Knot-Oracles

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"Who's an adorable fellow, then? Well, not you, you repulsive horse-sized toad-monster."[1]

Knot-oracles, also called Ocular Toadbeasts, are giant, toad-like creatures with several long tongues and eyes simply everywhere.[2] These creatures reside near the prison of Wisdom, where they're used to thwart escape attempts - and execute prisoners - by eating any unfortunate human they can reach.[3] While their diet partly consists of humans, knot-oracles can eat just about anything,[4] and they have a notable appetite for secrets, both written and memorized.[5]

Knot-oracles that have eaten people are capable of speaking human languages, and they also absorb parts of their victim's memories. To this end, the Governor of Wisdom regularly feeds hapless prisoners to knot-oracles to fund his profitable secret-trade.[6]

The eyes of Ocular Toadbeasts are notable for being quite strange. They may reflect the things the Toadbeast has witnessed,[7] and as might be expected of something with so many eyes, they are capable of tracking four creatures at a time. Should all of a knot-oracle's eyes focus on a creature at once, however, that poor thing's days are numbered. Some have suggested that the Toadbeast can prophesize deaths as a result of this strange behavior, but it seems more likely that the beast simply kills such victims itself.[8]

Knot-oracle spawn are called oraclelets, and are usually no larger than a thumb. Like their adult counterparts, they still retain the tendency to stare.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Ocular Toadbeast, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Ocular Toadbeast, Fallen London "Reflected in a thousand yellow eyes [...] Those tongues can entangle a dog at ten yards."
  3. ↑ Rescue a Prisoner, Sunless Sea "One crew-member does, in fact, fall out of the pipe on his return, straight into the mouth of a knot-oracle."
  4. ↑ Ocular Toadbeast, Fallen London "You pry [...] menagerie out of the toad's maw [...] You remove the [...] tabby and the [...] urchin from the toad's maw."
  5. ↑ Throw away the Sprightly Visionary's letter, Sunless Sea "A knot-oracle lazily blinks its many eyes; in that half-second, its tongue shoots outward, and snaps up the message."
  6. ↑ Some Poor Soul, Sunless Sea "Thank you. I didn't want to end my life in a knot-oracle's gullet. [...] this may interest you more. Something I overheard when the oracles last feasted -"
  7. ↑ Ocular Toadbeast, Fallen London "What have you seen, you amphibian menace? No! No! Good God, No!"
  8. ↑ Study your Ocular Toadbeast, Fallen London "The Ocular Toadbeast may track [...] up to four creatures [...] it turns its full attention on a single individual, that individual usually experiences a lethal accident [...] may be a sign of oracular tendencies, [...] suggested a more direct form of agency..."
  9. ↑ Hunt knot-oracle spawn in Bugsby's Marshes, Fallen London "They stare so! But you out-stare them. Each is no larger than your thumb, so they take some catching, but at last you have a jar of oraclelets."
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