Elmwire Forest + The Copycat (Land of Fable Landmarks/Creatures #01)
Elmwire Forest is a Forest coveted in dark roots that seem to pulsate like bl00d... No one knows the origins of the place nor who created it (As Mina strictly stated that she NEVER made the place before nor has been there ever). It's known for being located in the bottom of the Earth Quad & there are warning signs to never go there's lest you wanna see the consequences of what you've done
Its a very dangerous place only the most known & fearless individuals can go to explore, so often the military based metros/trains (usually seen in Æruss'a) go there with the strongest & highest ranked soldiers to deal with whatever is in there. But somehow these soldiers... unfortunately don't make it out alive... But there has been a instance where a soldier did go out alive. She was a Nil/Apnoaw hybrid who somehow was spared but everyone else in her squad wasn't, now facing major ptsd from her OWN FRIENDS, who she thought of like family, die right in front of her!
One of the dangerous creatures (& also what was the reason for the soldiers not coming back alive other than that one single mynk) was a certain entity just referred to as "Mirrored Flesh" or "The Copycat". This entity is entirely made of black roots that are made of the same material of the trees with extremely sharp teeth & a very creepy smile. However this entity doesn't seem to target Nils, as for some reason it sees them as their own but will attack ANYONE who isn't a Nil (this includes mortals).
Now the reason why this creature us called "The Copycat" is bcs it's known to mimic other beings & individuals + CAN EVEN MIMIC THEIR VOICES but the only imperfection of theirs is that.... it's that thing's mouth & eyes... While the creature IS POWERFUL it isn't immortal since it does have 3 hearts & when the remaining soldier who found this creature shot it out of self defense, she shot it's heart which remains 2 hearts. It's like a vampire you can't truly kill unless you target it's heart.
The being also has a major need to infect others with this strange disease called "Elmwire disease" or "Shadowroots Syndrome" which is a dangerous disease which can kill the person if not treated instantly. When it bites you, not only it's taking your DNA to copy your appearance BUT ALSO infecting you!
Its said in some fables, "The Copycat" used to be a normal Nil who then unexpectedly mutated (which Nils should do, if they mutate it's causes them major pain thus having them to be "neutralized"... (aka a mercy kill)) which explains why it only spares Nils & no one else. But that doesn't explain the whole "pulsating black roots" part of the creature.
The Forest itself does have other creatures like a few crabs, slugs, & weird flying bug bats which are often found on the surface of the forest. The forest is a huge (but not huge huge, just bigger than your average city. Basically as big as a mega city) & dark, so you must ALWAYS bring a light weither it be a lantern or a torch.
& even though it's a part of the Earth Quad, no Eldahk Mynk really want to be near it as some stories say that they can hear the dying screams & terror of what seems to be mortals in the forest... As if the creature found them and took them there for their... next meal...
Yeh that's it for my ABSOLUTELY HORRIFYING lore about wtf I have been thinking of for these past secs. I hope you enjoyed reading this, but if not... I'm very sorry for your mental health.