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{{Info flora
{{Info flora
|officialname    = Shadow Weed
|image = Shadow Weed.png
|image = Shadow Weed.png
|commonname      = Dae Galenas
|officialname    = Shadow Weed
|classification  = Weed
|image = Shadow Weed.png
|origins        = Drowda
|commonname      = Warped Bloom, Fes'ännar
|habitat        = Thrives in damp, dark areas
|classification  = [[Herb]]
|commonuse      = Healing ingredient
|origins        = [[Drowda]]
|habitat        = Magic energy-saturated areas
|commonuse      = Culinary, Medicinal
|}}
|}}
 
The Shadow Weed was once a plant used to represent the [[Drovv]], and later a symbol of [[Allorn]] dominance over that distant [[Race]] when the [[Allorn Empire]] grew it in their gardens. Over millennia it was abandoned, becoming little more than a weed until the extreme magical energies of the [[Fifth Void Invasion]] altered it. It is now an agricultural crop of both the [[Kathar]] and the [[Sihndar]] and exists in two different, but not dissimilar, environments where it serves medicinal and culinary roles in those two different societies.
Native to the tainted and blackened forests of [[Drowda]], Shadow Weed is a violet-colored weed which has a variety of uses. Shadow Weed grows exclusively in dark and dimmed areas, occasionally discovered in underground caverns and caves. Originally reaped by the Elves of Drowda for its healing properties, they soon discovered Shadow Weed’s additional uses.


==History==
==History==
Shadow Weed has no records of any official discovery, and outside of Drowda, very little is actually known about the plant. Like most of the flora on Drowda, though, Shadow Weed has been magically altered, due to the overwhelming presence of Void magic within Drowda’s ecosystem. The [[Drowdar]] were the first to discover Shadow Weed, interpreting it as a gift from their formidable spider queen, Estel. The weed was initially harvested for its healing properties, aiding the Drowdar warriors who were injured in their battle against the demons of the Forsaken Continent.  
Shadow Weed likely began life as a species of flowering water flora native to Drovv lands. Attested to as “Drovv Water Blooms” when translated from Allorn Altalar records from the height of the Allorn Empire, the plant was sent across Allorn territory as a unique visual flora of a conquered people. However, as the Cults grew in power, this symbol of domination over a foreign Race grew in significance in the lands the Void-aligned dominated. However, even this proved a passing fad, and by the end of the Allorn Empire, the plant was growing wild and as common as a weed. This was also true in Drovv lands, as earlier symbology was discarded with time to focus on more martial imagery, as it seemed the Drovv could sense the danger the world was increasingly in. Thus when the Fifth Void Invasion took place, Shadow Weed was truly known as such, a weed not native to many of the places where it had taken root, and dismissed by those in its home territory.


It was one of the possessed Kathar of the continent who discovered Shadow Weed’s calming effects, and in the process, discovered that the weed also serves as a respiratory cleanser. When ingested, the weed will relax and clear the lungs, resulting in alleviating and calming sensations.
But the Invasion changed things for the species. For one, it grew in size, altering its color scheme while likely boosting nascent traits within the substance. Why the plant was not more healthy warped is unknown, but what is certain is that the force that altered it were at play in other parts of the world than just Drowda, as the plant underwent the same changes in multiple locations. Following the [[Cataclysm]] which reshaped the world, it took time for the Shadow Weed to be noticed by the different societies suffering and undergoing their transformation into the modern Kathar and Sihndar known today. Who discovered which traits first is unknown, but among the Kathar, both are said to have been discovered by a single man called Keshan’rahnor, while for the Sihndar it was a female member of their society called Jaxan living in the terrain dominated by Torama who learned the plant’s healing properties before her son, Xorrot, later discovered its culinary potential. Since that time, Shadow Weed has been cultivated in both regions for these varied uses, with some exchanged with outsiders for different supplies. However, it cannot be naturally grown in other areas of [[Aloria]] without specific transplantation and growth conditions being met, making it a rare plant to see in full beyond the [[Magic|Essence]]-soaked lands it hails from.


