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In this world, places where alchemists wage their battles will be forever tainted by latent magic. This magic will have unexpected consequences on the local wildlife and plants, awakening desires in their hearts and transforming them into monsters. The true extent of these transformations are truly astonishing.
Take, for example, the humble mushroom.
The mushroom is a truly unusual specimen, not quite a plant, yet not exactly an animal either. Growing in the dark and the damp, they feed on the dead and decaying, absorbing nutrients from rotting matters. This is all fine and well, but when mushrooms grow in areas where alchemists fight, things take a strange turn. Absorbing the latent magic from rotten leaf litter or a crumbling tree stump, a truly bizarre desire begins to emerge within them: the desire to be beautiful.
Mushrooms are aware that they are slimy dwellers of the dark, unwanted and often rejected by travelers in favor of flowers. How to be like flowers, to be given as gifts, to be loved and admired. If only they were just as beautiful. Sure enough, some mushrooms have managed to achieve this dream, absorbing the latent magic around them with the rest of the rot. This caused them to grow larger, more vibrant and colorful, far more dazzling than any flower or jewel. With their new found radiance, these mushrooms soon became an exquisite sight for travelers, some picking them and taking them home to display with pride.
However, in a day’s time, these mushrooms will wilt and wither into a rancid sludge, immediately being discarded with the rest of the refuse. It seemed that while they grew more beautiful, these mushrooms were still dependent on rot and decay to stay alive. This was an unpleasant revelation for them, as it wasn’t enough to simply be beautiful, they had to be seen, to be admired, to be… coveted. How could they possibly be on display for all the world when they can’t even leave their dank prisons. All hope seemed lost, until one day, salvation came in the most unexpected forms: a war.
Soldiers entered the forests where the mushrooms were trapped, waging battle with each other. Every clash ended with one person dying, and with each fresh corpse, an opportunity came with it. Mushrooms spread themselves through spores, each granule landing on a fresh source of decay and taking root to grow into a new mushroom. These particular fungi were no different, releasing clouds of spores onto the bodies in hopes that their spawn would live out their desires. Feeding on not just the latent magic of their surroundings, but also the lingering desires of the fallen, the mushrooms immediately took root, not only growing even more vibrant than ever before, but also tapping into the limbs of the corpse, reanimating it and using it as a vessel. Soon, the mushrooms continued to grow, forming a natural armor over their hosts, though it was mostly to display themselves even more. With their mobility secure, the mushrooms marched their hosts out into the world for all to see. Panic immediately ensued at the sight of them. In time, these fungus riddled bodies were given a new name: the leshies.
With their new found freedom, the leshies spread rapidly, invading graveyards and vomiting up gouts of spores to increase their numbers. The most terrifying thing about a leshy, however, isn’t their appearance or their spores, but rather their resilience. While the body can be beaten down, unless the mushrooms are thoroughly destroyed, it will simply get back, no worse for wear. Such is the nature of the leshy, an undying beauty living in rot and decay.