The Waterleaf - Finished! Well, nearly

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[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

@Cruci, thanks for looking it through, I missed that until I worked on it again, sorry. I did not colour the changes, for I took nearly all as you proposed. For the rest I need a German commentor.  New or rewritten parts are in orange. I hope the English of the chant is not too off

@Shaba: Thanks for the amount of work you did there!  

I didn't colour anything because I took nearly all as you proposed it. Just two or three little additions I coloured with red.

With two such commentors it has to be a perfect submission by now  

http://www.santharia.com/pictures/talia/baveras_shrine2.htm

Art, this picture belongs in this entry, maybe in the Baveras' entry also, but not in the shrine entry - it would not match the description.







Waterleaf, Dyer‘s Delight, False Waterstar, Etherus‘ Smirk

 
Categorization
Plant, Water Plant, Source of green dye



Basic Overview

The Waterleaf is a common waterplant of Southern Sarvonia with long, floating stalks and short leaves of various greens which grows in shallow, streaming, sweet water.  It is used for dyeing and is referred to in some circles as the Dyer's Green. Another common name for this plant is Etherus’ Smirk, a reference to the medicinal properties of its stalk, which is an important ingredient in a remedy for acratia . As the waterleaf is easily confused with the waterstar - a plant associated with the Water goddess Baveras - it is named False Waterstar also.



Description

The Waterstar’s leaves come in many shades of green, from a light gnastheen to the deep green colour of the peace pine needles. Once its tiny seeds nestle in the bed of a river with clear streaming water, roots take hold and soon stalks shoot up towards the watersurface. There are many variations of the plant all over Sarvonia, which differ in the sizes and shapes of their leaves, but generally it can be described this way: Pale green leaves grow out of the stalks, alternately on each side at a distance of two nailsbreadths. The leaves themselves are about four nailsbreadths long and two broad. They are flat and thin, sit on a short stem, have a rounded base, but an acuminate tip.  Their tiny veins give them a delicate structure.  

The taller a stalk grows, the more it is exposed to the river current, which will bend it into a horizontal position. The stalks can reach a length of up to three peds -  but as the plant wants to grow towards the light as most do, ,branches‘ sprout upwards out of the horizontal floating stalks, and light green leaves emerge which get darker with time. Then the current  bends these new offshoots as well, new stalks grow out of these, and so forth. So a bed of Waterleafs can very well reach a height of nearly a ped, depending on the depth of the creek. The oldest leaves, those close to the bottom of the river, are of the darkest green; the younger a leaf, the lighter its hue. The greens all tend to be more bluish in colour than yellow. Only leaves which are exposed to the air will turn to a kind of herne green, called ,oleaf‘ by the dyers, probably derived from ,old leaf‘, meaning worthless leaf.


Once the last stalk is close enough to the surface, little ,twigs‘ will grow towards it, where they sprout smaller leaves and a flower bud develops above the surface. Only when the sun is shining on these buds will they open and display six pale blue, green rimmed, pointed petals and a red inner core. The flowers are only one and a half nailsbreadth in diameter, but of an exquisite design.



Territory

The Waterleaf grows in cold, streaming water, in rivulets, creeks and rivers, as long as they are not deeper than about a ped. Mainly at home in Southern Sarvonia, it has spread to Nybelmar and Northern Sarvonia also, thriving in regions with a moderate climate.  Recent research has found that it dies in areas where too many people live upstream in close vicinity. Pikel Thunderstone, a green druid, claims that this is due to human wastes dumped into the rivers which poison the water and cause Waterleaves to wither.


Usages

Source of dye:

The Waterleaf is used to dye fabrics with many shades of green. As the shades of green vary with the age of the leaves, they are harvested with care and stored in water until they are to be used. They are sorted by colour, and it is known that no dyer will share the secrets of processing the leaves. Though the colour stays bright and true for years, with the time it degenerates to a more herne green, or oleaf, especially when of darker hue and exposed to the sun.

To name a few examples for great dresses and gowns which were dyed with waterleaf:

Queen Alaveras wore a deep sognastheen gown (matching the colour of her eyes) with silver embroidery when she met her future husband, Santhros Tiandor, for the first time.

Santhros Tiandor favours a dark green hunting outfit (dyed with the leaves growing near the bottom of the waterleaf bed).

Faugar, the famous Nermeran artist, painted Masterbard Judith of Bardavos in a green dress, which was dyed with the waterleaf also.  As we can see, this picture was created at a time, where Mistress Judith was not yet as famous as she is now (when her purse was not as well filled). Some of the colour of her dress have begun to fade and turned oleaf! http://www.santharia.com/pictures/faugar/bard_judith.htm

The contemporary mage Dalmac Brandivere (born ca. 1598), renowned less for his control of magic than for his herbal skills and encyclopedic knowledge of plants, often referred to as Dalmac the Green, is potrayed by the Santharian artist Eratinalifalah in a robe of light green. His clothes were probably dyed with only the very light coloured top leaves that grow near the surface.
http://www.santharia.com/pictures/eratin/dalmac_brandivere.htm

An example for the dark hue of the waterleaf can be found in a picture drawn by the great sage Artimidor Federkiel himself: Master Tribell‘s hat shows a beautiful variation of that colour!
http://www.santharia.com/people/people_pics/tribell_master3.jpg


Shelter for fish and watersnails:

Many animals find shelter and food among Waterleaves, which often grow in dense clusters. Among these is the red-shelled tent snail, a well-known delicacy said to surpass in taste all other snails. Served with the carefully stewed pale green stalks of the waterleaf and a young blue waterleaf perch  – a small fish that is known to hide from its predators in clusters of waterleaves - it is not only good to eat, but a feast for the eye also. As its name implies, the tent snail sports a tent-shaped house. Funnily enough only tent snails that  feed on the green waterleaf have red houses, whereas other varieties tend to have ordinary orange to brown ones, although those living on the iceland coasts have blue ones.

