The Ankh Flower.

I have also posted this in the Magic Forum, as it is essentially the basis of most Fae Magic, but as it is technically a plant, I've posted it here also.

The Ankh.

The Ankh is the most important plant in the Void. It does not seem much at first sight though. However, the tiny white petals of this flower are deceiving, for the Ankh contains great magic within its delicate form. If treated correctly, the resulting Fae dust can be extremely dangerous.

The Ankh grows by drawing sustenance from raw magic, or Xan, of which the Void has plenty. This causes it to seal magic in tiny amounts within its stem and leaves, which will remain there infinitely.

The Ankh can be dried, then ground to form a powder, which, if various incantations or enchantments are performed over it, will take on a power.

Description:- The Ankh is a relatively small flower, around just one palmspan high, however, the sheer numbers in which it grows makes up for the size. It has a light green stalk, from which tiny leaves sprout. These leaves are unique in their shape – they have the form of an arrowhead. It has tiny white petals in which much of the Xan is trapped. The stigma is blue. It generally is surrounded by a few hundred or so other Ankh, giving the impression of a carpet of white.

Territory:- The Ankh grows only in the void, but does so in vast numbers. It can grow in the most hostile conditions, as it needs not the regular substances required by other plants and flowers. It can grow in an area where no water flows, or where no light is permitted to reach. This is because the only food it needs is the Xan from the void, which is in plentiful supply.

Uses:- The Ankh is the most widely-used plant in the void. Its ability to trap Xan within its structure is a gift recognised by all Fae. It undergoes a special treatment so that this can be harnessed. This is as follows,

• First the Ankh must be collected. It is not hard to find Ankh, they grow in excessive abundance throughout the void. They must be cut the furthest down the stem, to ensure that the maximum of Xan is collected. If it is cut near the petals, or only half way down the stem, the resulting Fae dust will be weak and unable to achieve anything of a notable effect.

• When collected, Ankh must be left for around a week in cool conditions, in order to dry out. This process compacts the Xan into a smaller area, and Fae dust resulting from Ankh that has not been dried properly will never be as effective as those that have.

• After being dried, the Ankh is ready to be ground. This must be done with a grinder made from wood. If another implement not made from wood is used, the Fae dust will have no magical power. This is due to the fact that wood will not absorb the Xan whilst grinding the Ankh, whereas other materials will. During grinding the colour slowly changes to a pale pink, for reasons unknown.

• Finally, the resulting powder, which is usually called Fae dust, can be treated in several ways to harness the full potential of the Xan within it. Common treatments are,
- Addition of a specially prepared feather from a Roc, with the correct incantation (need to discuss), will give the Fae dust the power of levitation, this is for only a short amount of time, not rising more that a ped from the ground. This is in common use throughout Fae without the power of flight, and popular among Pixie children, who use it to escape from their frustrated parents.
- Addition of specially prepared Solaria and a lengthy incantation (discussion also needed) causes the Fae dust to take upon the ability to create small fires. This is in regular use, especially among travelling Fae, who use this dust to start small campfires.
- Addition of a mere piece of grass, also with an incantation, gives the Fae dust the ability to speed the time it takes for a plant to grow, if put in the soil around it. However, the resulting plant will never be the same as one grown for the correct length of time. For example, if used on Solaria, the resulting plant will not have the bright, golden petals that it should possess, but they shall be of a dark yellow colour.

Fae dust can be treated in countless ways, the examples given above are only the most frequent uses.

However, to successfully create a good, working Fae dust is a long and skilled process, if not prepared correctly the resulting product could have undesirable effects. Indeed, a story tells of a young Pixie who attempted to create the dust that enables plants to grow fast, as mentioned above, and did so, but as a result or poor preparation the tree did not stop growing! It was a good thirty peds wide before a remedy to the situation was found.

Reproduction:- The Ankh, not being as other flowers are and not requiring the basic conditions that all do, have a unique way of reproducing as would be expected. In fact, it could be said that the Ankh themselves do not reproduce, and that the void does so for them. For within the void the very memory, essence and life of the Ankh is stored. And so, when the void has an overload of Xan, it will simply cause more of the remarkable little flowers to grow, as to pass over the excess energy to the plants.

No-one knows how this exactly works, as no-one know how the Void itself thinks, if it even does. It is simply another mystery of the Etherial Void.

Myth/Lore/Origin:- There is a tale to how the first Ankh came about, and this is how it is told…

“Once, the Void was empty, a violent land full of nothingness. No life could live, grow or breathe in such a place. The raw Xan within the Void caused it to sink further into chaos, having nowhere to discharge the power that it contained. But yet, something happened. A seed somehow made its way into the Void, one single solitary seed, only the size of only a pinhead floated around in the terrifying winds that tore around the land. By some miracle, it landed and embedded itself deep within the heart of the Void. And slowly, and surely, it bloomed, how it did so will never be known. And, against all the wind, rain, thunder and hail, the tiny flower survived, persevered, refusing to give up. For some reason, the wild Xan did not affect it. It actually grew stronger everyday, drawing from the Xan and for a while the Void had a sense of meaning, this single lifeform gave it a purpose.

But then, the flower failed. Its end was near. Chaos would once more descend on the Void. So, as a parting gift the memory of the tiny plant was given to the Void, and from thereon the tiny flowers blossomed everywhere. The land became habitable, life could breathe, and slowly, the Void was inhabited.

And the people who dwelt called the tiny flower the Ankh, which means in Faerie “beloved”, for it truly is.”

To Have Flown With The Phoenix, Is To Have Lived Your Dreams...

Edited by: Artemis at: 10/15/02 10:30:17 am