Hydrocropolis, a colossal 1,000 foot wooden automaton powered by water, is one of the millions of mysterious creatures that inhabit the wondrous and menacing jungles of Xenthropa in the Ninth World.

Due to its enormous size, the Hydrocropolis is one of the most widely known and seen entities gazed upon travelers who dare to trek in the hostile environment, and survive to tell the tale.

Unlike most creatures living in Xenthropa, the Hydrocropolis shows no outward malicious intent towards any visitors who may came upon it.

However, there are dangers attributed to the strangely constructed giant beast.

Most survivors will say the first thing to be mindful of when coming upon the Hydrocropolis is to give it a wide berth since you don’t want to be crushed by any of its massive legs which tend to have the remains of dirt, wood, brush, animals, towns and “other” creatures and elements caked along its feet.

Another danger lies in a residue that it excretes from all over its body at certain times of the day. Some have speculated that the liquid is part of the creature’s digestive system, while others say it’s a conscious effort by the Hydrocropolis to produce more denizens for its population within its structure.

Whatever the case may be, when organic life forms touch the residue, a slow painful transformation begins where the victim is eventually turned into a tree-like creature and dies.

On rare occasions victims have known to survive and become a Kyroydian, a sentient being made out of wood, which begins to seek out the Hydrocropolis and eventually lives with the populace, although there have been several cases where a Kyroydian lives off on its own.

In recent times, the Kyroydians have recruited outsiders to bridge the communication gap between their people and the outside world.

The people of the Hydrocropolis, numbering in the tens of thousands living near the chest regions of the wooden behemoth, employ a language made up of whistles and cough-like sounds created by their tree bark teeth and throats.

Suffice to say, the language is extremely difficult to break down and understand.

Given the enormity of the Hydrocropolis and the sheer destruction it leaves in its path, the Kyroydians have garnered many enemies in the wake of their home moving from place to place. However, they claimed to be oblivious to it all and thought the destruction was all a natural process until a brave human adventurer scaled the Hydrocropolis, made his way inside and began the long, but fruitful process of communication.

Ever since that time, the Kyroydians have always employed a human, usually a nano or former Aeon priest, to communicate to surrounding towns, villages and creatures that the Hydrocropolis is moving and they must vacate their homes or face certain death.

The current Herald of the Hydrocropolis, Duranaforth, is on the brink of leaving his brief tenure as the life of a translator who brings messages of impending doom. The only advantage of the job, which has been passed down from family to family, is a better understanding of the Hydrocropolis.

In fact, Duranaforth has been able to decipher more of the Kyroydians’ language which has not been fully understood even after all this time given its continued growth and variations. Duranaforth has learned that not all creatures or objects that were thought to be trampled underneath the Hydrocropolis’ gargantuan feet were destroyed, but slowly absorbed into the giant’s system.

Duranaforth has learned that another “city” resides within the lower regions of the Hydrocropolis, which may contain great magnificent treasures of the past and untold horrors made up of mutated remnants of monstrous beasts thought long gone.