A remedy against impotence and more

There is no better remedy for the failure of manhood than the stalks of this plant. All respected authorities say so, and since a considerable number of respected authorities are old and male, we have reason to trust their judgement. Moreover, a preparation of Waterleaf, taken by a woman about to bed her lover, is known to enhance her pleasure also. A concoction of Waterleaf is cheap and easy to prepare. No fresh leaves or stalks are needed; the dried and powdered stalks are as potent, and much easier to use.  Though the quality is thought to depend of the colour of the tasteless powder (the darker , the better), this is not proven. A ladle of the powder mixed with water and drunk shortly before the  amorous encounter of the other gender can result in a splendid time.

However, the required dosage appears to vary without logic, and for unknown reasons. Sometimes half a ladle is enough to provide the lovers with unknown pleasures, sometimes not. If the desired effect is not achieved, another ladle can be taken, or more. There are no known physical side-effects that would harm a human, dwarf, elf, hobbit, or whoever wants to use it.

So why is Waterleaf not used more frequently and by everybody? Well, a  man‘s pride does forbid him to admit, that he needs a plant’s assistance to satisfy a woman. So, if he takes the powder, he will do it in secret. There is a ,harmless‘ side-effect though, which may or may not occur: the skin of the user may assume an oleaf hue, sometimes more, sometimes less visible. The likelihood of this effect to occur does not appear to depend on the dosage taken – and neither does its intensity. At any rate, this phenomen is the reason, the plant is also called Etherus‘ Smirk, for it is said, Etherus, the God of lust and ecstasy, gave the plant this attribute to laugh at its users.

This property to colour the skin of those who eat or drink it is often used among the young folk of a village to play a joke on somebody. The tasteless powder is mixed in the unsuspecting victim food, and the laughter and teasing is great the next day should the effect show. („Oh, did you fall in a bed of waterleafs?“ being the most harmless remark.)
Though the powder is the most common form for preparations of Waterleaf aphrodisiacs, certain establishments serving the needs of the higher society prefer to present their clients with fresh stalks of Waterleaf prior to delivery of their services. As the stalks themselves are tasteless, they are first marinated, then dressed and served as a salad, accompanying any fine dish like trysters or a plate of waterleaf snails (see receipt of the well known house of pleasure, the ,Beauty of the South‘ in Strata).

Fodder:

The aphrodisiac qualities of the Waterleaf were probably discovered in the course of its use as fodder for domestic animals like pigs, sheep and cows. In the collection of written documents from the time soon after the foundation of Ciosa in 11340 b.S. a Glandorian historian remarks in his research papers, that the Darians, the tribe which was native to the region, fed a waterplant to their stock which was said to increase its fertility. And still today, farmers all over Santharia harvest the entire plant to feed it to prized bulls and stallions to improve their ,performance‘, or to their cows if they have problems with conceiving. Eusebius  Appleblossom, a famous contemporary Dogodan farmer, is convinced that the uncommonly large number of his  hogling piglets in every litter - more than ten where six to eight are usual, result from his habit of mixing generous helpings of waterleaf into the adult hoglings’ food.



Reproduction

As described above, little buds emerge over the water‘s surface which open to pale blue blooms. They flower for a few days at some point between the months of Rising Sun and Fallen Leaf, build out many tiny seeds which are carried away by the wind for a short or sometimes greater distance, until they are dumped, if lucky, in another suitable body of water. Or they float downstream until they are soaked with water, sink down and are carried by the current, until they find a suitable place to root. In winter the plant dies, if the rivers are freezing to the ground, but out of a well developed rootsystem a new plant can grow in spring. In warmer areas, the Waterleaf can survive for years, but it may well happen that suddenly a whole bed dies off, due to lack of enough nutrients in the ground or other unknown reasons.



Myth/Lore/Origins (optional)

The Waterleaf is very often mistaken for the waterstar, a similar plant that is associated with the sea-goddess Baveras. The ability to distinguish the two plants is important, since the waterstar and its fruits, the starberries, have potent healing qualities while the waterleaf has none. This confusion of one plant for another even led to the ornamentation of Baveras‘s shrines with depictions of the waterleaf instead of the waterstar, as one can see from the excavation of an old floor when a new bridge north of Lorehaven over the Griffon River was about to be constructed in the month of changing winds in 1670 a.S. The mosaic is complete and shows the petals of a waterleaf. Meanwhile a plant has settled in the niches between the granite slabs where in former times wooden columns were placed - the waterleaf, in two of its variations.  

Of course Etherus is said to have had his hands in the creation of the waterleaf. After the weather-god Grothar had presented his love Baveras with the waterstar with all the benefits it has especially for pregnant women and as the starberries became a symbol for pure love, Etherus was looking for a way to deceive the virtuous and to smuggle into their pious love lives the aspect of lust, of forbidden pleasure. One day, when he was in a particularly grouchy mood, he went along a river, looking with displeasure at the waterstar, when his gaze fell upon another waterplant. It had long stalks and small leaves like the waterstar, but its blossoms were of bright hue from Sor‘inyt orange to Aeruillin red. Each of the six petals had a dark coloured rim. „Six“, he smiled, „how fortunate“, for the waterstar also had six petals, though they were formed differently. And he bent down to the waterleaf, his hand hovered over it and the bloom began to fade, until it was of a light blue with a darker green rim only. Etherus had stolen the waterleaf  the oranges and reds, the colours which are associated with him. From this day on the waterleaf was called ,False Waterstar‘ or Etherus‘ Smirk‘. It is commonly believed that Baveras doesn‘t mind when a worshipper uses the waterleaf, instead of her true flower, the waterstar, as long as the  worshipper's heart is true in its belief.


