Further Musings on the Kedashi

After many months of research and conversations with those who have ventured into the depths of the Naralon forests I do believe I am finally beginning to understand the nature of these strange mercurial creatures.

I had once mused that the frenu were the jenta lifestage of some larger creature, but it had never occurred to me that they would be so key to this mystery.

The Delgon have ventured deep into the forests to the North, which seems to have upset the kedashi, leading to many attacks along the borders and countless small tragedies for those villages that had lived close to the trees for generations. However, these attacks have brought more stories of the graceful kaopi that have been seen controlling vast swarms of frenu and other beasts. A careful study of a deceased kaopi showed immediate similarities to the smaller frenu and the mature reproductive organs show that the specimen was clearly a kopa. For a long time I searched in vain for a sempa of the same species, but it was not until I spoke to a band of Dhogu mercenaries that I had some better luck. These erstwhile companions to the Delgon had finally had enough of the forests and were now selling their services further South.

They had stories of their time in Naralon and I learned much of the creatures that live there. Of most interest was a tale of a huge tree that the Delgon had insisted on felling. The tree contained a remarkable woven nest with a group of strange winged creatures that looked to have lost the power of flight. The Dhogu had seen them trying to free themselves from the wreckage with their ragged wings, but the KalGush had made short work of them. I understand that the attacks on the Delgon heightened after that encounter and the Dhogu chose that point to end their service.

The Dhogu had managed to acquire a few of the scorched bones of the nest-dwellers before they left, which they sold to me for an exorbitant sum. I am left in little doubt that these were the missing sempa lifestage that I had been searching for and that these creatures most closely deserve the title of ‘Kedashi’. I am however baffled, for the layering and development of the bones suggest that the beasts were truly ancient. If my summation is correct, then these creatures would have seen many of our generations and may even have been alive to have seen the formation of the Empire itself!

The Dhogu also claimed to have scavenged some ornate jewellery that the creatures were wearing, but that they had sold previously.

This suggests a far more developed intelligence, which is certainly not shared by the other lifestages I have observed, so I am unsure whether to believe these gruff-spoken mercenaries.

 – Transcribed by Muri from the notes of Gil Masharl, Travelling Biologist

Source: The Twilight Traveller - The Kedashi Swarms