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![The Mushroom Picker and the Arhulian [YCH]](http://d.furaffinity.net/art/skekdris/1727437371/1727437371.skekdris_illustrationmushroom_—_wm.jpg "Click to change the View")
YCH from 
fortunatafox
I love how this piece came out for my Arhulian! Oh how it captures the otherworldly, eldritch visage they have. I'm grateful that Fortunatafox brought them to life! My favorite aspects are how the eyes and ears came out. For the eyes: The depth of shading is incredible. Like spheres of ink, contrasted by the lavender irises glowing with psionic power. And the ears, I love their shape. Distinct and interesting from regular triangular ears, but not overly complicated. I want to pet them so much! In addition, I like how one can tell this is a well-fed Arhulian with how you can see the folds of their husky frame. Muscular and fat all at once! Also, the fog and composition is just breathtaking.
Now that my gushing is over, on to the vignette I wrote for this piece. Arhulians are not malevolent beings, but they definitely can be spooky.
There lay a vast region seemingly untouched by civilization, it has since come to be known as the ‘Disappearing Forest.’ People would enter, and more often than not, just vanish without a trace. More mysteriously, those people would return days, weeks, and even months later like nothing had happened, the vanished themselves not recognizing how much time had elapsed until their return to friends and family who thought they had perished. The vanished do not remember much of their time absent beyond the vague details of strange sensations and bizarre dreams.
Though for some, their accounts are far more specific. Tales of a huge monster “covered in legs and eyes” that “wanted their soul” and “ate them alive.” These were dismissed as hallucinations from their ordeal at best, or preposterous ramblings of madness at worst. After all, if they were eaten alive, how could they be there to tell of it? Nonetheless, the forest was deemed too dangerous, and better left to the wilds.
Of course, the ‘maddened ramblings’ of the vanished were much closer to the truth than either side realized. This forest belonged to the Arhulians - otherworldly creatures of psionic prowess. The Arhulians know all too well of their demanding hunger, and have turned into fierce groundskeepers of their land, driving out competitors that would upset the balance of their hunting grounds.
But mere food is not the only way an Arhulian can feed, they can ingest a live creature and host them inside their belly, nourishing themselves from the mental energy of their captured prey - who often experience a dizzied mind and foggy dreams as a side effect of this feeding. This was considered a humane method of dealing with a troublesome ‘minded one’ by the Arhulians.
On a particular autumn, a mushroom picker ventured into the Disappearing Forest. Its unspoiled land yielded mushroom harvests of incredible volume and quality. An Arhulian with their extraordinary psionic sense, saw the aura of a ‘minded one’ through the foliage as if it was clear as air itself. They stalked the interloper, gauging their intent. Unlike usual quarry, he had no weapons. They were not a hunter - not of any animal at the least. They picked mushrooms.
The Arhulian was curious, and silently followed the mushroom picker like dark shadow in the autumn twilight throughout the days. The Arhulian saw the expertise, precision, and care the mushroom picker had for the land, treating each find like a gift from nature that was happy to be found rather than a mere resource to be mindlessly harvested. The Arhulian respected this minded one, even growing a fondness for the man.
One autumn day, they quietly scuttled as close as they dared - close enough to reach out and touch him, but ultimately could not bring themselves to make contact. Would they scare off this minded one and never see them again? They wanted to speak, yet the Arhulian watched as the mushroom picker collected his fill. He was happy. Most contact with minded ones ended with terror or futile violence. The Arhulian did not want to deprive the man of his serenity, and risk having to turn him into a squirming prisoner of the belly like all the others before. They simply watched from the shadows, if the mushroom picker turned around and gazed upon their Arhulian visage, so be it.
This, of course, went all unseen by the mushroom picker, him not knowing the legends were less myth than he imagined, and that the very real monsters that lurked in the shadows allowed him to tread freely and without disturbance with their silent grace.
fortunatafox I love how this piece came out for my Arhulian! Oh how it captures the otherworldly, eldritch visage they have. I'm grateful that Fortunatafox brought them to life! My favorite aspects are how the eyes and ears came out. For the eyes: The depth of shading is incredible. Like spheres of ink, contrasted by the lavender irises glowing with psionic power. And the ears, I love their shape. Distinct and interesting from regular triangular ears, but not overly complicated. I want to pet them so much! In addition, I like how one can tell this is a well-fed Arhulian with how you can see the folds of their husky frame. Muscular and fat all at once! Also, the fog and composition is just breathtaking.