Receipt for Waterleaf Stalks , served  in the Stratanian establishment  'Beauty of the South'
Receipt (serves two)

Take about an od of fresh Waterlesfstalks that were kept in water since the time of their picking.
Remove the leaves carefully, set them aside for decoration.
Cut the stalks into about fingerlong sticks and put them in lightly salted, boiling  water for about as long as it takes to sing that four line chant;

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
For I shall surely drown in grief
Without my little dove

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
For I fear a ruthless thief
Will steal my little dove

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
For never can I find relief
Without my little dove



Take them out and put them in cold water to keep them firm to the bite. Drain the water away and marinate them for a whole day according to your preference, for example::

Sweet Lady:  
1/2 ladle salt
1/2 ladle foridite
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
1 tablespoon oil of sunflowers
Some basiloc, very finely chopped
Some dochnuts, finely chopped
Before serving put a puff or greenpfepp over it and add some of the fresh leaves put aside at the beginning.

Served with roasted blue waterleaf perch or the red-shelled tent snail and accompanied by a light white wine it is an excellent meal. A Stratanian Injeruillin or a  Twilight‘s Hearth as after dinner drink will perfect it.

Served with roasted blue waterleaf perch or the redshelled tentsnail and accompanied by a light white wine it is an excellent meal. A Stratanian Injeruillin or a  Twilight‘s Hearth as after dinner drink will perfect it.



Many thanks again to Cruci and Shaba!


Maybe I'll add a tiny snail to the picture!  

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

Lovely little plant, Talia - although I resent that Etherus gets such bad press recently.    I like the references to dresses of celebrities - that's a good way to introduce the casual reader to the people of Santharia.

Anyway, on reading through the text, I noticed a number of Germanisms (a funny one being "crumpet" for Schnecke, for crumpet doesn't mean a snail, but is an old-fashioned men's word for a woman they find attractive; something like the German "Mieze", "Biene" - oder eben "Schnecke").

I'm happy to do a uri-check, but as that's quite a bit of work, I first wanted to ask whether you think you're nearly ready, or whether you might anyway change large parts of the text for one reason or another. If you're ready, I'll be happy to give extensive comments & suggestions.

I'm glad that Talia, who seems to spend most of her Santharia-time commenting and helping others, is finally taking on entries again. What about the "Donotlook" apparition, then, Talia?

Sincerely,

Shabakuk

[Deklitch Hardin]

"crumpet" is also a savoury pastry.

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Thanks Shaba!

'crumpet'
I feared it would not work, but then I thought, I'll try it. Is there another word for snail?

I didn't intend to add more than a sentence or two about the fish yesterday (and the receipt), but now I have another idea. However, as my daughter had a sore throat this morning and we went panicing to the doctor (we want to fly tomorrow evening ), I didn't find the time to add it, nor do I know, if I'll get it done tonight. So please wait till I'm back. But thank you in advance!

The idea with the fish was great! I did a quick one yesterday and added a shadow and it worked fine. And a fish does tell you, that there has to be water.

The donotlook are not yet ready to enter this world, there are other waiting submissions I NEED to do first. And then I rediscovered my tablet. But hopefully there will come some more next time. (Especially as WoW is not working for me in the moment )

CU *waves*

@ Dek: No comments to my submission? Just a hint to something which let my mouth water and reminds me, that I had nothing since breakfast? ? I'm hungry, let's see, if I have some savory pastry in the freezer....

*ponders how savory pastries are tasting in Australia and if she might have them next year, if possible*

[Valan Nonesuch]

According to the good folk at wikipedia, a snail with no or no obvious shell is a slug.

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Yes, that's easy to find, but I want a snail with house!

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

All right, I'll wait with that uri check, then.

An alternative name for your tasty mollucs could be "crumpet snail"?

I am guessing that you were looking for a synonym for "snail" to avoid a repetition; I think we might be able to shuffle the sentence a bit, and make it sound just fine without use of a synonym.

Have a good trip, Talia!

[Deklitch Hardin]

Yes, that's easy to find, but I want a snail with house!

Why not give your snail a tent so s/he can hit the trading routes of Caelereth and go on holidays?

[Cruciform]

NOW BE PREPARED FOR... Some comments.[/color]

Waterleaf, Dyer‘s Green, False Waterstar, Etherus‘ Smirk



bigger version
(I love the little blue flowers.)

 
Categorization
Plant, Water Plant, Green Colour for Dyeing
(Shouldn't the "Green Colour for Dyeing" be on the next line to give it a different classification to the Herbarium one?


