Pirate Prince
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: I'm on a plant kick.
- Image Credit: Mark Ziembicki Photography
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Shi'ido
- Name: Gennalin
- Origins: Lao-mon
- Other Locations: N/A
- Classification: Fungi
- Average Growth Cycle: Around 5-7 days; during the first two days of life, the Gennalin is considered immature and still growing, after which it starts to decline.
- Viability: Being a fungus, the Gennalin grows on rotting organic matter such as decaying wood, underground stumps, and dead roots. They are typically found in the tropics or in more temperate regions, sprouting in late spring or early fall.
- Description: The web-like veil hanging around the edge of this mushroom looks delicate, but don't be deceived. If you step on or near this thing, it will violently close around your foot, entrapping you and attempting to digest your flesh.
- Average Height: 25 cm (9.8 in)
- Average Length: 10 cm (3.9 in)
- Color: Whitish or brown stem below ground; brown or orange cap; the technical term for the veil or "skirt" is an indusium, and it can be brown or white.
- Nutritional Value: Shi'ido have been known to kill it, cook it, and eat it to establish dominance, but only the veil and immature spores are considered worth eating.
- Toxicity: Technically not toxic in a traditional sense, but it is dangerous and smells bad.
- Other Effects: Quacks have tried to sell the immature spores as an aphrodisiac, but there is no proof of this.
- Distinctions: The picture is inaccurate to what I envisioned: I'd have had only the cap and veil above ground (and easy to disguise among the dirt and leaves) while the stem and roots would be hidden underground. It's important to note that the Gennalin is not easy to spot visually, despite the picture indicating otherwise.
- My Leg!: Placing significant pressure on or near this shroom will cause it to snap close like a flytrap. The veil is deceptively strong (comparable to durasteel netting in a young Gennalin), entangling the victim, and within about 40 seconds it will start secreting powerful digestive fluids comparable to industrial corrosives. As you can imagine, the stuff burns to all hell, eating through clothing and armor rapidly, and can cause serious injury or even loss of limb if the victim is not cut free in time.
- Maturity Stinks: Being a fungus, Gennalins have a pretty short lifespan, lasting only a few days at the most. Within a couple of days, they soften up, making their nets not as tough, and they also start to smell really, really bad. Like, decaying corpse bad. This is to attract insects (insects are small and light enough that their weight does not trigger the net) and other creatures that like rotting dead things and allow their spores to spread, but it also warns any potential prey that it's there. So you could say that the whole entangling and dissolving thing kind of peters out once they get to be a certain age.
- Vulnerable Stem: While the netting is ultra strong, it is possible to pull the mushroom's stem out of the ground and separate it from the cap, which will prevent it from releasing the digestive enzymes. That way, you have more time to cut through the netting without injuring yourself in the process - and the netting/cap are vulnerable to heat and energy, such as that produced by a blaster bolt or lightsaber.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Gennalins have been around for millions of years on their homeworld of Lao-mon, where they've long terrorized the locals in their youth. People living in areas where they are known to flourish are warned to stay away from rotting things for fear of encountering one, and there are gardeners who are specially trained to remove them if they are found to be growing in someone's yard. If you have to travel through such areas where Gennalins would be a concern, it is advised that you pack a tool or weapon which produces heat or energy in the event you are caught by one.
Morbid as it is, if you can't get free in time, the Gennalin will only dissolve what it has access to. So, while you will probably go into shock due to having your foot or other limb dissolved, you are not in further danger of the rest of you being digested. You should still seek medical attention immediately, though. I mean, your foot is gone because you stepped on a mushroom.
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