Now that my gushing is over, on to the vignette I wrote for this piece. Arhulians are not malevolent beings, but they definitely can be spooky.
There lay a vast region seemingly untouched by civilization, it has since come to be known as the ‘Disappearing Forest.’ People would enter, and more often than not, just vanish without a trace. More mysteriously, those people would return days, weeks, and even months later like nothing had happened, the vanished themselves not recognizing how much time had elapsed until their return to friends and family who thought they had perished. The vanished do not remember much of their time absent beyond the vague details of strange sensations and bizarre dreams.
Though for some, their accounts are far more specific. Tales of a huge monster “covered in legs and eyes” that “wanted their soul” and “ate them alive.” These were dismissed as hallucinations from their ordeal at best, or preposterous ramblings of madness at worst. After all, if they were eaten alive, how could they be there to tell of it? Nonetheless, the forest was deemed too dangerous, and better left to the wilds.
Of course, the ‘maddened ramblings’ of the vanished were much closer to the truth than either side realized. This forest belonged to the Arhulians - otherworldly creatures of psionic prowess. The Arhulians know all too well of their demanding hunger, and have turned into fierce groundskeepers of their land, driving out competitors that would upset the balance of their hunting grounds.
But mere food is not the only way an Arhulian can feed, they can ingest a live creature and host them inside their belly, nourishing themselves from the mental energy of their captured prey - who often experience a dizzied mind and foggy dreams as a side effect of this feeding. This was considered a humane method of dealing with a troublesome ‘minded one’ by the Arhulians.
On a particular autumn, a mushroom picker ventured into the Disappearing Forest. Its unspoiled land yielded mushroom harvests of incredible volume and quality. An Arhulian with their extraordinary psionic sense, saw the aura of a ‘minded one’ through the foliage as if it was clear as air itself. They stalked the interloper, gauging their intent. Unlike usual quarry, he had no weapons. They were not a hunter - not of any animal at the least. They picked mushrooms.
The Arhulian was curious, and silently followed the mushroom picker like dark shadow in the autumn twilight throughout the days. The Arhulian saw the expertise, precision, and care the mushroom picker had for the land, treating each find like a gift from nature that was happy to be found rather than a mere resource to be mindlessly harvested. The Arhulian respected this minded one, even growing a fondness for the man.
One autumn day, they quietly scuttled as close as they dared - close enough to reach out and touch him, but ultimately could not bring themselves to make contact. Would they scare off this minded one and never see them again? They wanted to speak, yet the Arhulian watched as the mushroom picker collected his fill. He was happy. Most contact with minded ones ended with terror or futile violence. The Arhulian did not want to deprive the man of his serenity, and risk having to turn him into a squirming prisoner of the belly like all the others before. They simply watched from the shadows, if the mushroom picker turned around and gazed upon their Arhulian visage, so be it.
This, of course, went all unseen by the mushroom picker, him not knowing the legends were less myth than he imagined, and that the very real monsters that lurked in the shadows allowed him to tread freely and without disturbance with their silent grace.
Category Artwork (Digital) / Fantasy
Species Original Species
Size 2009 x 1834px
File Size 502.4 kB
Listed in Folders
Yes! I'm so tired of "eldritch horrors" being uber murder machines. Once you see one incomprehensible killing machine, you've seen them all, and the only variance is their powerset. My take on horror is that it's like a fine spice. Less is more, and more is overdoing it. I'd make the case Arhulians being chill adds to the spookyness because them not 100% aggro adds a layer of uncertainty to their actions. In a way, a lot of horror monsters fail because you immediately know their goal: To kill/devour/etc.... So the Arhulians being 'reasonable' means their goals are less immediately knowable, less predictable. And uncertainty is the spice of horror~
It's a lot like a noisy room. If you are in a room that's loud all the time, you get desensitized to it. But if you are dead quiet room, a sudden sound that may not even be all that loud can steal your attention in a heartbeat.
It's a lot like a noisy room. If you are in a room that's loud all the time, you get desensitized to it. But if you are dead quiet room, a sudden sound that may not even be all that loud can steal your attention in a heartbeat.
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