Basic Overview
The Waterleaf (pl Waterleafs) ("Waterleafs" bothers me, but I'll let it fly since "Waterleaves" isn't really right.) is a common waterplant of Southern Sarvonia with long, floating stalks and short leaves of various greens. It grows in shallow, streaming, (comma) sweet water, is used for dyeing and is called therefore Dyer‘s Green. (After that comma you need, the sentence becomes a mess. Simplify it a little, and make the dyeing part its own sentence. "It is used for dyeing and is referred to in some circles as the Dyer's Green.) However, when advantage is taken of the stalk‘s property to help against acratia, it is named  Etherus‘ Smirk or, as it is often mixed up with the waterstar, a plant dedicated to Baveras, (Since this bit about Baveras isn't about this entry, surround it with brackets instead of commas so that it becomes obvious that you're talking directly about the waterstar with that comment.) False Waterstar. (Rather than suggesting that its name actually changes with its different uses, make it clear that they're alternate names dependent on the circles or professions that use the plant. Doctors and physicians would refer to the plant as Etherus' Smirk, et cetera.)


Description
,Dyer‘s Delight‘ is one of the names for the Waterleaf, for its leaves come in many shades of green, from a light gnastheen to the deep green colour of the peace pine needles. Once its tiny seeds nestle in the ground of a river with clear streaming water, roots secure the place and soon stalks shoot of the ground. Their There are many variations of the plant, concerning (This isn't right. "Dependent on" would be a better choice here.) the shape of the leaves and their size, but generally it can be described this way (The previous few words is a little blunt...): Pale green leaves grow out of the stalks, alternately on each side at a distance of two nailsbreaths. The leaves themselves are about four nailsbreadths long and two broad. They are flat and thin, sit on a short stem, have a rounded base, but an acuminate tip.  Their tiny veins give them a delicate structure.  
The taller a stalk grows, the more it is exposed to the streaming water, which will bend it into a horizontal position. The stalks still grows on for a while - they can reach a length of up to three peds, but as the plant wants to grow towards the light as most do, ,branches‘ sprout upwards out of the horizontal floating stalks, light green leaves emerge which get darker with the time. Then the current  bends these new perchers as well, new stalks grow out of these, the cycle begins again. So a bed of Waterleafs can very well reach a height of nearly a ped, depending on the depth of the creek. The oldest leaves, those close to the bottom of the river, are of the darkest green; the younger a leaf, the lighter its hue. The greens though tend all to be more bluish of in colour than yellow. Only leaves which are exposed to the air will turn to a kind of herne green, called ,oleaf‘ by the dyers, probably derived from ,old leaf‘.
Once the last stalk is close enough to the surface, little ,twigs‘ will grow towards the surface, build out smaller leaves and a flower bud develops above the surface. Only when the sun is shining on these buds, they will open and display six pale blue, green rimmed, pointed petals and their red inner core. The flowers are only one and a half nailsbreadth in diameter, but their exquisite design is said to have Baveras (I just want to double check. Above, the only mention of Baveras related to a different plant. Did you mean Baveras here?) brought to tears out of joy.  

_{ALL IN ALL, I LIKE THIS SECTION}.


Territory
The Waterleaf grows in cold streaming water, in rivulets, creeks and rivers, if they are it is not deeper than about a ped. Mainly at home in Southern Santharia, it has spread to Nybelmar and Northern Sarvonia also, depending though on whether a similar climate is present.  Recent researchers have found, that it dies in areas, where too many people are living upstream, in close vicinity. Pikel Thunderstone, a green druid, claims, that the human wastes dumped into the rivers are responsible for its extinction in this regions.

_{TOO MANY COMMAS. REMEMBER, "IF IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT." THAT'S AN ADAGE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE BY.}


Usages

Colour for dyeing:

The Waterleaf is used to dye fabrics with many shades of green. As the hue of the colour varies with the age of the leaves, they are harvested with care, kept in water all the time until they are used, sorted out depending on which colour is wished and then processed, a secret no dyer will tell. As the shades of green vary with the age of the leaves, they are harvested with care and stored in water until they are to be used. They are sorted by colour, and it is known that no dyer will share the secrets of processing the leaves. However, though the colour stays bright and true for years, with the time it degenerates to a more herne green, oleaf, especially when of darker hue and exposed to the sun.

To name a few examples for great dresses and gowns which were dyed with waterleaf:

Queen Alaveras wore a deep sognastheen gown (matching the colour of her eyes) with silver embroidery when she met her future husband, Santhros Tiandor, for the first time.

Santhros Tiandor favours a dark green hunting outfit (coloured with the leaves growing near the bottom of the waterleaf bed).

Fauger Faugar (isn't it?), the famous Nermeran artist, painted Masterbard Judith of Bardavos in a green dress, which was most surely dyed with the waterleaf also (If in doubt, leave it out. If you're not sure of this, remove it.).  However, as we can see, this picture was created at a time, where Mistress Judith was not yet as famous as she is now. Parts of the colour of her dress starts to fade and get this oleaf colour! (Why do these last two sentences matter? It seems somewhat like sucking up since Judy knows we love her anyway.)



Judith of Bardavos

Don't know, why the direct link does not work! Art??

More to come..  I‘ll take proposals..

Shelter for fish and watersnails:

In the often dense-growing Waterleaf, many animals find shelter and food, which are harvested mostly by humans and hobbits (This whole last part looks like it refers to the food. If you're referring to the fish being "harvested" rephrase.). Especially the there (This doesn't make sense.) living little redhoused waterleaf crumpet (??) is said to be a delicatess which surpasses in taste any other landbound snail. (I won't comment on the crumpet since there's already a conversation about it below.)

