Sunwalkers Burden

After consuming a harvested Given, Velari warriors gain Thermosymbiosis—a resistance to Thalos’ hellish heat zones. But the price is steep: intense thirst, haunting fungal dreams, and compelled pilgrimage to the mushroom graveyards. Some never return, lost to wandering spore-song.

Biological Manifestation:

• After consuming the flesh of a Given, the Velari warrior experiences a rapid integration of mycelial enzymes, heat-adaptive proteins, and Core-reactive spore channels.
• Their skin becomes subtly phosphorescent near thermal zones, absorbing solar intensity and radiating it outward through tattoo-glyph conductors.
• Breathing shifts to slower, spore-regulated rhythms-allowing them to move through Thalos' scorched regions without collapsing from heatstroke or psychic burn.

Psychological Side Effects:

• Thirstwake: Warriors suffer chronic fluid hunger-a craving for deepwater or Glowshard broth laced with Sporesalt. Without it, muscles ache and cognition dims.
• Dreambleed: Their sleep becomes haunted by fragmentary memories- not only the Given's, buit residual echoes from the fungal network.
• Visions include:
• Rebirth ceremonies from distant mushroom tribes.
• Moonfruit singing to cracked skies.
• Forgotten names chanted by wandering spores.

Social and Cultural Consequences

• Heatwalkers' Status: Among Velari military orders, those with Thermosymbiosis are revered as elite—both for their endurance and their communion with the Givens.
• Echo Tattoos: Upon survival of the transformation, warriors receive a second glyph—called a Gravebloom Mark—etched with spores that shift colour based on the warrior’s emotional balance.
• Graveyard Guardianship: Some warriors choose never to return to city life, becoming protectors of mushroom burial grounds, where their presence helps sustain Mycelian growth and narrative continuity.