Guardians of Terraria

Episode 4.1 - Smashing, Poppet!

William eyed Nissa the Dryad carefully. She appeared to be a young woman, but her eyes and the way she poised herself made her seem so much older. Her long green hair was tied in a bushy braid that ran down to her waist. She didn't appear to be completely human - her body was a strange mix of human skin and lush green vines and leaves that wrapped around her torso, arms and legs.

"So why are you here?" William asked. "Why have you been... observing us, as you said?"

The Dryad leant forward, putting her arms on the table.

"It's because of the Eye."

The Eye.

"You know where it came from, then?" William asked.

"Didn't we already figure that out?" Sid said. "It came from that crimson forest. The same place where Robyn said she saw you."

"It might have come from there, yes," the Dryad said. "But that is hardly its full backstory. You know its full title is the Eye of Cthulhu."

"I thought it was pronounced Ka-choo-choo?" Sid said.

"No, it's Cthulhu," the Dryad corrected, saying it like 'K-thoo-loo.'

"Oh."

"Why is it called the Eye of Cthulhu, then?" William asked. "Do you know what this... Cthulhu is?"

"Cthulhu was a creature of immeasurable power and unknown origin," the Dryad said. "Its seemingly sole purpose was to rain destruction on, and to have dominion over, all sentient life that flourishes on the world.

"None could stand against the advances of Cthulhu. The very fabric of the world seemed on the precipice of doom. Until..." she hesitated. "My people arose to wage battle against Cthulhu. We... had an unparalleled connection to the world, so we were truly the last hope against annihilation.

"We were... alas unable to kill Cthulhu. But with our combined power, we were able to cripple Cthulhu's ability to wreak further damage upon the world, by ripping out Cthulhu's eyes, part of its skeleton, and chunks of its brain."

"Ew," Robyn muttered.

"Ultimately, this substantial damage forced Cthulhu to retreat to the dark side of the moon, where it dwells to this day."

William glanced out the window, where the moon was visible in the night sky, feeling shivers come over him.

"As for... my people, sadly, they all perished. I am the sole survivor."

"Oh," Sid muttered.

"That sounds... terrible," Robyn said.

"So..." William said. "You're saying that the Eye that we fought is... it's Cthulhu's gouged-out eyeball?"

"Yes," the Dryad said.

"We haven't seen Cthulhu, but Cthulhu has seen us," Sid said.

The Demolitionist, who was passing through, laughed ribaldly at his joke.

"It's hard to say if the Eye is still acting under influence from Cthulhu or not," the Dryad said. "But what I can say is that the Crimson is a single emergent being connected to the world, sharing a hive mind."

"A hive mind?" Sid exclaimed.

"The Eye might have been infused into this hive mind somehow," the Dryad said. "But at the end of the day, it was still just an eye. Within the Crimson, there are far greater beings. Ones that are behind controlling the will of the Crimson. It wishes to consume all there is, believing doing so will restore balance to the world."