A remedy against impotence and more

Nothing is said helps more against the failure of manhood than the stalks of this plant (Curious, then, that the stalk bends under pressure. ;D)., or enhances the pleasure a woman can have when she beds her lover. It is cheap and easy to apply also. No fresh leaves or stalks are needed, the dried and powdered stalks are as helpful. (This is written extremely bluntly and should be formatted as thus:) No fresh leaves or stalks are needed; the dried and powdered stalks are as helpful. (I find the phrase "as helpful" to be odd, though. It suggests that fresh stalks can also be used.) Though the quality is thought to depend of the colour of the tasteless powder (the darker , the better), this is not proven. A ladle of the powder mixed with water and drunk shortly before the encounter of the other gender can result in a splendid time.

However, the problem is, as mentioned, the ,can‘. Sometimes half a ladle is enough to provide the lovers with unknown pleasures, sometimes not. If the desired effect is not reached, another ladle can be taken, or more. There are no sideeffects known which would harm any human, dwarf, elf, hobbit or whoever wants to use it. (So, you've invented ecstasy... Here I was thinking it was just harmless ol' viagra.)

So why is it not used widespread and by everybody? Well, a  man‘s pride does forbid him to admit, that he needs such a ,help‘ to satisfy a woman. So, if he takes the powder, he will do it in secret. There is a ,harmless‘ sideeffect though, which may show or may not. Sometimes, the skin of the user gets an oleaf hue, sometimes more, sometimes less visible. It is not certain, that it appears always with a high dose taken, the colour which the skin might take afterwards does not depend on the quantity consumed. This ,ability‘ is the reason, the plant is also called Etherus‘ Smirk, for it is said, Etherus gave the plant this attribute to laugh at its users afterwards.

This property to colour the skin of those who eat or drink it is often used among the young folk of a village to play a joke on somebody they deem ,worthy‘. The tasteless powder is mixed in some food (Congratulations, you've invented the base of roofies. xD) the unsuspecting victim will eat, and the laughter and teasing is great the next day should the effect show. („Oh, did you fall in a bed of waterleafs?“ being the most harmless remark.)

Though the powder is the most common form for its usage, fresh stalks are served as well  - in respective respected (einschlägig??) establishments for the higher society. As the stalks are tasteless, they are marinated, dressed and served as a salatd, accompanying any fine dish like trysters or a plate of waterleaf snails (see receipt of the well known house of pleasure, the ,Beauty of the South‘ in Strata).




Reproduction

As described above, little buds emerge over the water's surface, which open to pale blue blooms. They flower for a few days from early Rising Sun to Fallen Leaf, build out many tiny seeds which are carried away by the wind for a short or sometimes greater distance until they are dumped - if lucky, in another suitable body of water. Or they swim float downstream until they are soaked with water, sink down and are carried by the current, until they find a suitable place to root. In winter the plant dies, if the rivers are freezing to the ground, but out of a well developed rootsystem a new plant can grow in spring. In warmer areas, the Waterleaf can survive for years, but it may well happen, that suddenly a whole bed dies of, due to lack of enough nutrients in the gound or other unknown reasons. (Perhaps mention that the plant will die due to its becoming too large and sucking the soil dry of nutrience?)


Myth/Lore/Origins (optional)

The waterleaf is very often mistaken for the waterstar, a similar plant, dedicated to the sea-goddess Baveras. The waterstar and its fruits, the starberries, have potent healing qualities,; the waterleaf though has none. This confusion even led to the ornamentation of Baveras‘s shrines with depictions of the waterleaf instead of the waterstar, as one can see from the excavation of an old floor when a new bridge north of Lorehaven over the Griffon River was about to be constructed in the month of changing winds in 1670 a.S. The mosaic is complete and shows the petals of a waterleaf. Meanwhile a plant has settled in the niches between the granite slabs where in former times wooden columns were placed - the waterleaf, in two of its variations.  

Of course Etherus is said to have had his hands in the creation of the waterleaf. After the weathergod Grohtar had presented his love Baveras with the waterstar with all its benefits for especially pregnant women and as the starberries became a symbol for pure love, he was looking for a way how to betray people and add the aspect of lust, of forbidden pleasure. In a grouchy mood he went along a river, looking with displeasure at the waterstar, when his gace fell upon another waterplant. It had long stalks and small leaves as the waterstar, but its blooms were of bright hue from Sor‘inyt orange to Aeruillin red. Each of the six petal had a dark coloured rim. „Six“, he smiled, „how fortunate“, for six petals, though differently formed, had the waterstar also the waterstar also had six petals, though they were formed differently. And he bent down to the waterleaf, his hand hovered over it and the bloom began to fade, until it was of a light blue with a darker green rim only. Etherus had stolen the waterleaf's his very own colours, the oranges and reds. From this day on the waterleaf is called ,False Waterstar‘ or Etherus‘ Smirk‘. Baveras is said, doesn‘t mind beeing venerated with the waterleaf, as long as the heart of the worshiper is true in his belief.




Look also here

Ah, I forgot the receipt, it is coming!

A good entry, but you need to watch your comma use and punctuation use in general.

Why not give your snail a tent so s/he can hit the trading routes of Caelereth and go on holidays?

*Like*

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Updated , but not entirely finished (receipt and more examples)

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Finished, receipt including chant added!

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

Hi Talia -

Voila the promised comments. There's a lot of yellow there - but don't be disheartened: most comments are small. In general, things in brackets are suggestions for re-phrasing; when I have not put brackets around my formulations, I very strongly believe that you need to change your text, even if you may not agree with the particular rephrasing I have suggested.

In the beginning, I have always used strikethrough to mark text-to-be-corrected, but towards the end I felt that became too cumbersome, and I have simply replaced things with my yellow suggestions.

Hope this helps!

Shabakuk

Waterleaf, Dyer‘s Green, False Waterstar, Etherus‘ Smirk (splendid name!)

