Mound is a term used to describe a species of creatures that were created in 48,000 BC when an apeman named Homerbuctas was persuaded to masturbate in a field of magical prehistoric flowers. His seed mixed with the flowers’ unique magical DNA, and hybrid creatures were born. These were the first Mounds, and Mound # 1 the Legend was the first of these half human/half plant creatures to spring out of the ground. It was later revealed that the spirit energy named Painter somehow managed herself away from her partner, Loid just long enough to masquerade as the field of colorful flora. This deception of Homerbuctas caused a terrible chain of events that led to the corruption of his ape family and the birth of Veganism. Chief amongst these terrible events was the “Great Mound Massacre”(see handbook entry), during which Moundkind was cursed with pink sores which interrupt their black and white fur. Mounds are not fully sentient and run on instinct, therefore, they have no free will, and the tendencies towards “good” actions and “evil” actions don’t apply.
Biological Traits - Mounds’ bodies recall that of a hill or a heap, thus the name “Mound”. Some Mounds have a head or outwardly visible “processing unit” that punctuates the top of it’s moundshaped body while others have an inverted processing unit. Most but not all Mounds are born with black and white horizontal fur bands that oscillate and encircle their bodies. One reason that a Mound may be missing this outlying fur could be a malformation in it’s chlorobundles. This is considered a birth defect. Another reason for fur loss is repeated trauma usually inflicted by an agitating outside force, poachers and nonhuman predators. All Mounds have interruptions in their fur bands revealing patches of pink sore covered skin. This is a hereditary condition brought on magically through a curse. This magical trauma was initiated at the end of the “Great Mound Massacre” (see handbook entry). Most Mounds have a skeletal structure that extends from inside of their body above ground into the Earth. This skeletal system consists of a bilaterally located bone or trunk with smaller branches radiating outward in all directions. Imagine a tree. Just like a tree, the bone system extends beneath the Earth forming a root system. The roots and bones make up the water sucking organ by which the Mound replenishes lost moundmeat and oxygen. When a Mound dies, the skeletal system, which has the appearance of a white tree, is the only thing left standing. This skeleton that extends above ground is called a “tumulus”. Moundmeat is the lifeblood of a Mound. It is milky pink in appearance to the naked eye. Microscopically, it takes on a variety of patterns and nuanced color, and it’s very active and always in flux. For instance, one may observe black and white cellular waves weaving in and out of the pink masses or grey globules dissolving into reddish pools. Bloodshot bursts against white backdrops become visible under stronger microscopes (super moundmeat).
Respiration - All Mounds have both plant and human DNA, making them uniquely developed to survive in areas with little to no oxygen. Mounds don’t have lungs as seen in most oxygenbreathing creatures. Instead, they have developed as such to recycle their own carbon dioxide waste which feeds back into the system and is converted to C20. If needed, Mounds can suck water and juices from the ground to supplement their oxygen intake.
Digestion – Mounds get most of their energy either through the process of photosynthesis and the absorption of water (either through the roots or the skin). They may also take in some juices from flies and other bugs who get trapped in their fur.
