Some say
its a freak of nature. Some say its pure evil. Well I say, "It's just a
poisonous flower for Santhros' sake." This
deadly herb is used widely by assassins. The Wild Rose or "Death Rose" is
exactly what it sounds like. It is a black rose that contains a deadly poison.
This ghastly flora was the result of various experiments done by the insane
Delberath, a gnomish mage. By some strange
accident, he happened upon a way to combine the essence of multiple living
things. He paid for this knowledge with his sanity, and opted to create a home
for himself in the Shivering Woods,
which is located in the upper part of Southern
Sarvonia. The Wild Rose is also known as "Nightweed", "Deathweed", "Demon
Flower" or "Death Rose".
|
Image description. The deadly Wild Rose, also commonly known as
"Death Rose" or "Nightweed". Drawn by
Seeker. |
Appearance.
The Wild Rose is not a plant to trifle with, said to be one of
the most deadliest plants in Southern
Sarvonia.
Its roots have a rather spidery
appearance, going much deeper into the ground that the size of the plant might
suggest. A heavenly cyhalloian
snow in colour, they seem to be the only part of the plant that is not
deadly.
Above the soil you might find that the appearance of the plant belies the title
'rose'. The Wild Rose usually produces four to six plants at one time, all
stemming from one seed and set of roots, and it usually grows to around one
fore. Its stem is an undesirable sickly brown in colour with rather large ithild
hued thorns, which serves as a warning as it contains the most potent of poisons
that the plant possesses, which also spreads into the two shriveled styruine
coloured leaves on each side of the stem of each individual flower. This poison
can be injected into the blood through the flower's thorns and is a rather
painful way to perish, being as it seems to eat away at your blood and rather
slowly at that. During the War of the Blood, it was a favourite torture method
of elven jailers. It was used on disobedient
prisoners.
Further up on the plant you would find its uncanny flower. This flower possesses
a cold, terrible beauty that alludes to the dangers that it possesses. In the
warmer months, the flower will turn a rich shade of nor'sidian. This is when the
poison inside of the flower becomes active. Unlike the poison in the stem, this
is an extremely potent anaesthetic, putting an average-sized human to sleep for
at least two days, and has the potential to put smaller creatures (such as
Brownies) into a comatose state for several
weeks, or even kill them given a high enough dosage. However, in the colder
months, the flower turns a light shade of barsa dusk. During this time, two
things happen. The first is that the flower will stop producing its poison, and
the remaining poison will then be broken down by various chemicals that the
flower releases. The second is that the rose will close up, appearing to become
a large version of its bud. During this time, many will clip the flower from its
stem and preserve it by pressing it between the pages of a book.

Territory.
The Wild Rose is only found in the upper areas of Southern
Sarvonia
(namely the
Shivering Woods
and the Vontron Forest), where it is
actually a rather commonly known plant. It is known to thrive on warm weather,
though it distinctly prefers and may only open in the shade. The Wild Rose
usually resides in forests, growing in moist, shady areas because more than the
bare minimum of sunlight that is found in a
shady forest area will kill this plant.

Usages.
The main use for the Wild Rose is that of its poison by assassins or other
crafty warriors. It is perfect for dipping
weapons into, or planting into someone's evening tea or milk, as it is
tasteless and contains a natural reagent that wards against rust. Some provinces
use this poison as a method of execution. Usually it is used on those who have
committed outrageous crimes, such as murder or treason. It is rather fitting
because of its slow and painful death. Some healers have utilized the flowers
anaesthetic solution in order to put patients to sleep or help with pain.

Reproduction.
This plant has a peculiar way of reproduction. It's roots spring up from the
ground and lurk ominously. Once an unlucky animal comes along, it ensnares it
with its roots. It then drags the unfortunate creature to it, where it secretes
its deadly poison onto the animal. By the time the plant is ready for this
procedure, its poison has matured to the point that contact with the skin is
enough to kill. The poison then eats away quickly at the animal, acting as an
acid. It takes three days at the most to do its job. As it dissolves the animal,
it releases tiny seeds into the carcass that later dissolve into the ground once
the procedure is completed. The original plant will then die, leaving four to
six more in its wake.

Origin. This plant is
believed to have been created by the insane experimenter, Delberath. Delberath
was one of the few gnomes that opt to become
Ximaxian mages. His particular areas of
expertise were the arts of summoning and
demonology. During one of his standard summonings, he accidentally fused a
chasm demon with a sacrificial
Carthasian bear. The new creation attacked
him, and successfully drove him insane before he was able to exterminate it. He
elected to stay at the Academy, despite
having been offered a full tuition refund upon leaving, and continued his
studies. When he eventually left twenty years later, he took his research with
him into the
Shivering Woods.
In his experiments of merging essence, he merged two plants together: The
nightshade bush, and the common rose. This resulted
in what is now known as the Wild Rose. It quickly spread throughout the
Shivering Woods,
and has been spread by the Criminals Underground into the forests mentioned
above. It is believed that this could be a deciding factor in his death.

Myth/Lore.
This plant is said to be sacred to Queprur,
the Aviarian Goddess of Death. As it
causes death on a number of levels, it is only fitting that it fall under her
jurisdiction. Some elves say that she was the
one that influenced Delberath to create this ghastly flower. Needless to say, it
is a must-have for some of her followers, and some even cultivate them in
private gardens, or even in damp cellars.
Long ago, this flower was once used to end the lives of heartbroken maidens who
had been rejected or scorned. The famous
Monsonius composed a rather dreary poem, telling of a young maiden who was
once scorned by a handsome young noble, and in fact used the flower to exact her
revenge. It was, in fact, one of his most early writings.
The Rose of Death
She withers, wilting and
dying
Writhing in agony for what once was
Denied and hurt by her only love
The devotion of her heart and soul
Cast away she was, without even pity's dull comfort
Wallowing in her own despair she faded
Transforming into a twisted wraith
Unfit for her love, surely she must be
Slowly, despair turned rage, and rage to hatred
She found she no longer loved him
But this did not free her from his shadow
But she must be free if ever she was to carry on
At the garden of night's edifice
The rose of death she plucked
And soon, very soon her betrayer would find
That Queprur hath no fury than a woman scorned.
 |