The Caravan

The Caravan is a liquid concentration which acts similar to a hive mind. This liquid concentration split into multiple different fragments which each roam Alathra individually. Periodically these fragments will pull together both animate and inanimate objects to serve as a host, allowing The Caravan to have a physical shape. This physical shape can resemble most species that exist or be a twisted compilation of surrounding dirt and trees. While it is very uncommon, these hosts can serve as a means for The Caravan to interact with people on Alathra.

Description
As listed above The Caravan in it's most basic form is a liquid concentration. This liquid concentration is mostly black, but refracts a purple hue if exposed to light. This coloring is most commonly seen in the eyes of The Caravan's hosts. This liquid travels through land mass primarily and can infect and take over inanimate objects or the bloodstream of animate objects. Most of these fragments are indistinguishable, maintaining a hive mind like nature, referring to themselves as we. However, each fragment, while sharing memories, can also differentiate between their own memories and that of other fragments. This leads to certain fragments having individual personalities, names, or stories.

Nature
The Caravan as a whole has a very basic nature that it follows: passive observation. Very rarely will The Caravan interact with other people and the majority of these interactions are purely dialogue. The Caravan has access to the past and can view all of it as a whole. This includes the memories, thoughts, and intentions of individuals. This allows The Caravan's dialogue to cut deep and leave a resonating impact on the mental and emotional state of any individual. Utilizing all the information of the past The Caravan will usually attempt to drive the other party towards the most 'exciting' outcome. This usually means war, famine, or any other grave turmoil.

Stories
A compilation of stories about The Caravan and its numerous fragments.

The Caravan's Arrival
A single drop fell from the heavens. One tear, pitch black, translucent in the moonlight. The liquid sunk into the dirt, spreading to the roots of a nearby tree. As the moon crossed the sky the tree, the grass, and the flowers all withered and died. A sphere of dead nature, diameter of 10 meters at most, a perfect circle. Water no longer ran through the tree, the pitch-black liquid replaced it, serving as a blood stream. More moons passed over the tree, the pitch-black liquid becoming one with the tree, serving as its blood, muscles, and even its mind. The tree wasn’t enough.

The mind within the liquid grew conscious. It hadn’t given itself a name yet. The liquid spread through the tree, the grass, the flowers, bringing nature back. The liquid seeped through every cell of its hosts, meshing with the fibers of their being. The flowers were plentiful, the grass was green, and the tree blossomed. The liquid spread, through the dirt, a single consciousness remaining connected regardless of how it moved, splitting itself apart and spreading its reach across the terrain.

As the liquid spread, moving in and out of individual cells, organisms, and objects, it learned more. One fateful day the liquid made its way, entering an elf’s blood. The liquid had taken its first breath, opened its eyes for the first time, and taken its first steps. The unique feeling, wind blowing through the elf’s long white hair, grass brushing through each individual toe, the clothes weight down on her shoulders. Her eyes looked up at the sun, nearly entirely pitch black except for a light shade of purple thrown in. Those eyes could see; however, the entire landscape was already structured in the liquid’s consciousness.

The elf kept its gaze up at the sun, taking in its heat radiating through the cracks in the trees. The consciousness instead was intrigued by the ants making their way past a blade of grass a few meters from the elf. Immediately the consciousness spoke to all other fragments of the liquid. The liquid quickly spread its way through the dirt and grass, entering cows, ants, birds, humans, and fish alike. A unified gasp for air, having reached the far corners of the world, the purple shaded black eyes blinking in sync.

Within a half second the liquid left the bloodstream of the entities it inhabited, making its way back into the dirt. All the fragments left, except the one that remained in that elf girl’s blood, her nearly black eyes still staring at the sky, as she took her first step forward. The remainder of the fragments quickly pulled in the dirt, building twisted humanoid entities. In unison the consciousness’ monotonously spoke, a mix of varying vocal cords, designed using grass, dirt, and twigs, “we are the caravan.”

One such entity, spun up from the nearby trees, grass, and stone, stood at the edge of Prospit. Its center of mass was humanoid, with 4 legs made of intertwining branches wrapped around large rocks for feet. It’s back slouched forward, emphasizing the length of the individual tendrils escaping from where it’s shoulders should be. The tendrils dragged across the floor, the dark brown branches leaving their imprint in the dirt. Its face was twisted, its mouth shifted nearly vertically, placed where it’s cheek should be. Last of all were the piercing black eyes, cemented in place, the light purple reflection barely noticeable in the light of the setting sun.

The various entities comprised of twigs, stones, dirt, grass, and other compost all collapsed, the liquid moving continuously throughout the land. Fragments bent themselves into entities at will, assembling and dismantling with ease. They could take a few steps, speak, breathe, listen, just as most higher creatures would, before returning to the dirt. The elf with the black eyes knelt, brushing her hand through the grass, slowly opening her mouth to speak, “Felu, a part of us.” Felu’s hair changed color from the root, spreading until every individual thread was a sleek pitch black, refracting a slight shade of purple in the light, matching her eyes. The liquid took over every drop of blood within the elf, replacing it with itself.

The liquid did not see through the elf that much should be apparent. Its consciousness was an expanse, viewing everything at once, as if it were all an extension of the liquid, every organism and object registered as a feeling cycling through a nerve. This description alone isn’t enough, for the consciousness saw all paths in time leading to the point it was in. It saw everything from each tree being cut down to each thought and feeling circulating within creatures. The liquid didn’t care, it observed, watching the landscape shift. Each individual fragment making up the whole caravan was part of the ‘us’, sharing consciousness. Soon even the Felu fragment discarded the body, forcing the earth around it to swallow it whole. Felu quickly traveled through the landscape, making its way to the base of the tree where the first drop had fallen. With the resources around itself the fragment rebuilds the elf’s body, taking hold of it once more.

It stared at the tree for a moment, looking at its blossoming branches, providing food and nutrients for all the nearby animals. The grass itself had grown vibrant and tall, stealing resources from the grass outside the circle of influence. The flowers had grown tall, more beautiful than any modern florist could comprehend. Felu the elf stepped back, dark hair flowing slightly over the shoulders in the wind. The elf body left the circle of influence and The Caravan thought to itself; *unbalanced*. Within an instant a black sphere engulfed the circle, vanishing a mere fraction of second later, leaving nothing but a crater.