 
Categorization
Plant, Water Plant, Green Colour for Dyeing (I think it’s better to say: “Source of green dye” – but in any case, we don’t have a category for dyes, do we? So this entry will be filed under “Water Plants”, no?)



Basic Overview
The Waterleaf (pl Waterleafs)(I think “Waterleaves” would be more natural) is a common waterplant of Southern Sarvonia with long, floating stalks and short leaves of various greens which grows in shallow, streaming, sweet water.  It is used for dyeing and is referred to in some circles as the Dyer's Green. When advantage is taken of the stalk‘s property to help against acratia, people call it  Etherus‘ Smirk . (A bit of a cumbersome sentence, this. An alternative would be: “Another common name for this plant is Etherus’ Smirk, a reference to the medicinal properties of its stalk, which is an important ingredient in a remedy for acratia.”) As it the Waterleaf is often [color](easily (?))[/color] mixed up confused with the waterstar - a plant dedicated to (associated with the Water goddess) Baveras - it is named False Waterstar also.



Description
,Dyer‘s Delight‘ is one of the names for the Waterleaf, for its leaves come in many shades of green, from a light gnastheen to the deep green colour of the peace pine needles. (Hmm. You’ve just listed four different names, “Dyer’s Green” among them, and here you introduce yet another one. Maybe stick with “Dyer’s Green”? Or if you want Dyer’s Delight as well, include it in the overview, but simplify the current sentence. I’d suggest simply to say: “The Waterstar’s leaves come in many shades of green, from a light gnastheen (etc.) … pine needles.”, and to stp there.) Once its tiny seeds nestle in the ground bed of a river with clear streaming water, roots secure the place take hold, and soon stalks shoot of the ground up towards the water surface. There are many variations of the plant, dependent on the shape of the leaves and their size, which differ in the sizes and shapes of their leaves, (Another consideration: here you say that different varieties have leaves of different shades of green – but elsewhere you emphasize that the hue of the leaves is influenced by their age. Both can be true, of course, but I wonder whether the emphasis on different varieties is just a remnant of an early idea, and doesn’t really need to be mentioned?) but generally it can be described this way: Pale green leaves grow out of the stalks, alternately on each side at a distance of two nailsbreadths. The leaves themselves are about four nailsbreadths long and two broad. They are flat and thin, sit on a short stem, have a rounded base, but an acuminate tip.  Their tiny veins give them a delicate structure.  

The taller a stalk grows, the more it is exposed to the streaming water river current (?), which will bend it into a horizontal position. The stalks still grows on for a while – they can reach a length of up to three peds -  but as the plant wants to grow towards the light as most do, ,branches‘ sprout upwards out of the horizontal floating stalks, and light green leaves emerge which get darker with time. Then the current  bends these new perchers offshoots as well, new stalks grow out of these, the cycle begins again and so forth. So a bed of Waterleafs can very well reach a height of nearly a ped, depending on the depth of the creek. The oldest leaves, those close to the bottom of the river, are of the darkest green; the younger a leaf, the lighter its hue. The greens tend all all tend to be more bluish in colour than yellow. Only leaves which are exposed to the air will turn to a kind of herne green, called ,oleaf‘ by the dyers, probably derived from ,old leaf‘.  (I’m not sure I understand. First you say that the old leaves are close to the bottom of the river, but then you say that the dyers’ name for the leaves close to the water surface is derived from ‘old leaf’. Why?)

Once the last stalk is close enough to the water surface (add comma here) little ,twigs‘ will grow towards it, build out where they sprout smaller leaves and a flower bud, which develops above the surface. Only when the sun is shining on these buds, they will will they open and display six pale blue, green rimmed, pointed petals and their a red inner core. The flowers are only one and a half nailsbreadth in diameter, but of an exquisite design.



Territory
The Waterleaf grows in cold(add comma here)  streaming water, in rivulets, creeks and rivers, if it is as long as they are not deeper than about a ped. Mainly at home in Southern Santharia (do you mean “Sarvonia” here?), it has spread to Nybelmar and Northern Sarvonia also, depending on whether a similar climate is present (thriving in regions with a moderate climate.  Recent researchers have has found that it dies Waterleaves die (do not survive?) in areas where too many people are living live upstream in close vicinity. Pikel Thunderstone, a green druid, claims that this is due human wastes dumped into the rivers are responsible for its extinction in this regions , which poison the water and cause Waterleaves to wither.



Usages

Colour for dyeing Source of dye:
The Waterleaf is used to dye fabrics with many shades of green. As the shades of green vary with the age of the leaves, they are harvested with care and stored in water until they are to be used. They are sorted by colour, and it is known that no dyer will share the secrets of processing the leaves. Though the colour stays bright and true for years, with the time it degenerates to a more herne green, or oleaf, especially when of darker hue and exposed to the sun.
To name a few examples for great dresses and gowns which were dyed with waterleaf:

Queen Alaveras wore a deep sognastheen gown (matching the colour of her eyes) with silver embroidery when she met her future husband, Santhros Tiandor, for the first time , Santhros Tiandor.
Santhros Tiandor favours a dark green hunting outfit (coloured dyed with the leaves growing near the bottom of the waterleaf bed).

Faugar, the famous Nermeran artist, painted Masterbard Judith of Bardavos in a green dress, which was dyed with the waterleaf also.  As we can see, this picture was created at a time, where Mistress Judith was not yet as famous as she is now (and with when her a well filled purse was not as well filled). Parts of the colour Some of the colours of her dress starts have begun to fade and get this turned oleaf colour!

