THE
NIGHTSHIMMER
VINE
("NIMBUS
FLOWER") |
The Nightshimmer Vine is a single broad-leafed climbing vine found throughout the whole world of Caelereth. It is also sometimes called "Nimbus Flower" or "Mooncharm" when referred by its flowers.
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Appearance.
The Nightshimmer is a single broad-leafed climbing vine. It will attach itself to any tree twining around
climbing for the branches. It will run along the lowest branches until it
reaches their ends, at which point it stops. Here the
Nightshimmer will drop looping tendrils half a
ped long laterally along these
branches. The leaves, growing alternately along the vine, are a dark green,
tear-shaped and a
palmspan across. Two opposing concentric rings of five
tear-shaped petals opening outward form the flower, which
has several long stamens projecting from the center. The entire flower is a dull
white and proliferates along the branch and looping tendrils. The flowers all
open at the same time and bloom for seven days, then they
and the entire plant dies. Before the flowers of the
Nightshimmer open, it resembles any common climber and is often
overlooked.
Special Abilities. It
is at night when this vine becomes other than what it appears. The flowers give
off a milky white radiance that seems almost translucent. Just a breath of a
wind and the flowers start a lazy kind of shimmering, shivering dance. This
movement has a very hypnotic quality about it. The flowers also emit a very
strong fragrance that seems to have an addictive quality. A person caught by the
fragrance and shimmering light will not leave until the flowers die. During the
day a person seems to still have lingering affects and often just sits under the
flowers or falls into an exhausted sleep, only to awake and be caught again.
Often a person who has been captivated for too long will
become too weak to move and die from lack of food and water.
Territory. The Nightshimmer
Vine has been found in forests on every continent of
Caelereth. It never seems to reappear
in the same area.
Usages. There are no
known uses for this vine. There are rumors that an
extremely skilled herbalist can use the petals to produce clairvoyant dreams.
Supposedly, given at bedtime, a person will have one or more clairvoyant dreams.
It is not clear if the petals are added to a tea or brewed as a tea. It is also
not clear how many are needed to produce these dreams.
Myth/Lore.
There are persistent stories from many different cultures about this vine. Every
story seems to agree to the same basic idea, although told a little differently
in each culture. The main theme is this: A vine once grew
beside a tiny village and when the flowers opened the entire village became
entrance. The villagers sat under these blooms for seven nights and seven days
and were still sitting there when some men from a neighboring village found
them. At first it was thought they were assembled for a town meeting. Upon
closer inspection they were found to be quite dead,
but all seemed to have a smile upon their faces.
A study of records has yet to produce any mentioned village on any known map,
history texts, trade routes or tax records. It is most likely a story used to
tell children. With the purpose, to frighten them into
better behavior of course.
Information provided by
Thuja
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