Witchwyre Weed

Eccch! By the Hermit above! Damned Witchwyre Weed. Its everywhere. Be careful where you step, and make sure your skin is completely covered. Any one of those wire tendrils touches skin and you're as good as a thrall to those monsters.

— Lantern Acolyte leading a squad of Templars in a Witchhunt

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Witchwyre is composed of two primary morphological components. The first is the snaking body of the weed, which can be dozens of feet long, depending on the age of the weed. This body component can be thin or bulbous, and can have any number of secondary bodies snaking off from it. The second part is the wire tendrils, which give the weed its name and are the true danger. Sprouting from any part of the weed's body, a Witchwyre can have thousands of tendrils that independently extend towards the nearest living thing: trees, other plants, and even bugs/animals. Once attached, these tendrils sap just energy and life from their targets to not kill them, thus enriching itself.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Witches are the primary users of the Witchwyre Weed, given the properties of its wire tendrils. Its most common use is as the binding element in a Poppet the witch may use to cast curses and hexes upon another living creature. Witches have also been known to sow the weed through a settlement's cropland and pastures to weaken the inhabitants so they are most pliant to dark magics.

Conservation Status

Due to the unsavory nature of the Witchwyre and its users, efforts are made to eliminate the weed wherever it intrudes upon settled areas. These efforts are redoubled during Pentarchy Witchhunts, as removing the weed takes part of a Witch's arsenal away from her. Unfortunately for the Pentarchy, the Witchwyre Weed can survive in almost all environments with very little sustenance, so its eradication has been greatly impeded.