“What was particularly different was not the few other slaves, all recognizable by their one-piece collar of metal, often bronze, and short outfits that were far more bare than the sometimes heavy and covering clothes of free women, even on this warm late summer morning, but by their symbiotes, often visible. Not all wore them; Lisa could estimate that one in five or six wore one visibly. There must have been more, counting symbiotes hidden by clothing. The most visible ones resembled precious diadems, seeming to combine the biological beauty of precious, chamarré flowers with the brilliance of iridescent metals and flaming jewels; the others, most often worn by men, resembled bracelets of refined, intricate interlacing running from the forearm to the base of the hand. But there were also symbiotes resembling precious earrings, and others that seemed to have fused with their host’s hair to create shimmering filaments and braids playing with light and color.”

The Songs of Loss, Mélisaren

 

The Symbionts

Throughout the Loss ecosystem, a fragile creature, insignificant and tiny, plays such a major role that some Lossyan naturalists wonder whether nature could survive without these animals.

They are known generically as symbionts. They are found everywhere. They are widespread in all biotopes and have colonized both animals and plants. In the vast majority of cases, they are totally harmless to their hosts, contenting themselves with an almost invisible symbiosis, extracting the nutrients they need to survive; in exchange, they improve the immunity and physical regeneration of the beings that shelter them.

And in a few rare cases, they can do much more, even becoming truly terrifying weapons. And symbionts are now the Lossyans’ intermediaries, their allies in the face of disease and infection, and much more besides…

1- Appearance & lifestyle in nature

Symbionts are tiny creatures which, in the open air, would resemble coin-sized jellyfish. Fragile in appearance, symbionts have iridescent colors that cover virtually the entire spectrum of possible hues, with a metallic sheen. It’s easy to understand why symbionts bred by Lossyans have become veritable living jewels.

With their slender tentacles, symbionts can adhere to any surface, but they move very slowly, at around three meters per hour. Most of the time, their slow crawling is useless, as a symbiont never leaves its host once it has been colonized, and dies shortly afterwards. All symbionts have is a very basic form of light-sensitive cells that enable them to discern light and shade; this allows them to crawl over their host to find the most sheltered corner in which to establish themselves. It is also assumed that they have a basic form of communication, the functioning of which is not known, since a symbiont never attempts to colonize a being that already has one: symbionts never compete with each other.

The life cycle of symbionts is fairly simple. They are born as spores, which cling to the first solid surface they come across. If this surface is devoid of plant life, at least moss or lichen, the spore dies out within a few hours. If it has been able to find a first plant host, however sketchy, the spore grows and begins the second phase of its cycle, becoming a polyp. This grows more or less rapidly, and if its host is a robust plant, such as a tree, the polyp will eventually grow to the size and appearance of a coral or sea gorgonian, with its variegated, bioluminescent colors. A polyp’s growth phase lasts between three months and two years.

Once the polyp has reached maturity, it buds, giving rise to a host of tiny symbionts, generally between fifty and two hundred in number. These crawl to the ends of branches and leaves, where they are likely to be jostled by a potential host, latch on, find a warm spot and establish themselves. As for the polyp, it usually dies shortly after completing budding.

The final phase of the symbiont’s cycle comes with the death of the host. When the symbiont senses that its host is about to die, it begins to swell into a small sphere that grows on the surface of the dermis. The spore-filled bubo will burst at the earliest a few minutes before the host’s death, but more often afterwards, spreading the spores as they seek a welcoming surface to grow on… and the cycle begins again.

Symbionts are fragile at all stages of their evolution, whether spores, polyps or non-implanted symbionts: they cannot withstand climates that are too dry, drying them out in a matter of hours, and cold snaps kill them in a day. This hasn’t prevented them from colonizing all environments: symbionts can even be found in rivers and seas, and the only environments that don’t a priori harbor any symbionts are the driest deserts and glaciers. However, it’s only once they’ve found a host that they’re safe and sound. Given their fragility, although symbionts are widespread, they do not colonize all living beings. For a given species, the average number of colonized individuals would be around one-third. Finally, symbionts are highly specialized. Each subspecies is generally only able to colonize its host species. The common symbiont of ghia-thunder, for example, can only colonize ghia-thunder . As a result, the breeding grounds of symbionts are always found not far from the settlement areas of their host species.

1-2 EFFECT ON ANIMALS

Since, on average, one animal or plant in three carries a symbiont, we can conclude that the natural world of Loss as a whole should easily do without these hosts and their benefits. But the naturalists at Loss wonder what effect the disappearance of these widespread creatures, which even seem indispensable to certain species, would have on the world. For there are notable differences between representatives of an animal species that carries a symbiont, and those that lack one:

• The symbiont extends lifespan: the host is healthier, has a better immune system, and recovers from injury much more efficiently. They therefore live longer.
• The symbiont provides immunity to certain diseases: while diseases with internal and autoimmune causes are largely unaffected, external infections, blood poisoning and toxins are filtered out by the symbiont’s action, and many bacterial and some viral diseases have little or no effect.
• The symbiont increases the size of its host: we’re not sure why, but symbiont hosts are on average 10-20% heavier than their counterparts without symbionts.
• The symbiont regenerates its host’s lesions, accelerating wound healing and recovery with fewer after-effects.
• The symbiont causes infertility (reduced chances of reproduction): but this remains relatively low and, on a species scale, really has no significant impact.
• When the symbiont dies, the host is weakened: weakened immune system, hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular problems, cognitive disorientation, the host suffers for several weeks; and often, if they survive, we can see that some hosts start looking for another symbiont to host.

