During the age of The Hunters, there was a race of murderous amphibians that ruled the riverlands. They were known as 'The Horde' and they ravenously consumed. But when a plague befell them by the Hunters, they sent a group of their Warriors to the northernlands, seeking a remedy. What they didn't know was that the remedy was a type of fungus - a mushroom that could eat the rot threatening to pollute their spawning grounds. The mushrooms of Gaia are sentient and connect to a massive network of fungus - and they only agreed to help The Horde if they relinquished one of their own to be a Host, for they were also trying to recover from their own crisis.
And then, something unexpected happened.
The unionā¦was mutually beneficial.
Thus came into existence the first Sporeborn. The Sporeborn are an omnivores race of Amphibians. While they can eat anything, they favor meat - especially of the Wyrms they can catch in their rivers. While they are considered much more peaceful than their ancestors, they have no qualms with killing and even eating other sentient life if they pose a threat.
The Sporeborn's name comes from their merger with the Mushrooms that latches onto their skin almost immediately after they develop from their tadpole stage. The fungus roots intermingle with their internal organs and both mushroom and amphibian live as one creature - just with the mushroom acting as an assistant - akin to a second consciousness aiding the host. Both halves work together for survival.
The amphibian has two sets of arms, with webbed digits on both their hands and feet. They're able to climb almost any flat surface and breath underwater. They have long, sticky tongues that can latch onto things. The females of the species often have longer antennae.
Prior to the union, the Sporeborn was unable to use Magic. But now, with the aid of their fungal companion, they're all sufficiently capable of becoming Magicians. In fact, they can access great swaths of information. Each mushroom acts as a personal terminal, able to access local fungal servers across the network.
Example Names: Ledum Deville, Xevok Morte, Wuxiem Metus, Navana Alure, Hamira Mortice
Sporeborn names are intimidating sounding in nature, a holdover of their brutal, conquering, warrior culture. While their fungal companions don't typically have names, but designations, they're usually named by their amphibious host.
Example Names: Slogdecks, Kro, Um, La, Pip
Each mushroom has a designation within the internal network of the fungus. Typically, something like 'Gamma 123-258'. But, again, it's common for the amphibian to give their fungal companion a name which the fungus will adopt. Rarely are the two ever not in sync - especially since if one half were to die, the other would begin to perish if they can't find life support or another to pair up with.
