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Collector Worm — Description

Before the Scholars devolved in that cavern with the accursed crystals, there was life to be found down there. Subterranean creatures called this underground world home, skittering and slithering amongst the parasitic Black Bile. Yet, it would seem that the mind draining effects of these growths have had varying success against these beasts. Some of them show clear influence from these shards, while other animals go about their lives unharmed. One could only guess on why that is, perhaps they don't have the right humors or their minds are already too bestial to be affected? Regardless, a biome did exist down below, a secret world that enjoyed its peaceful isolation. But then the Scholars arrived...
The Scholars who broke open this seal and delved into this underground world brought forth change. The crystals that lay dormant for so long stirred at the prospect of more information to absorb. The buried land began to awaken, and the calm stagnation was churned. And when the Scholars fell to the mind drain of these crystals, the resulting tribe of primitive madmen would oust the creatures who peacefully lived here. Driven from their homes, these beasts would grow irate and desperate, lashing out at anything that was perceived as a threat or food. But as it turns out, it wasn't just the crazed Scholars who afflicted these lands, but also the things they lost...
The Scholars of the Towering Archives can always be seen wearing bone-bile prosthetics, as the extra pair of limbs aids in their work. More hands to help carry books or deal with information crystals. Plus, the addition of two more limbs allows them to be even closer to their beloved termites. Sort of like the thinking that the Academy's Alchemists have with their four tendril arms and appreciation for sea stars. In fact, one could say that there are far more similarities between these two groups than one would like to admit. And if recent rumors are true...Regardless, these limbs are a staple of the Scholar attire, yet these brain-drained Scholars now lack them. This is because these prosthetics call upon Black Bile to function, and have a knowledge infused in them from both creation and their user. When the minds of these Scholars were lost, the sustenance these limbs relied upon dried up. That, and their own programming began to be affected by this very same aura of absorption. So thus the limbs shed themselves from their crude masters, now unsuitable hosts for them. And when a needing thing loses its source, it seeks out another.
Before this event, amongst the denizens of this underground land were great worms. Slithering masses that burrowed through the ancient flesh and swallowed what morsels they found. Life for them was pretty simple, but then the crystals were awoken and the Scholars sent their world into chaos. And from this upheaval came a swarm of hungering prosthetic limbs, seeking new hosts for them to latch onto. The giant worms were far from ideal, but the malfunctioning arms sensed greater potential in them then their lost masters and grabbed on. And in a terrible moment, the serpentine beast of the darkness was consumed by these needing limbs, and became their new host.
Though what befell these worms was parasitization, things would eventually settle into a symbiosis. The worms had Black Bile to provide, and the prosthesis gave them limbs they never had. New potential, new abilities, and a new found hunger. As the many grasping arms give them far better reach and snaring maw, it also requires more sustenance to fuel. And thus these "Collector Worms" now slither through the caverns, seeking any and all prey to devour within the bony embrace of their reaching maw....
But they aren't the only life that has been impacted by the degraded Scholars and their abandoned limbs...