Dysche

"It is written in the stone how all things return to the earth in time. We take from it that which nourishes us, and in turn we nourish the earth with what we leave behind. So it is... so it shall be. Always."

— Chlban, of the Hungry Soil

  Among the non-humanoid people of Erisdaire, there are few scholars who know of the dyscheri and their ways. Well-traveled merchants and adventurers often react with confused expressions until some representation is shown to them of what a dysche looks like. Even in Myrisia, there are few Sages who have any interest in any study. The reasons are obvious as soon as one considers what the average dyscheri looks like. Resembling an oversized beetle with a thick carapace, the dyscheri are often mistaken for other creatures which are far more aggressive and less intelligent. Because of this, most lands of the Rhyliss Empire do not have high numbers of dyscheri living there. Lands outside their authority have also some troubles with humanoid adventurers making similar mistakes, with no real authority being present to punish the mistake. So it has come to pass the dyscheri actively avoid notice and take efforts to hide their underground burrows.

Dyscheri organize in groups which number from a dozen to several hundred individuals, with these groups having territories covering a surprising amount of distance in the underground. These groups are called "warrens" by others, but called "soils" by dyscheri. The soils take their names primarily from emotions or feelings, only rarely having other names. Among these rare names are minerals, or types of earth, but it is considered taboo to name soils after other living things. Where these soils are present, the ground overhead is found to be more fertile for reasons yet undetermined. It is understood dyscheri seem to feed off things which other creatures cannot digest, and in turn leave behind nutrients which become incorporated into the earth. It has been determined dyscheri soils have "cleaned" old battlefields or areas where civilization had fallen apart, with their tunnels being discovered considerable distance below the surface.

The few scholarly works which have studied dysheri indicate this is not a natural state of affairs, and have pondered what possibly could have given rise to creatures with this sort of diet and behavior. Each one can only conclude the physiology of a dysche had to have been purposefully designed for the purpose of assisting nature in consuming old ruins. One of these works even presented the opinion divine manipulation is the only option for such a creature to exist, though they also caution there is not enough good information to be certain. It is not advised to attempt contact with dyscheri if their presence is suspected, as their avoidance of people has soils relocate considerable distances once discovered. Furthermore, there appears to be some way dyscheri can sense divination magic, even from a distance, being aware they have been noticed. This has both made studying them incredibly difficult, and detrimental for the lands which have soils vacate their living areas.

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