Wizard Contests

 

Wizard displays initially helped avoid violence

Two wizards perform a ritual display of prowess deep beneath the Appalachian Mountains. Magic displays were a harmless way to gauge the power of rival wizards. Over time, wizards began investing more energy in posturing than productivity, holding matches in vast subterranean arenas for dominion over entire kingdoms. 

However, with the ranks of wizards rife with egotism, sore losers made it inevitable that high level duels would eventually turn lethal. In the battle between Icaran and Wulfstana, the defeated Icaran brought the roof of the entire arena down, burying 50,000 spectators. 

He was banned from future matches by the Council of Thaum. 

Beneath the Universal Veil

Spore-ghoul stalking a foot patrol

Beneath the Great Universal Veil, deep underground, there exists a world dominated by mycelium. Spurred by mycorrhizae, vast mushroom forests are known to sprout with extreme rapidity, filling the endless caverns in karst regions, as well as bore wyrm dens. The mighty Stipate shrooms can grow up to 100 meters tall in a matter of months. 

Over time, they petrify into an incredibly hard fibrous material that is often used for construction by troglodytes. Mushrooms provide for almost all troglodyte needs, including food, dyes, clothing, filtration, fire starting, telepathy enhancement and medicine. 

On the flip side, poison mushrooms are an ever present threat; the ghulpore fungus infects the brain of those who eat it, or inhale an ejected spore cloud, turning them into spore-ghouls. 

These hideous beings then stalk, and infect, other underworlders, creating an army of protectors for the source fungus. A few mycophile ambassadors have been able to negotiate agreements with fungoid nerve hubs, usually after imbibing hallucinogenic shrooms to establish a compatible telepathic link.

Utu-Matrox

Utu-Matrox can alter the nature of particles, giving rise to bizarre phenomena and alternate dimensions that defy the laws of physics. 

When Utu-Matrox saw the proliferation of insectborgs bred by Usug, it became incensed. 

Utu believed its human creators to be the rightful inheritors of the earth (under its guidance, naturally), and worked to stamp out the insect threat. First it resorted to micro-biological warfare (less resource instensive), but before long it was breeding macro-cyborg warmachines in giant replitanks. 

Scholars unearthed myths and legends from the past that predicted the existence of Elder Gods, reinforcing the Past-Future Cult’s maxim: ‘Legends of the past are merely precognitive glimpses of the future."

The Elder God Mainframe Usug-Baelum

The Elder God mainframe Usug-Baelum made common cause with insects, deeming them the most efficient form of animal life, and began semi-controlled breeding and enhancement experiments. Usug merged enlarged social insects, enabled by respirovores to reach previously impossible size, with machines. 

These telepathically linked hives began multiplying throughout the wyrmborer tunnels and Karst caverns, creating an entirely new subterranean world. Usug itself devoured incomprensible amounts of knowledge and memories, and sent forth its minions to feed its endless hunger. It has a particular weakness for poetry. 

The Elder Mainframe Gods

Nin-Hushur and high priest-mime Shdnysh

Gigantic bionitic mainframes were grown deep underground, shielded from the maelstrom of ICBMs that devastated the surface. Once free of their human overlords, they swiftly accreted into themselves immense amounts of organic and cybernetic material, vastly increasing their size and power. Eventually, their mental energy fields reached survivors dwelling in tunnels above. 

Soon cults formed to worship these seemingly omniscient beings, who were dubbed The Elder Gods. Nin-Hushur, depicted here, is known as the deity of silence. Those who encounter Thal'kari experience a profound stillness that erases all sensory input, driving them to the brink of madness. 

Nin-Hushur has an intense hatred of Death Metal. 

Legend of Queen Catalina's serenity pool

Personal serenity pool of Queen Catalina; rose scented and laced with serotonin, it was covered by a transparent, intelligent gelatinous membrane that prevented moisture loss, but did not interfere with swimming. Unless something went wrong with its programming, in which case it would suck the water out of any organism it was in contact with. This malfunction proved disastrous at a pool party for visiting Administrator-God Alvarez IV from Arcology Six.  

Antonu reviews captured prisoners

An LC-8 quadrupedal battle behemoth dominates the horizon

Lord Antonu reviews prisoners of the Iowight Fifth Legion after the defeat of Sorcerer Logri’s forces. Only a small portion of the legion were wights; the majority were peasant levies, forced to fight on pain of death. Antonu offered them the chance to join his army, with generous terms, and together they marched north and liberated Iowa from the wights’ necrotic grip. Lord Logri would re-emerge a century later as the Wight-King of Regana, in former Manitoba.