Sproutfolk

The Sproutfolk are a Character affiliation in Soulframe. For

and their kin, see the Corrupted page.

A stout and stalky breed of living plant native to Midrath, the Sproutfolk were first animated by the Fey magicks of Her Majesty Alora, Empress of Eldveil. Short-statured, they are born in patches and fields, and live headless for years, according to

treatise, “Capricious Crops”. Sproutfolk often grow

fronds

of fernlike leaves on their heads. These hair-like fronds are mostly groomed and discarded to the bush, as they are considered out of fashion.

Sproutfolk frequently use the term "The Patch" both in conversation and in their mythology around the annual tradition of Bita's Eve. It seems to refer either to their society as a whole, or to collective societal units or families.

According to Sproutfolk legends, there is a family of living

that terrorises the Sproutfolk each year during the harvest month of Ocfomar:

Crone Cucurbita

A living wintersquash who, according to Sproutfolk legends, cannibalises lone seedlings who wander too far from the patch at night. This had led to the Wintersquash being considered a cursed ancestor of the Sproutfolk.

Her mask is a mark of harvest tradition; often worn by patch sages, harvest oracles, parents who resent their children, and even Sproutfolk guards of the Children of Alca. Each Bita’s Eve, it is said she summons

to haunt Alca’s patches.

Poppa Pepo

Husband to The Crone, bringer of the blight. Each Bita's Eve, Sproutfolk rush to harvest the last of their crops before moonrise draws the fog tides in. For that is when Poppa Pepo makes his great sigh. Any stalk that feels his blighted breath will be rotted 'way by morning.

Lil’ Zook

Crone Curcubita's undead child. Each Bita's Eve, she digs Lil' Zook from his cursed field. For one night, he roams from patch to patch, seeking a Sproutling out past bedtime to take his place... Lest moonset strikes and she buries him once more.

Sproutfolk often reside within their secluded cave of Hilly-Den, a secretive place where very few humans may venture. Hidden behind a wall of sealing magicks, and tucked away in the deepest part of the den is the Enclave of Alca's Children. Lit by flickering wisps and Nightwit spirits, this ancient Fey sanctuary still holds an air of magicks. Here, a sect of Sproutfolk evade their Ode'n labour to rest and revel, where they still practice the old rites. Like any blight, Alca’s Children believe the Ode will pass in time, and seek to heal the natural world by the virtue of Spirit, warding away the pollution left in the Sinecure’s wake.

Due to the Sproutfolk’s immunity to the Ode’s Spellsong, they are often rounded up and captured by the Sinecure. While they are immune to the Spellsong, they are not immune to the Ode's corrupting

Ichor

. Just like any other plant, they can succumb to its blight; with some transforming into freakishly-statured and hostile

.

Below is a list of every known non-Corrupted Sproutfolk.

Sproutfolk

Artacho

A Sproutfolk hidden underground, waiting for the Ode to leave.

Avakot

Story? No story really. Avakot is a Sproutfolk: a stout and stalky breed of living-plant native to Midrath. Though unaffected by the Spellsong, Avakot has a painfully persistent sneeze to which he credits the stodgy air expelled by the Ode'n Mistrels.

Ginsy

A Sproutfolk hidden underground, waiting for the Ode to leave.

Rootabag

A Sproutfolk hidden underground, waiting for the Ode to leave.

• 
  A Sproutfolk wearing the Crone Cucurbita Mask.
• 
  Concept art for Sproutfolk weaponry.