Mosschildren are creatures that are closely associated to the Mossmounds of the Drifting Woods, and as such are among the greatest natural mysteries of Nybelmar. Neither plant or animal, the huge Mossmounds, along with their Mosschildren are vital to the woods' survival. Mosschildren, as humanoid entities emerging from tunnels of the Mounds, move through the woods for no apparent reason and mainly seem to be piling shards and rocks, only to disappear again, thus contributing to the mystery of the strange relationship between Drifting Woods, Mossmounds and Mosschildren.

Appearance. Mosschildren resemble two-handspan high, slightly chubby humanoids, with a pointed snout and no visible eyes or ears. They are completely bald, and covered with a green, membrane-like skin that is easily ruptured, but any cuts are quickly sealed off by a dark green blood-like fluid. They do not seem to have a skeleton, or a muscular system like that of common animals, although this is very hard to determine, as a deceased Mosschild's skin quickly dissolves, after which the sponge-like tissue falls apart completely within an hour. It is thought they are still able to discern sounds, as they themselves can produce various squealing and shrieking sounds as well as a quiet 'mutter'.

Special Abilities. Mosschildren are blind, but nonetheless perfectly aware of their surroundings. They are able to walk around, even when moved, and find their way without fail or bumping into things. It is unknown how they know where or when an enemy might strike, but often a Mosschild will be the first creature to discover a predator and flee back into the Mound, shrieking loudly. Other mosschildren will immediately retreat back to the Mound upon hearing this, and many other animals have learned to beware when the Mosschildren flee. Both Mossmounds as Mosschildren seem to be unaffected by the magic of the Ter'ei'Vikh.

Territory. Both the Mossmounds and the Mosschildren can only be found in the depths of the Drifting Woods on Nybelmar. As far as the Compendium knows no Mound has ever been seen outside of these woods. Mosschildren can only be found within a few dozen peds around their home Mound, and do not voluntarily leave its immediate vicinity.

Habitat/Behaviour. Mosschildren can often be seen wandering aimlessly through the jungle on set paths, often swimming to the shore from their Mound as many Mounds are islands. The reason of their wandering is unknown, as they do not seem to eat or drink anything, nor perform any action but the piling of the shards and rocks they carry from within the Mound to various piles along their paths. Often these same paths are used for decades before something forces the Mosschildren to take another route.

When under attack, a Mosschild will retreat into its Mossmound as fast as possible, shrieking loudly to alert the others. It seems however that most predators of the Drifting Woods have learned the Mosschildren do not make suitable prey, as even the challachoy, one of the largest landbound predators of the area ignores them completely, even in the presence of its young. This is most likely the result of the incredible rate of decayment that takes effect immediately after a Mosschild is killed, reducing its tissue to a putrid goo within an hour completely, and rendering it inedible within a few blinks.

Diet. No one has ever seen a Mossmound or Mosschild actively eat or drink anything at all. It is suggested that the Mossmounds feed directly from their surroundings in much the same fashion as a tree would, and that the Mosschildren find some kind of nourishment inside the Mound, but neither of these theories has ever been proven true or false.

Mating. As the Mossmounds, Mosschildren appear to be both ageless and sexless. All Mosschildren are the same colour, size and shape even when they originate from different Mossmounds. No indications of young Mosschildren are ever seen, leading certain scholars to believe that they are actually the same creature as the Mossmounds, albeit with a very different shape. However, no proof of this theory has ever been found, and it is widely dismissed as nonsense among the Ter'ei'Vikh tribesmen, who believe the Children are incarnations of lesser forest spirits.

18th Singing Bird 1667 a.S. Information provided by Miraran Tehuriden