The Kingdom of Shroom once extended to all corners of the world, but that was a long time ago, back before the Cornstalk Revolution. Kernel Cob of the Corn folk didn't cease his war against the Shroomkin until he had forced every last one of them beneath the worlds surface, where he felt they belonged. In time he would grow to regret these actions, for cool dark, damp places is where the Shroomkin thrived best.
And make good of a bad situation they did.
They rebuilt their entire civilization in vast cavern networks filled with wondrous sites of glowing stalactites and stalagmites, bubbling springs, streams and pools of crystal clear water, and enormous glow worm farms which they cultivated for silk. The worm's slime also had many uses, from construction applications to medicine, and even food.
The Shroomkin enjoyed a great many years of peace in their underworld, until the gem eaters came. These foul creatures discovered that the precious stones which they survived on were abundant in the cavern networks wherever the Shroomkin had settled. They were the best, and most precious stones they Rock Moles had ever seen.
This is when the Gemstone Wars began. At first, the Shroomkin suffered horrible losses, but as they retreated deeper within their new kingdom, they started to notice that the moles couldn't chew or tunnel through the stone walls of their deepest caverns. When they tried, they chipped their nasty teeth and cracked their filthy claws.
Upon this discovery, King Shroom, with his oyster shaped natural crown of fungus, ordered every spare Shroomkin stone worker to begin gathering bits of the this stone to craft craft into weapons and armor for a last stand. They would not give up anymore of their kingdom to interlopers. They worked non-stop for days, chiseling and grinding the stone to fit each Shrookin defender.
The Rock Moles screeched furiously as they sniffed about the too small openings, peering in with their beady little eyes. One Mole got too close with his elongated snout, as he sniffed about in one of the holes in the stone, and was rewarded with a chipped tooth from an ever alert defender brandishing his newly carved stone hammer and armor.
The Shroomkin bellowed defiantly from within their stone walls, taunting the Rock Moles until they were blind with anger. King Shroom noticed that the angrier the moles became, the more unorganized they were also. And this is how their plan came to fruition. The Shroomkin banged their weapons against their shields, and yelled at the tops of their lungs, taunting the moles over and over as they got into formation to make their advance. When they were ready, King Shroom signaled the advance.
Every Shroomkin defender in the front line could hear their hearts beating in their ears as their final stand began. They charged as one from their tiny stone holes into the larger cavern beyond, shields raised together forming a wall, weapons held high and ready to strike out at any moles nearby. Tufts of fur, chunks of teeth and splinters of claws flew all around the advancing clump of fungus and fury. The moles squealed and hissed as they skittered and circled about. All they could do was scoop a few defenders up into the air with their dull claws, flinging them back against their allies who steadied them on their feet or caught them from the air without harm, and then they were back in the fray, pushing the advance. Skitter Snarl, the leader of the Rock Moles squealed a retreat, hissing oaths of vengeance upon the Shroomkin as he and his slunk back through the caverns. The Shroomkin gave chase, following them to the ends of their known caverns. Once the last of the moles had disappeared into the shadows of the earth tunnels beyond their realm, King Shroom ordered the tunnel's sealed with the same stone they had built their weapons and armor from.
The King knew that it was only a matter of time before a new threat or challenge arose, but for now, the Kingdom of Shroom was safe once again.
Alright, I had fun with yesterday's prompt: A fantasy world without humans.
Today's prompt is: The silence of space. (does not have to be outer space, it could be a giant room)
Cheers,
Rob
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