(Why do these last two sentences matter? It seems somewhat like sucking up since Judy knows we love her anyway.)<--Cruci

Because now she wouldn‘t wear a dress with faded colours.

http://www.santharia.com/pictures/faugar/bard_judith.htm

The contemporary mage Dalmac Brandivere (born ca. 1598), renowned less for his control of magic than for his herbal skills and encyclopedic knowledge of plants, often referred to as Dalmac the Green, is portrait potrayed by the Santharian artist Eratinalifalah in a robe of light green. His clothes were probably dyed with only the very light coloured top leaves which that grow near the surface.
http://www.santharia.com/pictures/eratin/dalmac_brandivere.htm

An example for the dark hue of the waterleaf can be found in a picture drawn by the great sage Artimidor Federkiel himself: Master Tribell‘s hat shows a beautiful variation of that colour!
http://www.santharia.com/people/people_pics/tribell_master3.jpg


Shelter for fish and watersnails:

In the often dense growing Waterleaf, many animals find shelter and food. (Many animals find shelter and food among Waterleaves, which often grow in dense clusters.) Especially the red shelled tent snail is known well as it is said to be a delicacy which surpasses in taste any other land bound snail. (Alternative: "Among these is the red-shelled tent snail, a well-known delicacy said to surpass in taste all other snails." (It’s not land-bound, is it, if it lives in the water among the waterleaves?)) (I moved the following sentence from the end of this paragraph to this position – see what you think.) Served with the carefully stewed pale green stalks of the waterleaf and a young blue waterleaf perch (what is a ‘young blue waterleaf perch’? I guess it’s the fish you drew – but a new reader might not guess that. Maybe add “.. waterleaf perch – a small fish that is known to hide from its predators in clusters of waterleaves” or something like this.) it is not only good to eat, but a feast for the eye also. This curious As its name implies, the tent snail sports unlike other snails a tent-shaped house. Funnily enough only those which tent snails that  live from feed on the green waterleaf have red houses, whereas other varieties tend to have ordinary orange to brown ones, although those living at on (or: near) the iceland coasts have blue ones.

A remedy against impotence and more

Nothing is said helps more against There is no better remedy for the failure of manhood than the stalks of this plant. (Suggested addition: All respected authorities say so, and since a considerable number of respected authorities are old and male, we have reason to trust their judgement.) Or Moreover, a preparation of Waterleaf, taken by a woman about to bed her lover, is known to enhance her pleasure also. (I wasn’t quite sure here whether you meant that the woman benefits from the man taking Waterleaf, or whether it acts as an aphrodisiac for women. I have aimed to emphasize the second sense.) It A concoction of Waterleaf is cheap and easy to apply also prepare. No fresh leaves or stalks are needed; the dried and powdered stalks are as helpful (potent), but and much easier to use.  Though the quality is thought to depend of the colour of the tasteless powder (the darker , the better), this is not proven. A ladle of the powder mixed with water and drunk shortly before the encounter of the other gender (an amorous/romantic/etherean encounter) can result in a splendid time.

However, the problem is, as mentioned, the ,can‘ the required dosage appears to vary without logic, and for unknown reasons. Sometimes half a ladle is enough to provide the lovers with unknown pleasures, sometimes not. If the desired effect is not reached (achieved), another ladle can be taken, or more. There are no harmful (because – see your your own sentence below) side-effects known which would harm any human, dwarf, elf, hobbit or whoever wants to use it.
So why is it Waterleaf not used widespread (more frequently) and by everybody? Well, a  man‘s pride does forbid him to admit, that he needs such a ,help‘ a plant’s assistance to satisfy a woman. So, if he takes the powder, he will do it in secret. There is a ,harmless‘ side-effect though, which may show or may not occur: the skin of the user gets may assume an oleaf hue, sometimes more, sometimes less visible. It is not certain, that it appears always with a high dose taken, and the colour which the skin might take afterwards does not depend on the quantity consumed. The likelihood of this effect to occur does not appear to depend on the dosage taken – and neither does its intensity. At any rate, this … phenomenon[/color] is the reason, that the plant Waterleaf is also called Etherus‘ Smirk, for it is said, that Etherus, the God of lust and ecstasy, gave the plant this attribute to laugh at its users afterwards.
This property to colour the skin of those who eat or drink it is often used among the young folk of a village to play a joke on somebody they deem ,worthy‘. The tasteless powder is mixed in some food the unsuspecting victim’s food will eat, and the laughter and teasing is great the next day should the effect show. („Oh, did you fall in a bed of waterleafs?“ being the most harmless remark.)

Though the powder is the most common form for its usage for preparations of Waterleaf aphrodisiacs, fresh stalks are served as well  - in respective (einschlägig??) establishments for the higher society certain establishments serving the needs of the higher society prefer to present their clients with fresh stalks of Waterleaf prior to delivery of their services . As the stalks themselves are tasteless, they are first marinated, dressed and served as a salad, accompanying any fine dish like trysters or a plate of waterleaf snails (see receipt  of the well known house of pleasure, the ,Beauty of the South‘ in Strata at the end of the essay).

Shaba, Art, help! What with? The above? See there!)

