ROCK

A peculiar species of living rocks that devour metal for nourishment have been reported to live upon a realm (possibly another planet) where the mountains quiver itchily as they belch forth purple fire. An extremely flat plain filled a rather small valley between the tall mountains. The plain was punctuated by these boulders which were all identical and slid to and fro on the eerie surface, propelled by an unknown mechanism. The ground was scratched by many intersecting lines which did not raise or lower with respect to the plain. These lines, which formed a rectangular grid, appeared to be discolorations in the surface, perhaps a different mineral permeating the rock. The surface of the plain was too smooth for a human to walk upon without having their feet slip out from under them. Magic had difficulty function in this realm; even the greatest of mages found their spells collapsing like deflated balloons on the ground.

The boulders seemed to always carefully follow the lines, which may have been some sort of fuel source that kept them hovering. For when one was commanded to depart from the lines, it replied with "There isn't a line there. Do you want me to starve to death? Besides, what would my friends think if I was out of line?" The same also mentioned, "You know, I could do with a little food. The paths are sort of bare this time of year; everyone's scraped them pretty thin." These living rocks additionally love to consume other hard material, such as cooled lava fragments. How these rocks digest their food is uncertain; but they have been observed settled comfortably to the ground and reported to sound like a rasp for a while as they mysteriously consume, rising again afterward.

These living rocks, whom called creatures of flesh, "soft ones," where able to spin in place, a technique used to prevent others from perching atop them. Their undersides may have been a "private area" as even the ostentatious green eyed rock (see below) was offended to have a human admire it from below. At certain seasons the rocks estivated for long periods of time.


THE GREEN EYED ROCK
Of two rocks which an unknown Sorcerer encountered in 966, one had lovely green eyes. This rather large boulder had a flat bottom and some invisible force prevented it from touching the ground, as it moved about quite nimbly. It liked crunchy and nice food, especially with lots of phosphorus, but found certain pieces of hardened lava to be little light on the phosphorus for its taste.

This conceited stone was a chronic braggart, continuously slipping in a comment about its appearance or an invitation for one to adore it. For instance, it claimed that its back was the most hemispheric of all its friends, and gave the rare privilege for one to ride on top to admire it from that angle (provided that it was firstly given food: "Then you could watch me eat. I'm really at my best then."). This rock, which a perfectly smooth underside, certainly had no false modesty and "knew" that the brown eyed rock was not as pretty as it.

The unknown Sorcerer was prevented from mounting the stone until he fed it food. It was then that he directed the stone in a pattern to corner the brown eyed rock. The weight of the Sorcerer caused the stone to become tired from carrying him.


BROWN EYED ROCK
The second of the two rocks encountered in 966 was identical in every aspect to the first, except for its brown eyes and the Dark Cube of Foundation has been set upon its back. This sulky and peevish stone avoided hovering at any point adjacent to the green eyed rock, trying to glide away from it at every opportunity. When the Sorcerer was able to ride and command the green eyed rock in such a pattern that placed it beside the brown eyed one. The stone became mesmerized by the looming presence of the green eyed rock and did not move. This moved the Sorcerer close enough to leap gracefully onto the brown eyed rock (he almost slid off, but finally settled carefully on top) and obtain the featureless white cube from the irritated creature's back. When he jumped down, the brown eyed rock zoomed away in a huff.