By Jardet Forsill

A Deeper Study into the Understanding of the Processes of Yliakum’s Soil Vol 2

Following rumor of the Consumers on the Barn level being smaller than those known on the Dome, we traveled there and indeed verified this. We continued down into the depths of Yliakum and on each succeeding level also verified that the Consumers we found were, on average, smaller than those of the levels above. They were also more wary, cryptically colored, and quick in finding places to hide from intruders. The smallest ones are skilled climbers and diggers, found only in remote and dark places, and often spend much of their time under the surface of the soil, burrowing in places unseen. A few experiments have led me to believe that they are able to sense vibrations and movement to determine the size and relative threat of beings around them. Upon reaching the sixth level, also known as the Lakeshore or the Lagoon, much patience and traps with bait were necessary in order to obtain just two palm-sized specimens for study.

A chance conversation with an aged Nolthrir fisherwoman on the shores of the Great Lake of Yliakum gave us our next lead. There is a small and elusive nocturnal sort of mudworm known to the Nolthrir fishers as Nemanel. They dwell in the silt of the Lake’s bottom, eating the wastes of the waters. This fisherwoman, an amateur naturalist, told me of a few live Nemanel she once captured and put in a bucket for later study. A crisis called her away from home and she returned after a week to find no Nemanel at all in the bucket, only a small Consumer swimming about trying to escape. She assumed that it had somehow made its way into her home and eaten the worms, but given my experience of the reclusive nature of the young Consumers, I thought this unlikely.

Following a suspicion, I arranged for the delivery of several captive Nemanel and observed them over the course of many days. They proved fragile in captivity, and many died and were consumed by their fellows. The last survivor in each tub then spun a sort of cocoon about itself, adhering nearby materials to the weaving for camouflage. The cocoons then lay still for about two days’ time, at which point young Consumers made their way out of them, eating their woven pupal cases as their first meal.

Conclusions:

As I intimated in my introduction, the processes of soil movement, conversion, and Consumers are indeed connected. It appears that Yliakum’s erosive soil movement towards the Great Lake may be in balance with the material returned to each level by maturing Consumers. Born in the silt of the Lake’s bottom, each returning Consumer bears in its makeup a modicum of eroded soil, added to by all the materials it consumes in each level of Yliakum as it grows larger and larger. I am pleased to be able to offer this knowledge freely to the citizens of Yliakum, in the furthering of the understanding of the glory of Nature Herself.