The Nythentea of Nuhl

by Ven Loetz

A passage from Ven’s field journal describing Nythentea

After studying the trilobite fossils in the Milwaukee Public Museum displays and the few in Sue Lawton’s personal collection, I’ve consulted the archives of G’Neunther Milhwalka. For those who have not heard the stories and rumors, G’Neunther Milhwalka is an underground colony of Nuhl refugees. This is one of the many places Nuhls have taken up residence on the Earthan side of the rift. It’s a place I personally lived for a time when we first became stranded here. It can sometimes be accessed through the city’s deep tunnel sewage system, though it is mainly comprised of natural limestone caves.

Passages from the G’Neunther Milhwalka Archives

The archives can be a confusing mess since many different individuals have contributed over time. Most of us suffered persistent Eldar-okh blindness for years after arrival, so these records are the best of what we could remember at the time. As it happens, I did write down and draw some of Damos Nuhl’s life forms in those murky years of tunnel life, and one of those I dwelled on persistently was a class of organisms called the Nythentea. Similar in form to Earth’s trilobites, these invertebrates thrived for many eons on Damos Nuhl. Unlike trilobites, they did not perish in a mass extinction event, but survived and diversified. Some adapted to life on land and even evolved insect-like flight, while others live in the undergrowth of forests, feasting on decaying vegetation. These latter Nythentea resemble Earthan pill bugs or roly-poly.

It’s easy to see the similarities in body morphology between Earth’s trilobite fossils and Damos Nuhl’s living Nythentea. As you can see, both have three body sections and three lobes, along with numerous smaller segments. Both have complex, crystal eyes.

Trilobite fossils and models at MPM (left, center) and fossils from Sue Lawton’s personal collection (right)

Now that I (and the other Earth-side Nuhls) have learned how to treat Eldar-okh blindness, it’s a lot easier to retrieve information like this, although the problem is remembering what there is to retrieve in the first place. My collaborations with Sue and my explorations of this world are helping enormously in this effort. The more I discover about Earth, the more I remember about my world and myself.