BloodBloom - Tears of Cael's Wives

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[Jonael Tomeskrift]

This is a little flower I wanted to incorporate into the Greyrock Maw entry. It ties in with Caeltakkar, his horrible deeds, and his actions at Greyrock Maw. While I want to keep the flower as normal and 'down to earth' (pun possibly intended) as possible, the nature of its appearance in only that one area is something that'll need some tweeking. This being my first herbarium entry I'm hoping you veterans out there can help me with that aspect. Ta

BloodBloom aka Tears of Cael's Wives

Categorization > Flower

Overview
The Bloodbloom is a rich karikrimson flower that grows exclusively in and around the Greyrock Maw in the Tandala Highlands. It is more commonly known as “The Tears of Cael’s Wives”, a name that it owes to its association with the barbarian commander Caeltakkar, who assisted the orcs in the Third Sarvonian War. It is this man's ferocity and cruelty to the people of Sarvonia that is attributed as the main cause of the crimson Bloodbloom sprouting up on the site of his most famous battle. People of Astran say that before the decision to rename Greyrock Castle to Caeltakkar Keep, these flowers had never been seen, not here in Greyrock Keep, nor anywhere else along the Tandala Highlands. While their origin is shrouded in myth, the fact remains that the Tears of Cael's Wives grow strong and wicked out of this tortured soil, as if nature itself refused to let the spilt blood wash away.

Description
The Bloodbloom is relatively simple in composition, rather it is the appearance of this flower that strikes at the viewer. As if by magic, this flower’s colour draws the traveller’s gaze, not summoning them, but instead instilling in them an uneasy sense of dark awe; something so striking could never come from good. The colour of the Tears of Cael's wives is always a distinct, rich karikrimson. The withered edges of the petals on the other hand, often dried up and shrivelled, fade into rich browns and blacks. Dull yet radiant it catches the eye, even in autumn, when the Tandala Mountainsides are covered in rich orange and browns.

Six oval shaped petals flow away upwards from the stem, overlapping concentrically. Half way up, the petals then double over and bend outwards, their tips drooping back towards the ground. Striking about the flower is that while the centre is always lusciously coloured and whole, the hanging edge of the petals are irregular and seem to be in a constant state of wither, as if the flower were manifesting against itself.

Each stem, while fairly stout, only sprouts a single flower. Clinging to these the petals dangle like droplets of blood, hanging only a palmspan over the ground. Each 'plant' will grow several stems from one spot though. Further feeding the myth that these flowers are the earth's lament against the sorrowful bloodshed that occurred in this area, the Bloodbloom only grows in this land. In this it has become very efficient and resilient though, considering the rocky terrain of the Tandalas. As if to further emphasize its colour, these 'tears' also hardly grow leaves. Compared to other flowers, the relative size of the leaves to the flower is very small, though apparently enough to sustain the flower's extravagant colour and life. Looking at the nutrition these flowers need, observation suggests that they require surprisingly little of it, considering how dense these patches of flowers are sometimes found to grow in areas of the Greyrock Maw.

Territory
More astounding than the flower's reverberating colour though is its thick-headed resistance to grow anywhere but in Greyrock Maw. First sighted in this small spot in the southern Tandala Highlands, the Tears of Cael's Wives has never expanded outside the reaches of Caeltakkar's Keep and the mining expedition that took place in its vicinity during the third Sarvonian War. Officially, no attempts have been made to this day at growing these flowers away from Greyrock Maw, fear of the flower's sombre myth robbing anyone of the intention to meddle with it. As such, the bloodbloom remains growing solely in this single spot in Southern Sarvonia.

Usages
This flower is inedible and since it is not picked or studied, no particular uses have been determined for it. All the same, it is whispered amongst artists that crushing the Bloodbloom's petals to make crimson paint mixture results in a puddle of real blood; a constant curse and reminder of the Bloodshed that happened. In a few cases though, locals have come to harness this curse and the flower's message of benign hatred. The Bloodbloom has become the sign of dissatisfaction and hatred for local feuds and ill will from one local to another. If a farmer had the misfortune of some of his sheep being killed by another farmer's dog for example, but was then not compensated for it to his satisfaction, they would pick a couple of Bloodblooms and place several of these flowers outside of the accused farmer's doorstep, as a sign of utter dissatisfaction and lingering hatred.

Reproduction
Many like to think that the Tears of Cael's wives do not reproduce like ordinary plants do. Instead it is common folklore that this flower spawns up out of the blood drenched ground regardless of pollination, good seasons or bad seasons. Being a manifestation of the earth's protest, it is believed that the bloodbloom grows from the ground at random, and always in dense patches, like the gigantic pools of blood that would have been found staining this land in the time of war.

