Mutu

Some people consider Mutu to be parasites, while others believe they serve as a part of symbiosis. Mutu travel deep underground towards scents of blood, rot, and decay, only surfacing when they believe they have discovered a host to connect to. The closer that a Mutu gets to their possible host, the more it understands about its target biologically.

Mutu will only surface at the exact point of a possible host, surging upwards from the ground with immense speed and rope-like tendrils that will attach the creature to its host at the location of a severe wound or missing limb. After attachment, the Mutu will begin to shift its form, melding with its host and “repairing” the damage. For example, if a Mutu attaches to someone with a missing arm, it will form into a fully functional arm for that person. Mutu are also capable of mimicking the functions of lost or damaged internal organs, with the exception of the brain. Mutu do not regenerate injuries any faster than normal limbs/organs would beyond the initial treatment during binding with the host, which occurs near-instantly.

When a Mutu binds to a host body, its life will be prolonged as long as its host is alive. As a result, Mutu have invested interest in keeping their hosts alive through whatever means necessary. If a Mutu is overworked (the limb/organ sustains too much injury), the creature will literally work itself to death and peel off of its host, falling back to the ground and shriveling into fleshy fungal muck. If a Mutu is otherwise removed from a host, it will die in an identical fashion. When a Mutu is injured, the creature will make the host feel its pain to indicate such. If a host with a Mutu is killed, both the host and Mutu will die. If a host is revived, it will be revived without the Mutu present.

Mutu will attach to any host, living or undead.

Distribution

Mutu are considered to be rare. They have only been known to surface in the fungal biome. It is believed that the soil there is the only thing capable of sustaining a Mutu that has not yet binded to a host. It is unknown how Mutu are created and if they breed at all.

Habitat

Mutu are only found in two places, deep underground, or attached to a host.

Diet

Mutu are sustained by the life of their host.

Relations

Mutu do not seem to have any other purpose than to bind to a host and survive for as long as possible.

Mechanics

• Will treat all injuries of a host upon initial binding.
• Afterwards, they essentially serve to replace one limb/organ, functioning as the actual limb/organ would.
• A host cannot have more than 49% of their body made up of Mutus, or they and their parasites will die.
• This equates to roughly a max of 2 limbs/2 organs/1 limb that can be made up of Mutu.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier