Jambana

Jambana, also known as Moldlings, are a race of diminutive spore-creatures native to Uzunda. They descend from breeds of fungi given intelligence through the radioactive effects of the Warp, and are found in many of the dank and murky areas of Uzunda, especially caves, mires, and land affected by Warp.

Origin
The Jambana came to be in the Second Age, in the wake of the Ruining, sprouting from patches of fungus and mold twisted by the Warp into intelligent creatures. These mutated fungal mires served as the breeding ground for many intricate ecosystems of fungal life, and one of the most dominant of these lifeforms were the Jambana. These intelligent social creatures would gather in packs, led and organized by their especially intelligent, and hunt larger creatures through coordination and use of rudimentary tools. Jambana would often travel in groups, leaving their fungal swamps to hunt prey elsewhere and salvage sources of Warp that grant them intelligence.

Appearance
The average Jambana is an impish bipedal creature rarely taller than 1 meter. It's spindly arms end in grasping hands and stands on equally thin legs, usually in a perpetual crouch low to the ground. A relatively bulbous head rests on its small torso, displaying two large glowing eyes that peer outward with paranoid scrutiny. It's skin is porous and spongy, like that of a sprouting mushroom, and tends to secrete slight amounts of ooze with an offensive odor. A flat jaw hinges below the face and allows it to speak its purportedly messy language. The Jambana gurus tend to have especially bulbous heads that house their comparatively larger brains, and for that reason have a clumsy gait and support themselves with walking canes.

Social Organization
Jambana exist in hierarchical tribes led by the gurus, the mutated among them that possess gruesomely developed brains that grant them a supreme intellect and powerful magical capabilities. Gurus are expected to lead hunting and scavenging parties out from tribal ground to seek sources of fertilizer and warp from across Uzunda, and many do so with sinister cleverness. Often a guru will have ambitions that are far beyond the scope of their simple supply expeditions, but the lower Jambana will often comply with any order so long as it is delivered with the proper authority. A guru is by most definitions a tyrannical leader, but many Jambana would be aimless and poorly organized without them. Gurus often arises naturally by virtue of a random mutation that occurs when a Jambana is exposed to the Warp and is granted extreme intellect, and for that reason they value the Warp in specific quantities. When a tribe already in possession of a guru has more arise, the leading one often has to either kill the other guru personally or convince the tribe they are the leader and to kill the newcomer. Political turmoil is commonplace in Jambana tribes and prevents the race from organizing in larger numbers or accomplishing any long-term goals.

Language
Jambana speak a cryptic language difficult to replicate and described by linguists as "messy", attributing sounds such as hisses, babbles, rasps, shrieks, and yelps. It is known as "Jambanish" by speakers of Second Age Common. Jambana gurus tend to have far greater vocal capabilities than their lessers, and can freely communicate and learn the language of other Uzunda races, though typically this is limited to a crude grasp at most.