Inspired Inklings

Mournjade Valley

Teshka squeezed the softened fruit between her palms and let the dark syrupy juices burst from the fruit's fleshy center and seep into the gashes decorating the inside of her hands. As the thick liquid meshed with the coagulated blood in her cuts, she felt the telltale stinging of the Pepple berry's healing abilities. She sat for a few moments, relishing the sting, with her eyes closed. After some time her nostrils detected the spicy, yet earthy scent of the juices' crystallized form.

Dropping the fruit to the ground, she opened her eyes to survey the mass of tiny crystals now encompassing her palms. She rubbed her hands together. The crystallized skin and juice crackled away, leaving her palms stained blue and the gashes now encrusted with coarse patches of deep, purple . Taking a breath, she finally rose to determine her next move.

The Grokan fleet had pushed her too far North for her liking, but even in her defenseless state, one could not restrain from admiring the beauty held by the Mournjade Valley. With Pestar's unique atmosphere, the Mournjade Valley took advantage of a multi-layered, reflective density. The resulting effect, made the visitors to Mournjade Valley susceptible to the idea that they were within reaching distance of the stars.

A hint of organic perfume wafted from the Valley before Teshka. A deep, spicy mixture of floral scents, accompanied by the musky scent of dense growth was a smell also unique to the Mournjade Valley. The floor of the valley was covered with a thick mass of vines. The vines themselves encased in a metallic purple sheen, and displaying a colorful and exotic bounty of flowers growing on their underneath. The vibrant Artressa flower, being one such flower, secreted a very honey-esque sap. There had been many individuals who had tasked themselves with harvesting this pleasant flower in hopes of creating a decadent wine. In fact, Teshka had once tried an Artressa-based wine. It's sweet flavor encased in a spicy, nutty essence that held just enough bite to tingle your tongue.

The growth, combined with the toxic, electric glow of the many dangerous creatures native here, certainly added to the star-touched effect of the Valley. However, this also resulted in a plethora of things getting lost and succumbing to their death in Mournjade Valley. Thus, this dense undergrowth was a very distinguishable factor in the combination of scents occurring here.

The entire Valley vibrated with the soft hum of Wollerfint beatles' screech. Each Wollerfint varying in pitch, which was also effected by their current status. This characteristic often became deadly, when a grouping of Wollerfint's were particularly hungry. Their hum would become a deafening display of disorienting cacophony. Such a combination of elements often left prey vulnerable to becoming lost and wandering aimlessly deeper into the even darker and mysterious dangers of the Valley. Thus, another factor in the many rotting corpses surely hidden in the Mournjade Valley's floor. Many an explorer, scientist, and entrepreneur had given their lives to the greed of the beautiful valley before her, but Teshka refused to be one of them. Skiddering down the steep incline of the rocky outskirts surrounding the valley, Teshka continued her race to escape the Grokan army pursuing her.

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The prompt was to dive into all the senses of world building. (I was excited to have one first place for this entry on www.hexrpg.com.)