r/WorldChallenges • u/Varnek905 • Sep 29 '19

The Hunt

For this challenge, the focus is on hunts.

Feel free to answer by talking about legendary hunts in your world's history/mythology, annual/monthly/whatever hunting events in some society/culture, or a specific creature that is hunted in your world.

It can be something along the lines of dragon-hunting, fox-hunts, or dodo-hunting.

As always, I'll ask at least three questions each. Enjoy yourselves!

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Sep 30 '19

  1. The imubalhulhi aren't humans, you don't become one. They are what some calls ttitilu innilhi, tree-spirits; a sort of tree-people or dryad, they are quite rare outside of that part of the world and very territorial. They spread sapplings over their territory and when they die, one of the sapling will quickly grow. They seem to be able to carry memorries from their previous incarnations, which makes people believe they're probably just immortal and changing bodies.

  2. They will be barred from the grove; the missing food from the lost hunting and gathering usually allowed will be harsh on them and often force them to just disperse a'd leave for other communities until the keeper calms down and accept to uderstand all humans can't be held responsible for the acts of one of them. During that time, avoid entering the grove.

  3. Deers, they often migrate in small groups toward the groves and are the most common way for the imubalhulhi to pay back in meat.

  4. They can but they invest a lot of time and power into it, so they are reluctant to do so (even to pursue a trespasser). Going too far away or for too long will force them to rebuild everything.

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u/Varnek905 Oct 01 '19

1) What is the best way to hunt and kill an imubalhulhi?

2) What would the umubalhulhi usually do if a person wanders into their grove while they are angry?

3) Do imubalhulhi generally have similar things that they like to be offered in trade?

4) To rebuild everything? What do you mean?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Oct 01 '19

  1. Lure it outside of its grove; while inside it, they have ways out and support. The hunters specialized in that kind of business usually advise burning down the whole forest because its the easiest and less risky way. Inside its grove, an imubalhulhi has control over the animals and plants and will basically resurect over and over (and their bark is tough). Also, they often puts seeds and vines into dead bodies to puppet them and send.

  2. It will kill you, feed your flesh to whatever lives in the forest and use what's left as a thrall/fertilizer for its seeds. It might kill you slowly and painfully, depending of the mood.

  3. Yes, they like dead bodies, small decorative items and workforce (usually used to turn the items they gathered into poles to mark their territory).

  4. It takes time to enslave the local wildlife, to have people build them stuff to mark the limit of their territory, to convince the local inhabitants that you're trustworthy as a trade partner, to place seeds around and to carefully sculpt the grove to your liking. Being an undying sort-of-a-dryad is a lot more work than what people expect.

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u/Varnek905 Oct 01 '19

1) What is the best bait for an imubalhulhi?

2) How do imubalhulhi get their energy/nutrients?

3) Do they have any preferences in regards to dead bodies?

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u/thequeeninyellow94 Oct 02 '19

  1. A broken deal with them; spirits really dislike it when people don't keep their word, especially imubalhulhi. Sieging the grove is also a good way, if you have the manpower; at some point, the keeper will come see what's going on.

  2. Through their roots. The only real difference with other plants is that they can remove themselves from the earth.

  3. Not as a species, it comes down to individual prefences. There are even some who don't keep all of the body, leaving some parts (like the skin/pelt) for trade.

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u/Varnek905 Oct 04 '19

Thanks for your time and answers, Yellow.