==Appearance==
==Appearance==
With four broad, upturned leaves near the base, Shadow Weed is a stubby dark-violet plant. Certain parts of the plant are more ashy in color, such as the sepals and the stigma. Shadow Weed has a bulbous, light purple head.
Shadow Weed is a slim plant that can grow up to two feet tall, extending up from small, thin tubers in the ground from which its roots sprout. Above this grows four spear-shaped leaves with parallel veins, with the plant’s central stalk growing out of this bush. This stalk is peppered with minor leaves barely an inch large at most and peeled stalk coating from the plant’s gradual growth into maturity. The pod, also sometimes called a “flower,” which grows at the top of the plant is peculiar, with a diamond or shield shape with the same texture and span of colors as the leaves, from pinks to purples to tainted oranges, along its thin membrane walls. The pod often remains closed, with a net of sticky, stringy fibers ending in the plant’s other well-known product: its seeds. Shadow Weed seeds, which can be harvested from the thin-walled pod with ease, are shiny and black with spots of purple.


==Uses and Abilities==
==Uses and Abilities==
Shadow Weed is a useful respiratory cleanser, clearing the lungs of unwanted substances, and will cause mild relaxation when consumed. The weed, similarly to [[Ruby Flower]], will speed up the healing process for wounds and injuries. When consumed by non-Drowdar and non-Kathar, however, Shadow Weed will cause severe sickness and high susceptibility to [[Void]] possession, due to the Void essence the plant has absorbed in Drowda, making it a very potentially dangerous plant. Shadow Weed will not make any mage more proficient at magic, regardless of whether they draw their form from the Void or not.
Shadow Weed has a pairing of uses much like other flora in Aloria, one in the sphere of healing and alchemy and another in the culinary scene. Shadow Weed roots and their large leaves have uses in general healing practices, from natural remedies to alchemical creations to sometimes even wrapping an injury in the large leaves themselves. The culinary use for the plant, on the other hand, comes from its pod and seeds. The flower-like pod can be used to make a relaxing tea, capable of calming nerves, while the seeds can be ground up and are often used in recipes calling for poppy seeds or similar agricultural products.  


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*Most [[Altalar]] will simply refer to Shadow Weed as its official name, rather than its Elven counterpart, often simply to spite the simplified version of Middle Elven that Drowdar speak.
*Rumors persisted for years that the plant was toxic to non-Sihndar and Kathar, all after an [[Ailor]] got food poisoning from a meal with a Shadow Seed loaf involved, when it was instead the poorly prepared oysters. This myth has largely been squashed in the modern day.
*Shadow Weed is especially unhealthy for [[Yanar]], and can be lethal if too much is ingested.  
*Some claim there are varieties of the plant which exhibit heavy [[Exist]]-centric alterations in color and form within the most Essence-soaked areas of Drowda.
 
*It is unknown if Torama played a role in creating Shadow Weed, but the Lesser Demons that are in his service are rarely seen to twist and make use of Shadow Weeds in their plant-like bodies. Those that do are often brightly colored with deep purples and strange growths.
{{Flora}}
{{Flora}}
{{Accreditation
{{Accreditation
|Writers = Eledana
|Writers = HydraLana
|Artists = Betterer
|Artists = Betterer
|Processors = Shayin, Shuikenai
|Processors = FireFan96, MantaRey, BillyTheScruffy
}}
}}
[[Category:flora]] [[category:Drowda Flora]] [[category: grasses]]
[[category:Flora]] [[category:Herbs]] [[category:Northbelt Flora]] [[category:Drowda Flora]]

Latest revision as of 19:02, 27 December 2023

Shadow Weed
Shadow Weed.png
Flora
Official Name Shadow Weed
Common Name Warped Bloom, Fes'ännar
Classification Herb
Common Use Culinary, Medicinal
Origins Drowda
Habitat Magic energy-saturated areas

The Shadow Weed was once a plant used to represent the Drovv, and later a symbol of Allorn dominance over that distant Race when the Allorn Empire grew it in their gardens. Over millennia it was abandoned, becoming little more than a weed until the extreme magical energies of the Fifth Void Invasion altered it. It is now an agricultural crop of both the Kathar and the Sihndar and exists in two different, but not dissimilar, environments where it serves medicinal and culinary roles in those two different societies.