Finally, some Loss animals carrying a symbiont behave strangely, i.e. in ways totally unexpected for their species. These are not crazy or suicidal behaviors, but episodes of inter-species altruism, defense or revenge that shouldn’t happen.

On this subject, there are three stories about Lossyans that we tell each other by the fireside: that of a large female Dreayka who brought back to her farm a small child who had been lost for several hours in the forest (whereas any draekya who comes across a lost Lossyan necessarily thinks that the feast is open); or that of a herd of longilas in full panic who trampled for hours on a small village that was flattened except for. … the little Church of the Council, where many of the villagers, women, children and elders had taken refuge. And finally, an Armanthian whaling ship was pursued for weeks by a large female and sunk in the town’s harbor by the vengeful creature, before setting sail again with its sinister task accomplished.

2- Breeding symbionts

Symbionts have been domesticated for almost as long as the Lossyans came from the Stars. The advantages for those who become symbiont hosts are obvious. The Lossyans tamed the symbionts, domesticated them and produced a variety of breeds with qualities as varied as the breeders could produce.

Breeding symbionts is a widespread tradition and an important source of income. There are even a few towns and communities where it is one of the main businesses. On average, one Lossyan in five carries a symbiont. There is a wide variety of symbiotes, as described below. Most differ mainly in appearance, some being selected to be worn as living jewels, sometimes as expensive as the real thing. Most symbionts simply enhance their host’s immune response and cell regeneration, making it stronger, healthier and more able to recover, and immunizing it against a number of infectious diseases.

Symbionts are not for everyone. In fact, they are part of a wedding dowry or a gift for a child who has passed his or her third year. They are therefore an investment, and only the most affluent may see their purchase as an inconsequential whim.

2-1 RAISE SYMBIONTS

Farmed symbionts do not reproduce in the wild. They usually die before their host, having exhausted all their resources to keep it alive. They therefore have no time to produce spores and follow their natural cycle.

The method of reproduction is to preserve the lines derived from polyps that have been carefully cared for and kept alive. Polyps, under stress, regress without budding until better times, and we can cut a polyp off from another, graft it onto a plant and watch a new polyp grow. In this way, a polyp can be budded to produce a few symbionts at a time, and its germination interrupted before it has finished, to prevent its death.

The Lossyans have selected the best symbionts by observing their effects on their hosts and by taking cuttings from the polyps to favour the desired qualities. It’s a trial-and-error process, but one made easy by the relative ease with which polyps can grow and multiply.

2-2 LOSSYANS AND SYMBIONTS

Apart from the fact that symbionts come at a price, symbionts cannot be considered inconsequential: they have a profound effect on the organism.

To implant a symbiont, you need a physician: a doctor , pharmacist or apothecary can do it, and some are even specialists in the field. Shamans know even more, but in that case, you need to be able to find one – and dare to ask. To encourage the symbiote to take root where you want it to, you make an incision in the dermis and place it on the wound, which it then covers and invades to begin its symbiosis through this orifice.

The effect is as painful as a burn with a white-hot iron, when the symbiont anchors itself to the organism and becomes one with it. The patient is therefore generally anesthetized, a luxury not afforded to slaves who are fitted with a linci, so that they can experience the ordeal in a memorable – dare I say it – way. Once this is done, the patient will experience two or three days of slight fever and discomfort, until the symbiosis is complete. From then on, he’ll reap the benefits.

Changing symbionts is just as difficult, as you have to kill them. And a symbiont only dies from certain poisons or because its host is in agony. The technique is to lure the symbiont by creating artificial agony in its host with neurotoxins that plunge the patient into a state of apparent death, like tetrodotoxin. The technique has been mastered and the risk is relative, but, although very rare, some patients do not wake up.

Symbiotes are sensitive to violent toxins. More often than not, the symbiont will die from a violent poison inoculated into its host, but will save it by having fought against it. A symbiont can also be lost after surviving a terrible traumatic shock, such as massive blood loss, a severed limb, or certain diseases, like Rage… In these cases, once again, we can thank the symbiont, whose death increases the victim’s chances of survival.