Communication and Survival Instincts – Mounds communicate with other Mounds and other “color abled” beings psionically, that is to say through a telepathic color based channel. All Mounds have processing lobes (either inverted or external) which are filled with moundmeat. They are able to rotate the moundmeat inside of these brain lobes at super collider levels, forcing a kind of radioactively charged brainwave. The inside of these lobes is superhumanly durable in order to guard against the wear created by this process. By manipulating the color waves once they are outside of their body, Mounds can stall and stretch the color flashes to form a protective force field or color hull. This color is not fully hardened but is instead light vibrating at a high enough frequency to prohibit solids from passing through it. Sometimes a Mound’s color processing system can be backed up with gasses. These gasses escape the Mound’s body through pores in the skin and are released into the air around and just above the Mound. Once these gasses, which are warm are met with cooler air, a chemical change causes the gasses to become solid. The solids drop out of the air and become colorful pellets or thin colorful sheets. The pellet and the sheet form are both known as “sweat” and the process is known as “sweating”. When the color hits the ground, it forms viscous puddles. If eaten, the color is nontoxic to most creatures, and in some areas of the world, artists gather the Mound’s color in trays and buckets to be used as a painting pigment. Mound sweat can be 2 or 3 times more bright than normal organically ground pigments, making it a valuable commodity. Alternatively, sometimes when the sweat forms into a color sheet, it may double over on itself before it hits the ground, causing it to become a bubble, trapping air inside. This is a mesmerizing thing to watch. These bubbles usually burst once they hit the ground and become color puddles. Sweating and bubbling aren’t considered Mound defense mechanisms as Mounds can’t voluntarily summon these sweating fits when attacked. However, if an aggressor happens to time their attack when this color precipitation is falling, it could dampen the blow of their axe and create an atmosphere of temporary confusion. With this said, there are other very effective forms of Mound defense. Fully agitated, Mounds can cause their muscles to vibrate. These convulsions are totally voluntary and are usually triggered by fear and are used to ward off predators or as a defense mechanism. The term used to describe this action is “wobbling”. These wobbles can be recorded seismically and can adversely affect any structure or ground based being in a radius relative to the tremor. Most fully grown Mounds can spit moundmeat up to 100 yards with impeccable aim. This gesture is usually used to dissuade attackers or even to ward off annoying pests, squirrels, birds, etc… After spitting up to 10 full streams of moundmeat, Mounds have to recharge and replenish the lost juices by soaking up ground moisture for up to 24 hours. If a Mound is in a situation of extreme heat, (temperatures over 112 degrees farenheit), He will secrete cool moundmeat or pink spit to reflect the UV rays and provide a freezing cold popsicle coating for his body. In this case, forest animals have been known to camp near the Mound in hopes of licking it’s salty cold skin. Similarly, in conditions of extreme cold, Mound’s can adjust their wobbles at a frequency high enough to create a heat field. Once a Mound’s biology is compromised past the tipping point, the Mound’s soul vacates the body. Once this happens, cessation sets in and the Mound expires. In some cases, when a Mound is attacked and a large amount of moundmeat is spilled, a chemical reaction takes place. When a Mound of a certain age is frightened, a chemical is released into it’s moundmeat, making it combustible. For instance, when Mound # 1’s moundmeat was spilled in his final moments, his pink meat hit the ground and erupted in flames. These bursts or explosions can act as defense against predators or in some cases, they can actually harm the host Mound.
Life Span – Mounds can live well beyond the life span of any mortal human, and have a life cycle more closely related to trees. For instance Mound # 1 the Legend lived past the 50,000 year mark and was prematurely expired by negative forces. If he was allowed to live out his life cycle, no one knows how much longer he would have lived. If allowed to, and as long as there are resources to replenish their biology, Mounds could conceivably live indefinitely.
Gender and Essence – Mounds are genderless but are commonly referred to with the pronoun “he”. Despite this pronoun, all Mounds have a soul or essence that is feminine. The souls of Mounds are pure of corruption and appear as prepubescent caucasian White females. As long as this “soul” is uncorrupted, the Mound can function properly. There has only been one exception, and this is the soul of Mound # 1, The Legend. For some reason or another, his soul mutated into a beautiful fully grown Black woman named Undom Endgle. (See Mound # 1, Undom Endgle)
Strength Level - Fully developed, most Mounds possess superhuman strength or a strength directly proportionate to their current state of health and muscle mass. Most Mounds have a healing factor between 6 and 8 allowing them to heal quickly after runins with predators. Mounds spend half of their time in a passive resting hibernation, making them vulnerable to carnivorous predators. They can hibernate for weeks at a time. Wolves and bear have been known to nibble at the pink sores of “sleeping” Mounds. Moundmeat is a source of a potent and intoxicating protein, thus becoming a favorite meal to those with incisors strong enough to break through the Mound’s thick hide. Because of their superhuman healing factor, Mounds mend themselves quickly and usually awaken with no knowledge that they’ve been food for forest animals. If a Mound happens to awaken during one of these feedings, he will automatically go into a full scale wobble and may mortally injure it’s violator.
There are not many Mounds left on Earth. They are protected by their father, Homerbuctas and the super being known as Torpedoboy.
