Gargantuas

## Description

The gargantuas are the most terrifying and dangerous creatures on the Southern Continent. These colossal beings can reach heights upward of 800 feet (240 meter), and although slow moving, they are not impeded by most barriers given their forms are comprised mostly of a thick, viscous mud-like substance. The gargantuas have no apparent eyes or ears, only having large singular mouths surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of thin tentacles that they seem to use for both navigation and to grasp and pull up other creatures to their mouth. They have no legs, and move by extending out pseudopods along the ground and then pulling the rest of the bulk forward, which makes them very slow moving. However, the tentacles are extremely quick and can snatch up anything that it senses moving near it.

Very few have seen gargantuas in real life, but the accounts of far-flyers of the Yurak'Riti bring tales of these horrific beings moving slowly across the landscape, tearing up everything in their path and letting out loud, haunting calls through the mist that they put off in great quantities.

## Ecology

### Distribution and Habitat

The gargantuas are, thankfully, only found in the far south of the Southern Continent in the the area of the cataclysm, especially about the epicenter of the great cataclysm. Once a gargantua emerges, it will begin to make its way across the continent, devouring everything that gets in its path. If they have a preference for habitat, it is unknown. What is known is that the conditions to birth gargantuas is something that exists uniquely in the cataclysm epicenter.

### Diet

Gargantuas consume everything in their path, either absorbing it up from the pseudopods at its base, or by snatching up anything that moves even a little with its long tentacles. Being fae or non-fae doesn't seem to make a difference in being sensed. Given they have no teeth, the gargantua simply swallows and suffocates its prey quickly, then proceeds to digest them rapidly. This suffocation seems to be achieved by literally drowning its prey in its body.

### Reproduction

The epicenter of the cataclysm most likely opened a permanent rift, however, this rift is buried deep under a sucking mire known as the Void Sinkhole. This giant sinking pit is full of mud, earth, and tar, slowly boiling from heat from far below that is being pushed up under it. The combination of elements and the the presumed rift have mutated a lifeform deep in the mud that was a fae of some sort that lives in the murk. However, something soon drives a swell of mana and the gargantua begins to emerge out of the muck, moving to the shore and slowly pulling itself out and then begins its walk across the landscape. A young gargantua has never been found, as no one dares to linger long around the Void Sinkhole due to the high amount of nether energy leaking into the earth. What is known though is that gargantuas will continue to spawn and emerge as long as the rift remains open.

### Biology

No one is sure what a gargantua may look like at its core, as most of its body is made up of the mud-like substance it exudes and sucks back up through its pseudopods. It is hypothesized that its organs float freely about the mass, and when it is attacked, it will move the organs to the point furthest away from attack. But again, no one is really sure, and no one is sure how this thing uses what it eats.

## Behavior

Gargantua behavior is simple: they will emerge from the sinkhole at the epicenter, and then start to move in a straight line from the point they emerge, not stopping for anything, feeding as they go until they reach the outer ring of the cataclysm. Upon reaching the bloodsuckle dryads, they will try to consume the dryads. This often results in large-scale battles between these two voracious lifeforms, usually with the dyrads winning as the plant-life is able to take root in the gargantua's body and drain it of its corrupted mana.

However, in rare occasions when a gargantua is able to break through the ring, they will continue forward. If they head towards the northern areas, usually they will starve out in the desert or be attacked by the Tenochirath at the jungle boarder. Some though will be moving in a direction towards the sea where they will slip into the water, starting to move away from the shoreline and into open water, vanishing from sight. What becomes of these sea-bound gargantuas is unknown, either they starve out or they continue to grow in size.

Har'Ol'Nek'Preya is far away from the range of gargantua and have many barriers in place between them and gargantuas. The closest the city got to having a gargantua in the city was when one that had made it into the ocean emerged close to the city, its movement causing a surge of water that caused tidal waves and overflow of the flooded grotto leading to the heavy damage that hurt the Carched’ylnaren clan. This particular gargantua was killed by a combined effort of the city's clans, but the sight of it was enough to put the fear of the goddesses in most in the city.