The bloodbloom blooms further into the season, when most other plant life has long dried up.  Often surviving into the early days of winter, one can witness a beautiful, albeit chilling sight: the view after the first snowfall, when the blanket of white snow is marked by the bright red flower. It has been described as looking out over a pristine field covered in drops of blood. The flowers will soon wither and die after this.

Myth/Lore
A fierce and twisted man, Caeltakkar abducted many women whom he kept as his personal harem for several years. He raped and mistreated them several times before he finally decided to kill and eat them, sending away his soldiers in search of new flesh. This is the man after which the bloodbloom is named; a cruel dedication of the earth to the insatiable blood-thirst of this barbarian.

Caeltakkar was the commander that won the Orcs their victory in 297 b.S. at Greyrock Maw. The Allies had established a mining encampment with which they hoped to penetrate into the Tandala Depths, thus thwarting the Orc's main route of attack into Southern Sarvonia. It took the orcs many skirmishes and countless losses until they called upon Commander Caeltakkar, who with his ruthless and tyrannical actions had earned quite a reputation for himself. He sieged the Allied forces at Greyrock Maw, and although both sides suffered great losses, Caeltakkar managed to stop the breach before it succeeded. The countless dead that had fallen in this area of the Tandala Highlands fed the ground with blood. While nothing happened in the aftermath of battle, nor immediately after the war, once the populace opted to rename Greyrock Castle to Caeltakkar Keep, the land, as if with character, protested and spewed out these crimson flowers. Until this day, they pearl the mountainside, reminding travellers of the blood that was spilt here.

[Valan Nonesuch]

Caelbloom? As a suggestion for the name?

[Bard Judith]

Bluttear.   Blodirs.   Caelcurse.   Wives'woe.  Bloodblight.   Blightbloom.   Bloodbloom.

[Bard Judith]

The last three are my favorites as they all complement the secondary title with their simplicity and naturalism, while the secondary suggests the complex and sad history very effectively. In this case, Blightbloom would be my pick - evocative without being overly dramatic!

[Jonael Tomeskrift]

Some awesome suggestions there! Thanks so much

I think I will leave the final decision of name up to Alt, if he'll accept. After all it's based on commander caeltakkar, who he's building up and had ideas about since the very beginning... So alt, all yours ^^ I'm fond of a bit of collab

I am quite fond of Bloodbloom though.. haha

[Deklitch Hardin]

To tie in with a bit of Santharian Development history ... what about _{Bloodrebloom?} Simplicity, and well ... yeah. (and to explain for anyone confused by that, it isn't a serious suggestion.)

[Jonael Tomeskrift]

Right, name applied, filled in all gaps except one date, which will unfortunately only be defined once Alt completes the entry on Caeltakkar himself, defining when that fateful battle occurs. Other than that though I'm hoping this little side entry is complete and ready in time for the update ^^ what say the Herbarium peeps?

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

I like Bloodbloom.   EDIT:  Okay, I guess that was settled, heh.


Really like the descrption of the flower, Jonael.  Can I add a small addendum?

The bloodbloom is a very resilent flower, and blooms further into the season, when most other plant life has long dried up.  Often surviving into the early days of winter, one can witness a beautiful, if not chilling if one knows the history of the area, view after the first snowfall, when the blanket of white snow is marked by the bright red flower.  It has been described as looking out over a pristine field covered in drops of blood.  The flowers will soon wither and die after this.

Feel free to use it or not, or edit it as you feel fit.

Love the little tale of lore in the usage section.  Wonder if you could come up with a tradition where emnity can be shown with the sending of these flowers?  Not an overt assassin calling card or such, but just local feuds and ill will.  Farmer Jones had some sheep killed by Farmer Browns dog, was not compensated for it to his satisfaction, so places several bloodblooms outside of Farmer Browns doorstep to find the next morn.  Just a sign of dissatisfaction.

Battle date will need to be in the first years of SW III in order for it to be a launching ground for the Darkfriends invasion into Southern Sarvonia.  So, lets put it two years after the start of SW III, say 297 bS.  That way, I have some time to build his reputatiuon as a smart general before he gets assigned to the Tandala area.


Great job, Jonael.  I really like this entry.  It incorporates a lot of the history of the area, and is not a stand alone entry just dropped into the area.  An aura for your work.  

[Jonael Tomeskrift]

Fantastic ideas, and I'm glad the entry as a whole functions. I have incorporated your two suggestions in green, since they agreed with my trail of thought. Cheers Alt ^^ *toast* to a lot more of this smooth collaboration surrounding Caeltakkar!

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Jonael, that's a great description! I always envy people who are able to describe such difficult things like the bloom, this upward and outward. There I curse, that I'm not a native speaker, but it would not be an easy task in my mother language also.