Fodder:

The aphrodisiac qualities of the Waterleaf has as described above were probably found due to discovered in the course of its use as fodder for domestic animals like pigs, sheep and cows. In the collection of written documents from the time soon after the foundation of Ciosa in 11340 b.S. a Glandorian historian remarks in his research papers, that the Darians, the tribe which was native to the region, feed a waterplant to their stock which was said to increase its fertility. So up And still today, Darian (?)farmers harvest the entire plant to feed it to prized bulls and stallions to improve their ,performance‘, or to their cows if they have problems with conceiving (is there an extra word for animals??) (fine, I think). Eusebius  Appleblossom, a famous contemporary Dogodan farmer (add comma) is convinced that the unusual big uncommonly large number of his  hogling piglets in every litter - more than ten where six to eight are usual – result from his extensive feeding of the waterleaf habit of mixing generous helpings of waterleaf into the adult hoglings’ food.


Reproduction

As described above, little buds emerge over the water‘s surface which open to pale blue blooms. They flower for a few days (at some point between the months of Rising Sun and Fallen Leaf), build out many tiny seeds which are carried away by the wind for a short or sometimes greater distance(add comma) until they are dumped (add comma) if lucky, in another suitable body of water. Or they float downstream until they are soaked with water, sink down and are carried by the current, until they find a suitable place to root. In winter the plant dies, if the rivers are freezing to the ground, but out of a well developed rootsystem a new plant can grow in spring. In warmer areas, the Waterleaf can survive for years, but it may well happen(no comma)  that suddenly a whole bed dies off, due to lack of enough nutrients in the ground or other unknown reasons.


Myth/Lore/Origins (optional)

The Waterleaf is very often mistaken for the waterstar, a similar plant, dedicated to that is associated with the sea-goddess Baveras. The ability to distinguish the two plants is important, since the waterstar and its fruits, the starberries, have potent healing qualities , while the waterleaf has none. This confusion of one plant for another even led to the ornamentation of Baveras‘s shrines with depictions of the waterleaf instead of the waterstar, as one can see from the excavation of an old floor when a new bridge north of Lorehaven over the Griffon River was about to be constructed in the month of changing winds in 1670 a.S. The mosaic is complete and shows the petals of a waterleaf. Meanwhile a plant has settled in the niches between the granite slabs where in former times wooden columns were placed - the waterleaf, in two of its variations.  

Of course Etherus is said to have had his hands in the creation of the waterleaf. After the weather-god Grothar had presented his love Baveras with the waterstar - with all the benefits it has pregnant women - and as the starberries became a symbol for pure love, Etherus was looking for a way to deceive the virtuous and add to smuggle into their pious love lives the aspect of lust, of forbidden pleasure. One day, when he was in a particularly grouchy mood, he went along a river, looking with displeasure at the waterstar, when his gaze fell upon another waterplant. It had long stalks and small leaves like the waterstar, but its blossoms were of bright hue from Sor‘inyt orange to Aeruillin red. Each of the six petal had a dark coloured rim. „Six“, he smiled, „how fortunate“, for the waterstar also had six petals, though they were formed differently. And he bent down to the waterleaf, his hand hovered over it and the bloom began to fade, until it was of a light blue with a darker green rim only. Etherus had stolen the waterleaf‘s very own colours, the oranges and reds. From this day on(add comma) the waterleaf was called ,False Waterstar‘ or Etherus‘ Smirk‘. It is commonly believed that Baveras doesn‘t mind when a worshipper associates her with the waterleaf, instead of her true flower, the waterstar, as long as the  worshipper's heart is true in its belief.

********

Receipt for Waterleaf Stalks , served e.g. in the Stratanian establishment 'Beauty of the South'

(serves two) (How useful!)


- Take about an od of fresh Waterleaf stalks that where kept in water until preparation since the time of their picking.

- Remove last leaves carefully, set them aside for decoration.
 
 - Cut the stalks into fingerlong sticks and put them in lightly salted, boiling  water for about as long as it takes to sing the following chant (add colon)

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
Otherwise I‘ll drown in grief
If she does me shove (I’m not sure about this last line, but don’t have a better idea at the moment.)

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
I‘m afraid a ruthless thief
might take away my dove

Waterleaf, oh waterleaf
Help me keep my love
It will be a great relief
When I‘ll  lie above. (I think you mean “lie on top”? That’s not the same as “lie above”. Lie on top: auf jemandem/etwas liegen; lie above: ueber etw/jemandem liegen. There's the rhyme to consider, of course. I'm sorry, I don't have a poetic mind tonight, and am unable to suggest an improvement!)



- Take them out and put them in cold water to keep them firm to the bite. Drain the water away and marinate them for a whole day according to your preference, for example:

Sweet Lady:  
1/2 ladle salt
1/2 ladle foridite
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
1 tablespoon oil of sunflowers
Some basiloc, very finely chopped
Some dochnuts, finely chopped

Before serving put a puff or greenpfepp over it and add the fresh leaves put aside at the beginning.

Served with roasted blue waterleaf perch or the red-shelled tent snail and accompanied by a light white wine it is an excellent meal. A Stratanian Injeruillin or a  Twilight‘s Hearth as after dinner drink will perfect it.

Nice little plant! And I am pleased that the little blue fish now have a name, too! Aura!

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Thanks Shaba!

I'll finish it soon!

Aura for the thorough check!

[Cruciform]

- Take about an od of fresh Waterleaf stalks that where kept in water until preparation since the time of their picking.

That should be "were kept" now "where kept". That just stuck out when I skimmed over it.

Give me a yell if you want another grammar/spelling check.

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Hmm, thanks Cruci, but there should be no grammar nor spellcheck needed after Shaba went through, apart from something he might have overlooked as well, as your example showed. But feel free to read it again

I have a few red parts though left, are they ok?

If yes, this is ready for upload, but I wait for the last comments till I'll change the icon.

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