Quipmen

Quipmen is the fungal wastes Landscape of Erwt.

## Geography

Quipmen is the 5 o'clock position of the Face of Erwt. To the west lie the islands of Isolet, and to the east the forbidding aether wasteland.

Quipmen is roughly divided into two regions, Pmonia and Qualtso. They are chiefly distinguished by the predominant species of fungal vegetation, and the border goes approximately east-west across the Landscape. Pmonia is on the Seaward side, Qualtso on the Oceanward side.

Geologically, Pmonia and Qualtso are very similar: towards Isolet, Quipmen is a narrow isthmus accompanied by island groupings, building up towards a full-width landmass halfway moving eastward towards the aether wasteland. The border between Quipmen and Isolet shifts seasonally, and is defined by the degree to which an island's (or the mainland isthmus') vegetation consists of the aggressive fungal flora that typifies Quipmen. The eastern border to the aether wasteland is very poorly defined, being explored only haphazardly and by unreliable recordkeepers, except along the shores of the Sea. The fungal infestation transitions in patches to broken solid Aether. Whether the fungus lives on the Aether or on ordinary matter right next to the Aether, and whether it shifts seasonally like the western border, are still open questions.

## Politics

Being one of the three Wastelands of Erwt, there are no recognized countries, although several peoples do make this inhospitable Landscape their home.

The Pmen are the largest and most organized group of native Quipmen, and consist of a dozen tribes that work in loose cooperation. The Pmen Council meets annually to discuss matters that affect the tribes and to distribute Quipmen territory between the tribes for the coming seasons. The Pmen only live in Pmonia and avoid Qualtso entirely, having learned to survive with the particular fungal ecosystem of Pmonia.

The Qualtsic is a term used to refer to the nomadic peoples that inhabit Qualtso. While many people outside of Quipmen assume the Qualtsic have a similar organization as the Pmen, this is entirely untrue. The Qualtsic have no system of cooperation, but the region they inhabit is so large, and the population so scarce, that conflicts rarely arise. When they do, they are often settled violently, with the victors enjoying the food, tools and equipment, as well as hunting and passage rights as proper spoils, and also taking the surviving adversaries as slaves.

Inhabitants of Pmonia that are not associated with the Pmen, who tend to live nearer the Aether Wastes, are referred to collectively as Quipmen. Culturally, they're as diverse as the Pmen and the Qualtsic. However, given their precarious circumstances, they seldom resort to violence when conflicts arise, choosing instead to honor ritual competitive games to determine the stronger party in a conflict. These vary from simple throwing contests to endurance sports that last for days.

## Pmonian Fungi

The Pmonian ecology is dominated by a clade of fungal species that follow a strict seasonal pattern of growth and spore-shedding. This pattern divides the year into two 6-month seasons that Pmonian inhabitants call Running and Burrowing.

### Running

In the Running season, the ubiquitous fungus is in a growing phase. Some species are edible to humans, and it is in this season that the edible fungi are harvested.

At the start of the season, each Pmen tribe travels to the location designated by the previous Council meeting, and start the harvest.

Pmen tribes split into small groups called "running parties", which typically consist of three to six families. The running parties are assigned a direction, called a "run", and head out on their run at the start of the season. Their collective goal is to harvest as much fungus within the span of the season, returning it to a central stockpile at the origin of the runs, called the "stay". A final party, known as the "staying party", remains at this point in order to receive the harvests and dry, bake, or ferment the fungi for permanent storage. The staying party always includes the chieftain's family, and it is an honor for able-bodied individuals to be chosen to stay. The greater part of the staying party are the elderly, pregnant women, and women with children too young to run. They process the harvested fungus for storage.

The season of Running is called so for several reasons: first is running to cover distance and collect nutritious fungus, second is running to return the harvest to the stay, and third is running to escape predation. Running is the warm season, there's plenty of food available for foraging animals, and a variety of large predators take advantage of the glut. The insect-like Scorvia, the bipedal lizard-like Ravus, and the lumbering Quilpmon not uncommonly take human prey, and the best defense against these creatures are fleet feet. The ever-present Cliffracers and Buzzbats are also very dangerous to a lone runner caught unprepared, but every party is equipped with bows and arrows to keep them at bay. The staying party has an especially difficult task, because running is not an option. Heavily armed in order to fight off predators and scavengers alike, staying is considered very dangerous and prestigious. If a single running party does not return, the tribe will survive with smaller rations. If, however, the staying party fails their mission, the tribe is surely doomed.

### Burrowing

Exactly half-way between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice, the Pmonian fungi harden. Once hardened, it is inedible, and harvesting stops. This moment is called the Grip, and is officially the first day of the season of Burrowing. All running teams return to stay, and begin to dig into the fungal growth nearby the stockpile to create the burrow. One week after the Grip, the tribes send representatives to the Council and report the number of returning teams and families, and try to negotiate for a more preferable location to stay next year. Any tribe not represented is presumed to be destroyed, and a new tribe is designated to take their place after the Burrowing. The new tribe is composed of families from the remaining tribes. This way, there are always 12 tribes of Pmen in Pmonia.

The season of Burrowing is spent underground. Exactly four weeks after the Grip, the Pmonian fungi start to release a large amount of spores. Pmonian spores are extremely virulent, taking root in any place with sufficient warmth and humidity, including living tissue. Great drifts build up on the surface, and the air becomes a thick fog. The spores are very fine, passing through several layers of tightly woven fabric within a few hours.

The burrow is a communal living space that's excavated from the hardened fungal mats. A single, well-guarded entrance leads into a long passage with a double bend, which ends in a great hall. This hall is the public space for dining and socializing. Adjoining the hall are smaller rooms: one uphill for the kitchen, one downhill for sanitary facilities, and at the level of the common hall is one room for each of the families in the tribe.

If a person should get infected with a spore, he will quickly lose his mind and seek higher ground and open spaces. This leads him to the exit, where he'll attempt to open the door, which would destroy the entire tribe in seconds. An tribesman believed to be infected is immediately killed and burned, lest he expose the tribe to additional spores.

The air in a burrow is stale, but breathable, as the fungus is slightly porous. Light is provided by luminescent algae that is embedded in the walls, ceiling, and floor, and allowed to grow. Dried strips of a particularly oily kind of fungus is used for fuel to heat water, the stoves and ovens in the kitchen, and for heating the commonhall. Water is supplied by tapping thick fungal veins. One important task for the staying party during the Running season is to identify water-carrying fungi well before the Grip so that the burrow can be dug properly, or else the tribe would perish from dehydration.

Six months after the Grip, the walls in the burrow start to soften and the fungi resume their rapid growth. At this point, the spores on the surface have lost vitality and turned into harmless dust, so the fungal plug blocking the entrance is removed, and the burrow quickly evacuated. The burrow is entirely filled with new growth within a matter of days, forcing the inhabitants out onto the surface, and the season of Running begins again.

## Society

The Pmen are devout Chronists and generally very conservative. Individuals are so dependent on the tribe, and an individual can so easily bring threats to the tribe if he doesn't strictly follow the tribal customs, that creativity and novelty are discouraged in favor of tradition, and individualism is discouraged in favor of communalism. The regularity and severity of the seasonal changes are such that Chronist beliefs are a central aspect of daily life. The other religions are rejected as irrelevant, and wizards and magic are considered dangerous and undesirable deviations from the norm.

## Stories

Tnari's Story

Björn's Story