There is one paragraph, where you might add that it grows into the early winter also:

The colour of the Tears of Cael's wives is always a distinct, rich karikrimson. Dull yet radiant it catches the eye, even in autumn, when the Tandala Mountainsides are covered in rich orange and browns. As if by magic, this flowers colour draws the travellers gaze, not summoning them, but instead instilling in them an uneasy sense of dark awe. While the shades of the bloodbloom may vary, they will never stray too far from between karikrimson and Aerullin red. The withered edges of the petals on the other hand, often dried up and shrivelled, fade into rich browns and blacks.

You added the winter part later and probably forgot about this one. It is fine without also, though.
 

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Okay, you have piqued my interest, Jonael.  I'm doing some intensive reesearch into Astran and area, SW III, and Medieaval warefare and tactics.  I will begin gathering notes and present an entry of the battles for control of the Tandalas in that era.

Of course, with me you know it will take time.  The research phase is the longest part.

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

Jonael, this is a fantastic idea and was a joy to read. The idea of the crushed petals turning to blood is worthy of Poe, the use of the bloodbloom as a sign of resentment (and as a warning offorthcoming revenge or even feud, maybe?) is very atmospheric, and I loved the description of the bloodblooms sticking out of the winter's first snow. Aura from me.

One nitpick: I find that "assassin's calling card" is not a suitable description for Santharia. 'Calling card' is a pretty modern concept, no?


I would be happy to do a uri-check before the next update, but am unsure whether you & Alt are still working on the concept, and if therefore a thorough check would be premature?


PS: And have you decided yet which of your many current projects is going to be your masterwork?

[Shabakuk Zeborius Anfang]

... and one more comment, which I can't resist making. You write:

More reasonably though, it is assumed that the plant is simply very resilient and can thus grow in patterns that seem to defy external conditions. Naturally though it requires it's kin to reproduce and further it's growth, thus explaining the relative clustering into pools.

Personally, I think that this plant is a case where it's not necessary to label the fantastickal story a myth or supersition, and to include a "reasonable" explanation for strange occurences. This is a fantasy world: why shouldn't  the magical explanation be perfectly accurate? Why shouldn't  a flower actually grow because the earth decided to protest against the blood spilt on it? And even if the magical explanation might not be proven or certain, why should not a Santharian compendiumist - a person who lives in a world where magic undeniably exists - be perfectly willing to accept it?

I'm just saying this because I know that many entries feature this "it is said" and "according to myth" device, and often that's necessary to remain consistent within the world. But in this case, I think it's possible to give fantasy full reign.

But that's only a suggestion, and this matter is up to you, of course.

[Jonael Tomeskrift]

Haha, thanks Shaba, I am delighted that you enjoyed this wee entry.. though I'll have to be honest and say that most of the attributes you have pointed out were all brought in thanks to invaluable input from Alt, so I think he deserves some of the credit as well. None the less thank you very much for the appreciation, means a lot)

How about we change calling card to 'token' then?

As far as I am aware, the Bloodbloom is completed concept-wise. Since it does not delve into too much detail surrounding Caeltakkar it is less dependant on the man being completely defined. Unless Alt thinks otherwise, I'd say a uri-check is more than welcome.

As for the magic concept, you are totally right. I will happily admit that I sometimes fall prey to that 'explain it all' state of mind. It is much appreciated that you point this out Shaba, it'll make it harder to forget. I will make the necessary changes to that paragraph.

Regarding the Masterwork, I haven't actually had a proper think about it yet. At the moment I'm travelling between countries, I've got a work placement starting in Serbia next week for the next two months. I feel that if I am to tackle the Masterwork I want to be in a more stable situation: at home, my solid pc (not this flimsy laptop I'm lugging about on my travels), a big desk to spread papers over, couple of whiteboards on the wall to scribble thoughts down on; so that much like my situation, planning the Masterwork comes out solid and focused. At the moment I'm just enjoying the stream of entry-ideas I'm getting ^^ though, as no doubt has become obvious, all of them are bits and pieces that outline the goblins as a new race

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

I'd think your Gob-ocs will be a defining moment of your Santh career, Jonael, so maybe that should be your Masterwork.  Though a Masterwork need not be a long involved entry, in my mind, it should be something that defines you, and the Gob-ocs surely will for you.  You will be the official Gob-oc expert, once done.

And I need no credit here, they were just minor suggestions from myself.  You took them and integrated them and made them yours, so the credit is all yours, and I agree with Shabby's praise over the entry.

As for the uri, yes, I'm fine with you getting this entry up on site.  It is not tied to Caeltakkar, as such, so go forward with it.

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[Artimidor Federkiel]

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