Osseus Moon

“Ooh it’s a shiny thing!... Oh. It’s a death thing.” - Some Unfortunate Victim

Harmon's Harvest
When Fragmenterra befell the world, many would argue that The Grey Wastes was one of the worst hit areas. While the many that would argue have Grey Waste hailitage, their claim is a valid one as the entire landscape went from barely hospitable to unable to host agriculture. It was soon after this time that The Black Crown began to near an end to their royal food stores, albeit much longer after the common folk’s had depleted. Harmon Vitriol, Black Crown Apothecary was tasked with finding an alternative to keep bellies full. As the soils of the Wastes were sapped of nutrients, a new crop would require a new source of sustenance and as war raged around them, the only supply not dwindling was mortal remains.

With vast array of oozes and goos, boozes and transfusions, Harmon’s hands went to work as his mad mind counted on its braintips every potion mixer that rhymed a little too much for his liking. He knew that the only thing in his collection that fed on bone and bone matter was his close friend ''Hebeloma aminophilum. ''While this was its professional title, he tended to call it ‘ghoul fungus’ because they were of course as aforementioned, close friends. An affinity for calcium was all good and well in terms of having something that would grow and could be farmed but what if he could make it propagate itself for the masses? The farmers would never have to lift a finger! He would be beloved by the commoners as they would have so much more time on their hands to do what commoners do. He stopped so quickly mid turn that his eyes rolled within his skull. He spared the briefest of moments to consider what commoners would do if given spare time. "Huh. Lick rocks probably" was mentioned out loud to no one in particular before he rushed back into his project.

The next step would be a little bit tricky and sticky even for the cleverest of minds. He would need a carrier, another fungus friend who could act with better spore carrying ability than Ghoul Fungus. It hit him like a brick of tonnes, the perfect pal for his other pal. Pal pals. Grasping the finest sample of cordyceps he owned, he cradled it in his hands knowing it and he's tenuous relationship. The Cordyceps brain, the big floating organ from beyond the veil whispers lies. It told his brother such lies and tore their family apart. The past is the past however and the most important thing right now was to make mushrooms have the sexings.

A Glowing Foe
What was birthed that day was beyond anything that should live in the mortal realms. More fit to be a weapon than a food source, it exists unintelligent, an entity of mass consumption and obliteration. Cataloged as Hydroxypatite Ascomycota, most colloquially call it Osseus Moon and none call it a friend.

The cap on this specimen grows as a large crystalline dish upturned at its edges to protect the acidic sporangia below. The calcium crystals are much more transparent than in most other occurrences throughout nature allowing its form to refract light within its cap and illuminate the surrounding trees on a moonlit night.

Found grafted to the spines and skulls of unfortunate animals, some records state cap reaching sixty centimeters in diameter on large beasts such as forest bears. This parasitic relationship between fungus and beast is ravenous as the beast continually hunts while its bones are sapped of nutrients. During this period the beast enters a frenzy that can last weeks where it will scrounge the forests for discarded bones or take some currently in use. These are consumed so as to sate its host and spare its own calcium for a few minutes longer. Once all useful skeletal matter is depleted in the host, the beast naturally perishes and the mushroom withers and fragments.

Now littering the ground, shards still remain luminescent in the moonlight and retain enough life to find a new host on contact for days. While many beasts kneel down to sniff the fragrant bright thing, unwary travelers have made the same mistake, many unable to make it to medical care in time. As acidic sporangia bursts on contact, the volatile compound burrows through armor and flesh alike allowing the spores to latch onto exposed skeleton for the cycle to repeat.