While lifestone fabrication has been mastered, soma chambers remain a mystery for scientists, and a wonder for the general population.
Soma chambers are structures found throughout the world, pretty commonly around Zintotel and more and more sparsely as one travels away from the Old City. While filled with various plant species living in a symbiotic relationship, these structures are - at least partly - teimade*, as cut stone parts, ornaments and magic seals can be seen through the greenery. However, the creators of these chambers are unknown.
*it’s like manmade but they’re Somatei, so teimade
A soma chamber is a mostly circular, vertical cavity with two openings: one near the top and one near the bottom. Most of the chamber is filled with a specific type of green tinted soma that can only be found in this particular environment. The chamber’s top opening overlooks an air pocket which constitutes the main observable area of the chamber. This part is where other plant species and teimade stone ornaments can be observed. The air in this pocket is always warm and thick. Leafy vines hang from the ceiling and the bottom is covered with soma moss looking like a fluffy bed with a warm, gentle glow at its center. A dormant lifestone laid on this bed will be slowly covered by moss, and a new somatei body will form around it in the span of a year. When ready, the new Somatei will wake up and crawl outside of the chamber, welcomed by a team of caretakers who will prepare them for the outside world.
The soma bed’s depth depends on the overall chamber size, but it typically about three times the depth of the air pocket. The chambers secondary opening gives access to (what is believed to be) the near bottom of the soma bed. There the moss is thick, clean and waterlogged. A stream of clean water often flows out of the opening. This part of the bed is used for funeral rites, as deceased somatei bodies are returned to the moss. The deceased are put in a fetal position and wrapped in a cloth before being laid in an alcove that has been prepared by pushing away the surrounding soma. The alcove will naturally close around the body which will be then absorbed into the soma bed. It is then believed to be used as nutrients for the soma.
As stated above, each soma chamber has a team of watchers and caretakers who take turns ever watching over them. This team handles chamber security, dormant lifestone placement and census and most importantly, care of newborn Somatei.
A dedicated building is typically built to protect soma chambers’ top openings. The building is usually equipped with small, cozy alcoves for newborns and a living area for watchers and caretakers. The chamber itself is kept as untouched as possible, though docks can be built above the moss bed in the largest ones. Standard practice dictates that two Somatei must keep watch at all times. When a newborn is scheduled to wake up, the soma bed must be constantly monitored and when the new Somatei starts crawling towards the exit, they are helped and directed using a long pole so that they don’t step on any chamber mates. The new Somatei is then washed and laid in one of the cozy alcoves until they start moving around on their own. They usually start standing with some help after a few hours. Once they are able to take a few steps, they are guided to a cart that will take them to the nearby settlement where they will join a nursery, or in some cases, their new parents directly.
As for lifestones, thorough research on soma beds has been ongoing for a long time. As for lifestones, it requires the utmost cautiousness, as no new soma chambers have been discovered for a hundred years, and tampering with them can drastically alter their health and their ability to produce healthy Somatei.
Every plant species present in soma chambers are believed to be essential for its natural upkeep. While scientists are able to maintain small quantities of soma alive, they could never make it start growing a Somatei body.
Soma has been succesfully grafted on a particular species of keltza that holds its own soma in a hollow, bowl shaped cap. The cap must be first emptied of its natural soma and carved with magic seals overlapping in a very specific manner. When the keltza starts producing soma again, Somatei soma is added to the mix. The Somatei soma can then take over the keltza’s natural soma, turning its natural blue tint to green. If a lifestone is then laid in this soma, a small creature-like body will form around it. The body shape depends on the magic seals’ overlaps, and since the keltza is a living plant, these overlaps often shift, making the body’s shape relatively unpredictable. This whole process creates a small viable creature called tzautan.