### The Call of a Gargantua

The call of a gargantua can be heard from across the entirety of the cataclysm. It has been described like a loud, low horn, a single note of it drawn out for minutes. These long calls are responded to by other gargantuas showing it is used for some sort of communication, most likely to let other gargantuas know not to follow right behind one of its kin. If more than one gargantua are moving in the same direction, they always keep a distance from each other and are more likely to continously make calls back and forth.

When a gargantua is being attacked, it will begin to bellow and shriek, a sound that does not draw other gargantuas to it and in fact, causes those gargantuas to subtly change their own paths to avoid the conflict. However, if two garganuas are close together when one is attacked, the other will often get involved.

Anyone exploring the cataclysm will hear their calls almost constantly to the point it becomes almost the music of the land, however if that call gets louder and louder, it is best to quickly leave the area, as one is approaching.

### The Mist

The gargantuas themselves have a corrupted aura, clearly demonic in nature. However, something in their biology causes them to release a rather dense cloud of mana as they move. What makes this, or the cause of this phenomenon, is not known. It does however tend to make the cataclysm in general foggy, and only gets foggier as a gargantua gets closer, which may help it in hunting creatures that move within the mist.

### Survival and Combat Tips

Since the gargantuas have no eyes or ears, it is presumed they hunt by movement. If something moves, they will capture and devour it, be it with their tentacles or through the pseudopods at their base. If someone is alone, wishing to avoid conflict but it is too late to run, the best defense is to bunker down under something, which will keep the pseudopods off of the individual, and keep still until the gargantua has passed over the person. This is a tried and true means of escaping death.

If combat is necessary, then it is wise to do so in a large group. If an individual is captured by a tentacle, immediately cut them loose, as once they are in the mouth, they will be swallowed and suffocated within minutes. Being caught in the pseudopods at the bottom is also a death sentence, as it will quickly suck up those individuals as well, and they will meet the same fate. Nothing will be left of the person, as incredibly powerful digestive enzymes within the gargantua dissolve everything within minutes.

The most effective means of halting a gargantua is to use earth sorcery to hem it in, although this is a temporary holding, as they will slowly start to move over the rocky mass. While held in place, wood sorcery becomes the most effective means to subdue a gargantua, as an overgrowth of plants can suppress it entirely, locking it in place. To actually kill it, fire is a means of hardening and breaking parts of the shell. However, using earth sorcery to crush it down also can be handy.

Light and shadow sorcery are useless against it, and if anything, light sorcery has been shown to attract and excite the gargantuas to attack more. Thus, use light sorcery more as a lure than as a means of defeating it.

Empathy does not work on gargantuas. Nether summoning and sealing are good to have, in order to dispel its aura once it is killed.

### Practical Uses

Despite how horrific gargantuas are, they do have a number of practical uses. The Tenochirath actually have created an extensive system of disposing waste materials into the cataclysm area in the path of gargantuas, to better get rid of waste, given that these creatures will eat just about anything.

Also when killed, the slimy mud-like substance their bodies are made of are extremely rich in nutrients, and when dried out, make an excellent fertilizer for growing and has been known to be able to make salted earth once more usable for growing very easily. Some will even use it for a relaxing spa treatment or bath, as once the creature is dead, the enzymes are much weaker, not able to eat through skin, but able to eat small microbes and fungi.

The corpse of these creatures also release tons of gemstones which are the one item that these creatures seem to not be able to properly digest, although if they passed through bloodsuckle dryad fields, those gems should be dispelled of any nether energy first.

The tentacles of the beast, if dried out, are an extremely strong rope that can be used in construction purposes. The slime they have also can be collected as a strong adhesive.

And of course the mist they give off, with how rich in mana it is, can be collected and used to help areas with low mana, and help reduce aging in populations. In fact, the mist they give off is often blown north, and many speculate that this may be triggering huge ecological changes in the Eastern and Western halves of the kingdom, leading to a new and vibrant growth of the old world that may allow for easier recolonization, although this is not widely documented or studied.