2-3 SOME COMMON SYMBIONTS

• Greatis: the most common symbionts, with the classic effects described above. Greatis are selected for their beauty and appearance. The simplest form an arabesque or artistic tattoo around a small central heart. The most complex are veritable gems of extravagant color and luminescence.
• Linci: linci are symbionts implanted on slaves to prevent them from escaping. A linci emits a scent imperceptible to humans, but to which dogs trained to track are sensitive. Linci also have the effect of rendering a slave totally infertile, which almost totally prevents accidental pregnancies. A linci can cost a certain amount of money, so placing it on a slave is an investment. This is also why we often add a few luxuries to a simple linci, to make its appearance more pleasing, whether it’s graetis or jasmines.
• Jasmines: symbionts that modify their wearer’s body odor, usually to create a sweet, floral scent. The host’s sweat, saliva and secretions will have this smell and taste. Some versions of jasmines have intoxicating, irresistibly attractive scents. But there are also jasmines that imitate animal or humus scents, which is very practical in terms of discretion.
• Ambroses: ambroses are the most expensive and precious of symbionts. Their benefit is to slow down the effects of time on their host. Eternal youth and long life, in theory. With an ambrose, a Lossyan can expect to live to be a hundred and fifty years old or more, and barely age at all. But symbionts have a lifespan too, and eventually they die. The host then suffers the after-effects of the symbiont’s death, and usually dies within weeks.
• Nyctes: a type of symbiont that modifies eyesight, making the host nyctalopic. The host can see in twilight almost as clearly as in daylight and, in the dark, can distinguish landforms where others would be blind.
• Sylpheres: another symbiont that modifies the senses, in this case the sense of smell, which becomes almost as effective as that of a dog. With a few consequences: you have to adapt to them, but you immediately understand the benefits. Other symbiotes can modify hearing, but they are rarely used, as their side effects are difficult to bear.

There are many more symbiotes, some of them very exotic, such as those that render some bioluminescent, turn secretions into poison or drugs, and so on. But the most common are those listed above.

3- The link between shamans and symbionts

No one has ever studied this subject on Loss or boasted about it. But the shamanic tradition has integrated symbionts into its rites and cosmogony. They are an integral part of the rituals of these intercessors between man and the spiritual world, between the will of Lossyans and that of nature. All shamans, without exception, carry a symbiont; often they even come from secret, sacred bloodlines selected by generations of shamans.

The secret that binds shamans to symbionts is only passed on from shaman to shaman and from master to pupil, like a transfer of power that can only happen once in the lifetime of the person passing it on. A secret never written down, never transcribed, never revealed. What is certain is that shamans generally have as much medical knowledge of symbionts and their interaction with their hosts as the best physician in Loss, and that they are capable of many things that totally surpass lossyan scientists when it comes to care and healing in this field.

But it’s claimed that it doesn’t stop there, because after all, the Church itself shows such a fierce hatred for destroying the shamans of Loss that there must be a reason, linked to the latter’s claim to be messengers and intermediaries between the spirit world, the world of nature, and the world of man. And if there’s one being that unites all that lives on Loss, that is common to them all, it’s the symbionts.

4- Gorgonians, the giant symbionts

Symbionts are small, insignificant and harmless. Except for their rare and terrifying cousins, the gorgonians. Gorgonians are described in the chapter on Antagonists, but the reason we mention them here is that they are the source of the worst symbiont ever created by the Lossyans.

Gorgonians are not symbionts, but their cousins, terrible parasites and a mortal danger when the nocturnal season arrives, when they go on the hunt and contaminate their hosts, who will become savage Devourers, spreading terror and death. Fortunately, the gorgonian life cycle is long, and Loss’s animals all flee an area contaminated by these parasites. So, these only appear as sporadic episodes of contamination.

3-1 THE DEVOURERS, BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS OF WARFARE

Some Hegemony scientists have taken the risk of studying and breeding gorgonians in an attempt to turn them into domestic symbionts. This is said to have met with little success, although it is said that some shamans can create immortal symbionts. Their studies did, however, have one relative success, with frightening consequences: the Devourers.

A devourer symbiont is implanted in a non-consenting human host. Once the symbiont is implanted, the host begins to mutate, grow and swell, rather like a victim parasitized by a gorgonian. It also becomes hungry, and if it has nothing to eat, it will tend to help itself to wherever there’s meat. Including human flesh. A Devourer then becomes a weapon of war, terrifying not only for its supernatural strength and resistance, but also for its boundless violence and tendency to devour its enemies, even while they’re still alive. A Devourer can exceed half a ton in weight, grow to a height of three meters and smash through a drystone wall as others smash through a palisade, but its lifespan is limited to a few years. The Devourer is permanently hungry, and the symbiont ends up digesting it alive. The host always ends up losing what little sanity it has left in a final fit of bloodthirsty rage, where it is either slaughtered or devours and kills itself.

But for the Hegemony, and the Council’s elite troops, these are formidable assault forces they don’t hesitate to deploy to strike terror into the hearts of their opponents. They are often slaves and prisoners of war, treated like beasts and let loose to break enemy lines, then shot or captured and chained for later use. However, the strongest souls among these poor beasts manage to overcome the Devourer’s savage, hungry influence and retain a large part of their conscience. They are the most dangerous because they know how to stay alive for a long time, satisfy the hunger of the beast that devours them and make the most of their superhuman power. And these Devourers, when they join forces and form gangs, become one of the worst dangers that Lossyans, and especially those who created them, can encounter!