Throughout the long ages, Nehtor’s Tears provided beauty and wonder to those whose eyes have been blessed by seeing it. Nehtor’s Tears possess a sweet intoxicating aroma similar to that of a rose. The petals and leaves are thought to carry many medicinal powers and have become part of the lore of many cultures. It is believed that these aromatic flowers rose from the tears of the God of Healing, Nethor, himself because of the peculiar tear drop shape of the bulb.

Herbalists and apothecaries treasure the leaves of this plant for their concoctions to treat a variety of ailments including blood ailments and fertility issues. This robust plant grows well in most northern portions of Southern Sarvonia where the frost is hard enough to freeze the surface of the ground and soil is well drained.

Appearance. Nehtor’s Tears as they are known, are from the same family as the tulip although its flower look more like a cabbage rose. Their bluish purple bulbous roots resemble teardrops in shape and help account for its name. Small thin roots extend down from the bottom portion of the bulbs a short distance of only a palmspan or less.

The first shoots appear in early spring and blooms in mid summer, growing from the bulbs that inspired its name. Green stalks rise towards the sun from 1 to 1 1/2 palmspans, supporting a single delicately petaled flower. Gauging the size of the flower head is from 4 to 6 nailsbreadths and weighs about 2 mut it is a sizable and remarkable bloom. Botanists have been able to exceed this size and weight only slightly by cross pollination and other methods.

Intricately formed petals overlap each other and ripple at their apex helping give the illusion of a cabbage rose. Multiple layers of these wispy thin petals surround a trilogy of golden stamen. At the tips of each of the petals are small droplets of nectar highly prized by certain malises that work exclusively with this plant.

Colouring for these remarkable blossoms ranges from a pale Uderza blue to a deep Santhran violet. Some attempts have been made to modify the color of the bloom but with little if any success. The leaves of this plant are thin and blade-like in appearance growing to approximately 7 nailsbreadths to 1 palmspan in length before tapering to a sharp tip that bends gently in the breeze.

Nehtor's Tears will lie dormant from the end of fall until early springs when the first shoots will emerge from the hidden bulbs buried 2 nailsbreadths or so from the surface of the soil. As the weather warms, the green leaves will begin to develop, followed by the stems that will blossom in late spring or early summer. They will continue to produce flowers until the first frosts when the leaves and stems will dry back and remain dormant within the tear-shaped bulbs beneath the soil. During the fall, the bulbs may be removed from the ground and harvested where the new bulbs may be separated from the previous years and replanted in early spring. They will remain dormant until the first signs of spring return and the cycle of life begins again.

Territory. This plant grows nearly anywhere on the continent of Sarvonia where a hard enough frost and moist sandy soil may be found.

Usages. Although the flowering bulbs are highly prized for gardening they also can be crushed and boiled down to create a beautiful deep Uderza blue dye. This dye can be placed in a powder or paste form and used for many artistic purposes including dying fabrics and as a pigment in paint.

The leaves are steeped in water to form a bitter tasting tea that is thought to cure certain blood related illnesses and believed to help women and men with fertility issues. It is also believed that if the tea is consumed every day during the winter months colds can be avoided.

Reproduction. Nehtor’s Tears are able to multiply by pollination of the flowers. Malise that only pollinate this particular plant are attracted to the large delicate flowers smelling the nectar hidden within. As these insects work at gathering this liquid, pollen sticks to their legs and is then carried to another Nehtor’s Tears plant that is then pollinated. Seeds are then formed in the pollinated ovum of the flower thus providing one method of reproduction.

The bulbs divide to form others that will in turn produce another flower. These can be harvested in the fall and used to form a new plant.

Myth/Lore. Humans and elves both believe that the bulbs were formed by the tears of the God of Healing. According to legend when his first tears fell upon seeing part of the creation destroyed and reached the ground these beautiful flowers sprang from the soil. The plant symbolizes the cycle of life as it is "reborn" every spring and "dies" again in the fall.

18th Dead Leaf 1667 a.S. Information provided by Gervase Bertrand