Wurm

Wurm is thrilled to have been transformed into an Esk. As a worm, they had little understanding of what was happening during their transformation other than their Creator transmitting the idea of helping them as they struggled; trapped in painful, searing sunlight.

Life after transformation is fantastic. The sun no longer burns their skin and blinds their senses, they can clearly discern the environment around them and if something is not to their liking, they can simply stand up and move. They have fascinating new appendages called Hands and Feet. Their Feet carry them from place to place with astonishing speed; and their Hands can touch, and grab, and carry, along with a variety of new uses that Wurm discovers daily.

Wurm is fascinated by the world around them, and frequently touches and pulls and prods at anything that catches their interest. Grasping, holding, and tearing are all delightful new abilities courtesy of their hands, and they will spend a great deal of time investigating plants, rocks, and discarded items they find on the ground. They have learned the hard way that plants begin disintegrating immediately no matter how delicate their touch, and so they try to restrict themselves to observation only when they find a new flower, so as not to destroy it before their curiousity is satisfied; however their impulse control is not great and they often leave a trail of dead plants behind them.

After several unfortunate incidents Wurm is far more discerning about not touching animals. Although death does not cause any real anguish for them, they do feel a quiet sense of unease when they have accidentally destroyed something that moves and wriggles in distress as they once did in their past life.

Wurm is not frequently malicious on purpose, and during their early years they were quite puzzled as to why the slightest touch caused such damage to living things. After careful obvservations of other Esk and their benign interactions with plants, Wurm sat unmoving for several days as they pondered the possible differences between them. Eventually, they came to the conclusion that the glowing magic on their hands was the culprit, and armed with new knowledge was able to attain a small amount of control over their deadly enchantment.

Wurm rarely speaks, and when they do it is not in complex sentences. They can understand conversations spoken to them and around them, but their attempts to convey their own thoughts are a few key words intermixed with garbled sounds, static, and crackles. It is an unpleasant experience to be the focus of Wurm's words, as Wurm concentrates very hard and !SHOVES! their communication telepathically at another Esk in their attempts to be better understood. This results in the other Esk being bombarded with sudden sounds and stimuli, and the mental pressure of the shoved words has been described as highly distressing.

The best way to get Wurm's attention is to offer them an item as a gift, however if Wurm is preoccupied with a fascinating object or puzzling over a new concept in their thoughts, the attempt may not be successful and the Esk will be ignored regardless of their words or actions. Should the Esk wish to remain on good terms with Wurm, they should quietly take their gift with them and try again another time.

Deadly Grasp Enchantment. Wurm has a magical aura concentrated on their hands that drains the life of any living thing in close proximity. Physical touch can be lethal.

Devil's Fingers fungus (Clathrus archeri), located around Wurm's head. The fruiting body of this fungus is composed of several red 'fingers' that burst out of a white egg-like sac. The fingers secrete black slime that smells like foul, rotting meat in order to attract pollinators to it. This goo drips from Wurm's eyes, hands, and nature features.

Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus sericea), located around Wurm's head and ribs. White berries hang from the vibrant red branches around their head, surrounded by white floating flower petals.

Devil's Snare (Datura stramonium), located on Wurm's shoulders.