The Carvers
Summary
The Carvers are a specialized group of craftspeople within the cult of Earth Mother who possess advanced knowledge of living wood technology. They create two distinct types of sacred artifacts for the cult: living wood prosthetic limbs and ritual circlets. The fact that the same artisans produce both types of items demonstrates their deep expertise in working with transformative living materials. Their creations are notable for their sophisticated design—the prosthetic limbs can be attached or removed through calm mental concentration, allowing for seamless integration with the user's body and consciousness.
Details
The Carvers work with living wood, a material that retains properties of life and growth while being shaped into functional artifacts. Their prosthetic limbs serve dual purposes: they can replace lost appendages or augment natural bodies with additional capabilities. These appendages are specifically attuned to individual users, suggesting a personalized crafting process that takes into account the recipient's physical and perhaps spiritual characteristics.
The dual nature of their craft—creating both ritual objects (circlets) and functional augmentations (prosthetic limbs)—indicates that the Carvers occupy a significant position within the cult's hierarchy, bridging spiritual practice with practical needs. The existence of such a specialized group suggests the cult has developed distinct roles and expertise among its members, with the Carvers holding knowledge that is not common to all followers of Earth Mother.
The technology produced by the Carvers allows for remarkable control over the living wood appendages. Users can attach or detach these prosthetics through mental focus alone, without physical manipulation or surgical intervention. This suggests that the living wood responds to conscious intent, creating a direct connection between the user's will and the material itself.
The connection between the Carvers and artifacts found beyond immediate cult membership indicates that their crafts are distributed through trade, as gifts, or as services provided to those in need.
History
Session 9
The Carvers were explicitly named and described during Session 9 when the party examined Sucks Benedict's newly acquired living wood appendage from the Ever-Living Branch. Vasso recognized the craftsmanship, noting that "this seems very similar to the sorts of things the Carvers would make." Vasso also recalled that "the same group of people in the cult would make the limbs as would make the circlets." This observation connected Sucks Benedict's new appendage to the broader tradition of living wood technology within the cult of Earth Mother, establishing that the Carvers' work exists beyond Vasso's immediate community and may represent a widespread practice among followers of Earth Mother.
Session 10
The Carvers were referenced again in Session 10 when the party discovered a wooden limb in the swineherd's house. The group needed to understand the origin and nature of this unusual item, and the Carvers were identified as the source of such artifacts. This discovery further demonstrated the distribution of Carver-crafted items beyond the immediate cult membership.