Sculk Empire

The Sculk Empire is a group focused on spreading sculk via sculk catalysts across the surface. Its original and senior members are of the Warden species, while its other members are humanoids who act toward the empire seemingly against their will.

Kayshoe's Sculk Cave is where the sacrifices began, first with farm animals, then people, then Kayshoe herself. After her banishment, Kayshoe continued the sacrifices near her village.

## Purpose

The Sculk Empire, led by the Warden and brought forth by Kayshoe, seeks to gain control of the surface by spreading sculk and sacrificing the individuals that oppose its rule. Kayshoe works tirelessly against her own volition through self-sacrifice to spread the sculk. The Sculk Empire seeks to restore the Warden species and their ancient cities to their original and rightful place on the surface.

## History

The Sculk Empire began near the beginning of the SMP's life, originating with the Sculk Cave. The name 'Sculk Empire' originally developed from the thoughts inside Kayshoe's head, and was first mentioned on October 4th, 2022 after Kayshoe's first attempted self-sacrifice [insert clip reference here]. It's theorized that Kayshoe's obsession with sculk & the source of the Sculk Empire started with Kayshoe's interactions with the warden she encountered beneath Lanayru's hidden villager hub. After dying several times with her encounters with the warden, she finally killed him, causing him to drop a sculk catalyst. This killing was revealed to have gotten the Wardens' attention and marked Kayshoe as a worthy suitor for the Sculk Empire.

Kayshoe was initially disappointed at the lack of XP, but after placing the catalyst and sacrificing farm animals, learned that it produced sculk that provided her with XP. Her desire for XP, however, was eventually transcended by her desire for murder. She sacrificed Jade [insert clip reference here] to the sculk catalyst, and, seeing the extent to which the sculk could spread when a human was killed, Kayshoe began the Sculk Empire.

Since that moment, Kayshoe has coerced other individuals to die by her hand for the Sculk Empire. She also began sacrificing herself with many levels racked up. Kayshoe's actions ended up forcing the others of the SMP to take action and destroy the cave, thus exiling Kayshoe from Lanayru and surrounding areas.

This exile did not, however, stop Kayshoe from her mission for the Sculk Empire. She continued her self-sacrifice in a cave just beneath her own village. The Sculk Empire continued to grow underground, as well as make its way into some of Kayshoe's builds, such as the basement to her new home. The more Kayshoe began to detach from reality, the closer to the surface the Sculk Empire reached.

On August 13th, 2023, sculk began spreading across Lanayru, terrifying its residents into preparation for war. PinkParrotz also began acting suspiciously and asked Kayshoe how to join the Sculk Empire. It is believed that this interest is involuntary and is due to her having met Kayshoe's Warden while gathering information on the empire.

On August 26, 2023, Pink led Lue, Shlook, and Stark to the Sacred Garden. She convinced them that they had to remove all armor and gear to enter, then joined forces with Kayshoe to kill all of them and steal their gear. Several sculk catalysts were planted in the garden, so when the trio was killed, sculk spread drastically throughout the garden and the surrounding area. Kayshoe gave a speech about the rise of the Sculk Empire before stashing all of the gear they stole and leaving with Pink.

## Members

The original members of the Sculk Empire are those of the warden species, who are able to act of their own volition.

The Warden's servants, acting against their will, are Kayshoe and PinkParrotz.

## Locations

### Ancient City

The ancient city is where the Sculk Empire's roots are. The Warden species resides here, including Kayshoe's Warden. The city is just underneath Kayshoe's Village, strengthening the Warden's control over her. This is only one of the dozens of cities that can be found in the SMP.

### Sculk Cave

The Sculk Cave was the origin of the Sculk Empire's sacrifices. This is where Kayshoe originally sacrificed farm animals, herself, and a few other players. It resides on a cliffside just southwest of Kayshoe's Community Kitchen. Though it has been largely destroyed, its ruins remain untouched today.

### Kayshoe's Basement

A large section of Kayshoe's basement design revolves around the Warden and the Sculk Empire. Sculk hangs from the ceilings, and miniature Warden statues line the walls.

### Sacrifice Area

A large cave underneath Kayshoe's Village and above the Ancient City is covered in sculk which was spread by Kayshoe's many self-sacrifices.

### The Sacred Garden

The Sacred Garden is the location where Lue, Shlook, and Stark were sacrificed as the first major spreading event on the Overworld's surface. It contains a fountain and is surrounded by a wall of trees. Sculk has spread inside of it and around it due to the major sacrifices.

### Spread

The sculk associated with the Sculk Empire has spread across several areas of the surface. Examples of this are sections of Lanayru, spots by many SMP members' homes, and the Sacred Garden.

## Trivia

* The Sculk Empire was named by Kayshoe's Thoughts (a.k.a. chat)
* Kayshoe's Sculk sacrifices began after Kayshoe killed a Warden and was disappointed by the lack of XP. She killed farm animals near the catalyst that it dropped and found what she described as "an infinite XP glitch"

## Gallery

Sculk covering the landscape just outside of Lanayru's wall.Kayshoe sacrificing herself to spread sculk in the Sculk Cave.The Sculk Shop in Lanayru.