling sky and a horrid tree of red devouring the heavens.

-----------------------------------------------

And I forgot to add the White Worms! Confound it!