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.

Appearance. 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.

25th Rising Sun 1671 a.S. Information provided by Jonael Tomeskrift