These beautiful flowers are not only pleasant to look at, they serve quite a few other purposes as well. The vine can be woven into a very strong rope. The petals can be used as a hallucinogenic drug or be made into a dreadfully lethal poison. Only with great familiarity and much experimentation could one find the darker purposes of this flower. Thin petals of a hypnotic, nearly nor'sidian hue grow from a broad-leafed green vine. One can catch a glimpse of these gorgeous plants in nearly any temperate climate. Queprur's Blight is also known as "Lethal Pulchritude", a name given by Sir Lorek Sarnif. The elves call the plant "Ishím Aváth". This name literally translates to mean "Deceitful Beauty".

Appearance. These plants are famed widely for their colour, a deep purplish midnight blue that is almost black. These treacherous beauties possess five petals of this odd colour. There are eleven snow-white stamens and a single pistil the colour of fresh-flowing blood growing from the center of each flower. The flowers tend to grow in clusters of five to eight on a vivid green vine. Each portion of the vine with a blooming flower contains a cluster of five leaves nearby. The broad petals flourish outward and up, almost like a near black campfire. The flowers never measure more than one and a quarter palmspans across. Quite frequently the plants grow so closely together that their vines become intertwined, choking out other plants from lack of sunshine and water. These vicious violets can cover an area of near fifteen peds square. The vines have a tendency to grow across the ground, though climbing is not unheard of. The vine is about as thick as three human fingers around and grows to a length of almost six and one half peds.

The main roots grow deep into the ground and the secondary roots look like short hooks of wood. Each of the roots is only about four nailsbreadths long. They come from the bottom of the vine, from one end to the other and dig into the earth. The secondary roots anchor the vine into the soil.

Territory. These lethal lovelies grow only in very favourable temperate climates where the winters aren't too harsh. They mostly grow in forests all over Southern Sarvonia. Their boundaries are the Celeste Lowlands for the north, Ancythrian Sea for the east, Salsair for the west and Marcogg for the south. In the wintertime, the flowers close and shrink into a bulb shape the size of seven nailsbreadths round and curl up into the vine. These deadly graces are sometimes raised in gardens for their looks; the happy green-thumbs being unaware that the plant is a capable poison and highly addictive drug.

Usages. The flower can be made into a vile poison that the Kasumarii have favoured for generations. It is also used by many necromancers in the practice of their depraved craft. The well-earned nickname of this concoction is “Void Liquid” as it can cause death to a target in mere minutes. The assassin coats their chosen weapon in this poison, and then uses it on unsuspecting targets. The poison works by attacking the target’s muscles and sending them into agonizing convulsions. The body tenses up and becomes a cage of misery. Breathing then becomes laboured, blood flow slows, and then death comes for the victim only minutes later.

The result of these wounds is not always death; mild poisonings can result in a horrible sickness that lasts for days. Severe nausea, burning pain in the muscles, and blurred vision are the most common symptoms. This state of illness is commonly called Fate's Grip. There is no known antidote. Only mild relief is to come by way of a pain killer administered by a healer. The most commonly used is one made from the canelvous herb.

The process for producing this grotesque poison is a closely guarded secret among the Kasumarii and necromancers. The Kasumarii tribe has used this poison for countless years in their practices of assassination. It has also been given a degree of praise among necromancers, being whispered across the lips and to the ears from one magus to another for many decades.

The flower can also be picked, allowed to dry and smoked in a pipe. It is sometimes mixed with regular pipeweeds, though most prefer to smoke it alone to fully enjoy the satisfying taste. When this is done, it clears one’s thoughts, enhances the senses and induces a state of euphoria. Usually only one petal is needed to achieve this effect, however, more experienced users require more of the flower to get this feeling. The smoking of these flowers can occasionally induce hallucinations. This use of the plant is famed amongst scholars for the effect of mind clearing so they can focus on their tasks at hand. Many mages also put it in their pipes to help them think more clearly for casting and researching spells and reagents. Using the flowers for this purpose can rapidly cause dependency. Should an addict refrain from its use for more than a week, they will find themselves unable to focus clearly for just about a month. Severe headaches, chills and the shakes are also common side effects. On more rare occasions, temporary insanity can occur, as well as the inability to sleep. After the same amount of time, the addict returns to normal.

One can take the vine and weave it with care into a rope of great strength. The rope is ten times stronger than normal rope at only one quarter of the thickness. It is not only durable but flexible as well allowing it to be made into bowstrings. It is also highly revered in shipyards for loading heavy cargo. Many a farmer uses this rope to tie his or her horses to a wagon to help with plowing fields. It can also be used for grappling hooks in siege warfare, should the need arise. A drawback is that in the production, the vine emits a dust that if inhaled in large enough volumes, can be lethal. The death is a slow painful one that involves coughing up blood, sore throat, headaches and eye cramps. This dust is also irritating to human skin and will leave a great quantity of small red bumps that excrete pus.

Reproduction. Queprur’s Blight flowers have one of the oddest forms of reproduction ever documented, as they rely solely on death to spread the vines. Many types of birds eat the stamen and pistil parts of the flower because of its alluring scent, thereby getting the seeds pollinated in their system. Their body is unable to digest the seeds due to a waxy substance over them. Then the plant begins to grow inside the bird. Finally, the infant vine bursts out of the bird, killing it. This process is how these unique flowers gained such a devious name. The most common birds killed by this plant are aelirel birds. They catch a whiff while hunting, are lured to the plant and indulge. Since the flowers taste sweetly to them, the birds suspect nothing.

Myth/Lore. The main myth that surrounds this plant is that Queprur herself planted the very first vine to strangle out other plants and serve her fatal purposes. From this first vine, many grew and began to do the work of the death goddess.

Another far more disturbing myth is also spread about this plant. It is rumoured that if one receives a flower picked from this plant as a gift, they will die before the next dawn. This ancient tale is spread because famed assassin Veljik Liferipper gave one to each of his wives before he killed them. Not only was he a great contract killer, he was also a sadistic fiend.

25th Changing Winds 1669 a.S. Information provided by Lorek Sarnif