world building - osseous slime

this piece is in the format of multiple subjective entries written by in-world authors.

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an amoebic lifeform with nodules of bone suspended in it.

the organism's matrix is transparent, and you can see the nodules through it. the nodules are roughly spherical. you may see imagined, or half-forgotten contours of skulls in some of them.

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the osseous slime is a carnivorous amoeba, generally an ambush predator, most often found below ground or deep within large structures or ruins. it may be found roaming the surface after heavy rains, especially at night.

it has a freeform but structured body adorned with bone parts which it scavenges or takes from prey animals. the bone parts may be used for 'chewing', traction, internal support, or, if it floats them to the surface, protection.

some individuals carry a very high load of such inclusions, rendering them less able to rapidly change shape. these may move about on fixed or semifixed leglike appendages instead of flowing. they may be quite resistant to physical damage, especially slashing, when compared to other amoebae.

we have spoken of the nodules used for mechanical purposes. but others, chosen for particular resonances, are held in protected internal positions and are used to access spells and other magical resources. this is functionally equivalent to a mage using a spell stone. the body of the amoeba, being lunar, is insulative: spill light released is trapped in these inclusions, causing them to glow dimly for long periods after magical activity. this is one of the more reliable warning signs one can learn.

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though prevailing opinion among my peers is that lunar amoebae do not employ complex thought or have feelings, i would point out that contrary signs exist. accumulated terrestrial material in osseous amoebae is clearly a form of tool use, though one unfamiliar to many terrestrial organisms: one in which the tools become extensions of oneself.

what does this mean to the amoeba? though it does not employ shape shifting for mimicry, this variety of lunar organism may be seen as involved in another form of internal or spiritual mimesis. as the amoeba attunes to these relics, it becomes contaminated with the lives and memories of those it carries with it: ghostly, haunted by prerogatives other than its own.