The Hyphaeans are a mushroom race who emerged from under the massive Greatwood Baum. This lifeform, by far the largest in Nuanor, was more than a tree - its roots stretched for miles, forming dense networks of mycorrhizae with the Hyphaeans. These friendly fungi offered trace minerals from deep below the earth, while the Baum fueled their growth with its precious life force. It was a truly mutually beneficial relationship. Amanita Hamlet was formed through the eons from Hyphaean activity and is the largest Hyphaean colony. But these peaceful mushrooms lost their great patron during a battle with the demons of the Dark Progenitor. The Greatwood Baum was damaged from trunk to root, withering away and scattering to the horizon, now only a distant memory. The Hyphaeans are bound to Amanita Hamlet and harbor an unshakable faith that a new Greatwood Baum will someday rise.
The Hyphaeans are famous for two things: Their love of story-telling, and their pharmaceutical trade. Able to synthesize powerful antibacterial substances and enzymes, these beings have learned the value of their innate knowledge through trading with other races. Humans lap up a steady supply of potent antibiotics from the Hyphaeans, and many injured travelers have been pulled from the brink of death by Hyphaean cures. Hyphaeans live in sturdy houses formed in tree trunks or larger fungi. At the entrances to their homes one will find collections of catalysts, stabilizers and other medicinal materials. It almost looks like a massive-albeit chaotic-medicine factory. The air is redolent with spores, ethers and volatile gases. Humans, with their poor sense of smell, barely notice but keener races maintain their distance.
The tranquility of Amanita Hamlet masks a growing danger. The Leshiye, whom also descended from the Greatwood Baum but lacking their fungal counterparts’ eternal memory, resent the Hyphaeans’ sprawling colonies. The Leshiye have forgotten the ancient unity between plant and fungus, seeing the Hyphaeans as mere parasites. Some of the more extreme Leshiye believe it was the Hyphaeans who undid their mighty ancestor. These fast-growing plants are immune to the toxins of the Hyphaeans and have sought to drive them out of Amanita Hamlet for centuries. The Hyphaeans continue to rely on the humans as their natural allies to ward off the Leshiye incursions…