Karston Chambers, playground of the pernicious sylvari Nightmare Court. Here, courtiers practice the poisoning of simple skritt minds and the stirring of Maguuman Jungle Wurms. They couldn’t have chosen a choicer cavity – the Chambers form the remains of volcanic activity, a Maguuman Jungle Wurm’s paradise. But the situation is far from idyllic, whether for wurms or wanderers. The depth of the depravity of the Court has affected even wurm hatchlings, who are unusually aggressive.
The Maguuman Jungle Wurms of nearby Twilight Arbor have also felt Nightmare’s touch. They are almost exclusively adults, possessed of the angriest disposition and the acridest of spittle. For sure, the greatest threat to the well-being and survival of the Maguuman Jungle Wurm today is the wicked worked of the sylvari Nightmare Court.
Only the Great Jungle Wurms of the Maguuman species appear to enjoy freedom from the domination of oppressors. These wurms are the largest of their kind, fiercely territorial and viciously competent. Unlike smaller adults, they are not surrounded by hatchlings, which is bizarre to say the least. In the center of Caledon Forest an Ancient Maguuman Jungle Wurm springs traps on the unsuspecting curious, much like it’s Greater brethren, but with it’s offspring in attendance. Perhaps the reason why the Great Wurms do not do the same is because they are the males of their species? No one knows for sure.
That the Maguuman Great Jungle Wurm of Wychmire Swamp inhabits the bog to feed on dead and decaying plant matter seems undeniable. But why also the husks? It is at this point that I wish to suggest some possible explanations for the wurm’s predilection. Wurm’s respond to vibrations through the soil and it is perfectly possible that the Great Wurm of Wychmire is alerted to the presence of husks as the latter’s bulk moves above it. Moreover, husks have an unusual attack form – they slam the ground around themselves with a jump – in so doing disturbing the earth in the same way that the energy probes of Scarlet Briar disturbed the Great Wurm of the Bloodtide Coast. In my opinion, this is the foremost reason for the Wychmire wurm’s appearance at the end of the swamp meta-event chain; it was disturbed by the combined weight of the husks moving above it. Having sprung through it’s trap-door, the wurm attempts to secure it’s feeding ground by attacking interlopers – that is, everything with which it is unfamiliar. It has been noted that the wurm may not actually die after Gamarien has felled it, which certainly fits with what we know of Tyrian wurms – they can regenerate segments of their bodies (consider the regenerative abilities of the polycephalous Maguuman Jungle Wurm of Twilight Arbor EXP for example) and it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that the Wychmire wurm has not been mortally wounded.
In light of this possible explanation of the Maguuman Great Jungle Wurm’s role in the meta-event chain of Wychmire Swamp, my only criticism is that if the wurm does indeed regenerate, it seems forced to conclude that Gamarien constantly re-learns that a gargantuan wurm resides in the heart of the swamp. How many times does he really need reminding? Still, we can’t expect the perfect presentation of a story from every meta-event chain within the living world; in this case we might just have to make the most sense out of a somewhat jarred jaunt into the midst of the muddy foundations of Wychmire Swamp.
Let us leave this installment of Fertile Soils: Maguuman Jungle Wurms here. Perhaps we will return to musing over these majestic monsters on another occasion.