The Mother Below

In a lush but humid region in the south, the jungles and swamps make the land unsuitable for most settlements. its known for strange lights in the nights, heavy air and ancient ruins that have been swallowed by the jungles. It was once a thriving region, but now only a few dare venture far from the few settlements that can be found in the region.   In the last years of the Dercian Republic a team was sent to the region in the hope of uncovering some of the regions ancient secrets. The explorers found a temple buried deep within the Oresti basin. The walls of the temple were covered in spiral reliefs depicting a woman cradling dozens of small, faceless figures, humanoid but not entirely human, in the inscriptions, the woman was called the Mother Below and bestowed with fertility, growth and hunger.   The expedition was believed to be lost as weeks passed after they entered the basin, and days after they should have returned home, they had still not returned. It wasn't until a single survivor returned, delirious, covered in eggshell-like fragments that had been embedded beneath the skin, muttering strange sentences, with one repeating again and again.  

"They are never alone. She watches through them"

- Expedition survivor

Centures later the region had changed and had become more suitable for settlements, it had been like this for centuries but in the last 20ish years the marshes had begun to move again, hunters in the region reported finding carcasses of animals missing parts. Fishermen pulled nets filled with larvae. What alerted people that something were wrong was when people began go missing in the swamps, only to return weeks later, pale and having a twisted smile, mentioning nothing of the time they had been missing except something about a mother.   The people will after a few days to weeks, begin to deam of warmth, saying that they can hear a hearthbeat, and their skin will begin to harden in patches and a faint movement can be spotted beneath their skin, its said that the people dont die, they hatch, for when the skin splits, a new creatue emerges, not quite human, it has eyes white as pearls and its moment is like muddy water, slow. They retain fragments of memory, some even some form of speach, but they are all part of the brood now.