History

Shadow Weed likely began life as a species of flowering water flora native to Drovv lands. Attested to as “Drovv Water Blooms” when translated from Allorn Altalar records from the height of the Allorn Empire, the plant was sent across Allorn territory as a unique visual flora of a conquered people. However, as the Cults grew in power, this symbol of domination over a foreign Race grew in significance in the lands the Void-aligned dominated. However, even this proved a passing fad, and by the end of the Allorn Empire, the plant was growing wild and as common as a weed. This was also true in Drovv lands, as earlier symbology was discarded with time to focus on more martial imagery, as it seemed the Drovv could sense the danger the world was increasingly in. Thus when the Fifth Void Invasion took place, Shadow Weed was truly known as such, a weed not native to many of the places where it had taken root, and dismissed by those in its home territory.

But the Invasion changed things for the species. For one, it grew in size, altering its color scheme while likely boosting nascent traits within the substance. Why the plant was not more healthy warped is unknown, but what is certain is that the force that altered it were at play in other parts of the world than just Drowda, as the plant underwent the same changes in multiple locations. Following the Cataclysm which reshaped the world, it took time for the Shadow Weed to be noticed by the different societies suffering and undergoing their transformation into the modern Kathar and Sihndar known today. Who discovered which traits first is unknown, but among the Kathar, both are said to have been discovered by a single man called Keshan’rahnor, while for the Sihndar it was a female member of their society called Jaxan living in the terrain dominated by Torama who learned the plant’s healing properties before her son, Xorrot, later discovered its culinary potential. Since that time, Shadow Weed has been cultivated in both regions for these varied uses, with some exchanged with outsiders for different supplies. However, it cannot be naturally grown in other areas of Aloria without specific transplantation and growth conditions being met, making it a rare plant to see in full beyond the Essence-soaked lands it hails from.

Appearance

Shadow Weed is a slim plant that can grow up to two feet tall, extending up from small, thin tubers in the ground from which its roots sprout. Above this grows four spear-shaped leaves with parallel veins, with the plant’s central stalk growing out of this bush. This stalk is peppered with minor leaves barely an inch large at most and peeled stalk coating from the plant’s gradual growth into maturity. The pod, also sometimes called a “flower,” which grows at the top of the plant is peculiar, with a diamond or shield shape with the same texture and span of colors as the leaves, from pinks to purples to tainted oranges, along its thin membrane walls. The pod often remains closed, with a net of sticky, stringy fibers ending in the plant’s other well-known product: its seeds. Shadow Weed seeds, which can be harvested from the thin-walled pod with ease, are shiny and black with spots of purple.

Uses and Abilities

Shadow Weed has a pairing of uses much like other flora in Aloria, one in the sphere of healing and alchemy and another in the culinary scene. Shadow Weed roots and their large leaves have uses in general healing practices, from natural remedies to alchemical creations to sometimes even wrapping an injury in the large leaves themselves. The culinary use for the plant, on the other hand, comes from its pod and seeds. The flower-like pod can be used to make a relaxing tea, capable of calming nerves, while the seeds can be ground up and are often used in recipes calling for poppy seeds or similar agricultural products.

Trivia

  • Rumors persisted for years that the plant was toxic to non-Sihndar and Kathar, all after an Ailor got food poisoning from a meal with a Shadow Seed loaf involved, when it was instead the poorly prepared oysters. This myth has largely been squashed in the modern day.
  • Some claim there are varieties of the plant which exhibit heavy Exist-centric alterations in color and form within the most Essence-soaked areas of Drowda.
  • It is unknown if Torama played a role in creating Shadow Weed, but the Lesser Demons that are in his service are rarely seen to twist and make use of Shadow Weeds in their plant-like bodies. Those that do are often brightly colored with deep purples and strange growths.

Accreditation
Writers HydraLana
Artists Betterer
Processors FireFan96, MantaRey, BillyTheScruffy
Last Editor HydraLana on 12/27/2023.

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