Golden Dragavei

Golden Dragavei - coloquially Dragavei - is the name of a plant originating in the swamp known as the Dragmire in the northern region of the Duchy of Trasnia. This particular plant shares the same name as the notable noble house of the region, House Dragavei.
The plant is a semi-aquatic, thick weed that produces white flowers. Fireflies are attracted to the pollen and are its primary pollenators. The seeds of the Dragavei plant are encased in a calyx that allows them to float, and they often get stuck in the fur of animals and carried for miles unknowingly before falling to be planted elsewhere.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Long stalk with small white flowers along it. It has curled leaves around the seeds it produces.

Origin & Source

In the year 938 in Trandrafia, a large meteor shower rained meteorites over the coast of Trandrafia, one of which landed not far from Dragavei Castle. Following the meteor shower, the dragavei plant began to appear in the area and insects that ate from it or pollenated it exibit changes in the next generations. The sap of the plant is a yellow-gold.

History & Usage

Discovery

The Dragavei family is said to have discovered this plant growing not far from their castle, and named it after their house soon after. Alchemists who they hired discovered that either the plant spontaneously appeared after the meteorite landed, meaning it may have somehow been transported via the rock, or an existing common weed in the area may have been rapidly modified by exposure to the meteorite.

Everyday use

Sleeping Draughts. The first uses of the dragavei plant was in sleeping draughts. A proper concoction made with the plant could induce tired state. This was used to treat insomnia. A side-effect of these draughts is a deep sleep with vivid - sometimes too vivid - dreams. In some cases, the ability to wake a person affected by one of these draughts became difficult if not impossible until it wore off. More rumors around them caused some peasants to claim that the draught "drew their spirit from their body".

Numbing Agent. Once the proper doses of the plant were discovered for its various effects, House Dragavei put it to use in very small doses as a numbing agent. This came in several forms, from uses in medicine, which House Dragavei became known for supporting over the generations, and combat, where soldiers would take a draught to numb their senses to pain. The latter became less used after several side-effects were discovered, least of which were a mind-haze and a propensity to cause soldiers to fight without fear of injuries that they could not feel. The greater of which were a few survivors of an out-of-body experience where their body could not be controlled properly in the state.
Alchemists of the Society of Immortal Visions still use dragavei in an attempt to create a more reliable version of this "combat draught".

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Spirit Reaper Poison. Whether it lives up to the name is up to some debate, but poison made from the golden dragavei plant can cause a similar effect when introduced into the bloodstream via injury. If properly produced, the poison can "sever the spirit from the body", causing the body to remain in a state where the soul is loosed, unable to affect it in worst cases, essentially paralyzing the target. In high enough doses, without an antidote, the target of Spirit Reaper poison is left in what appears to be a state of stasis until natural processes cause its death (starvation, thirst, etc.). It is a highly illegal poison, disavowed by House Dragavei who rewards the capture of the poison or people who are in possession of the poison. Unfortunately, once the poison works its way through the body, there is little that can prove that it was the cause of a person's death.

Industrial Use

Doctors and surgeons use the plant often for medical purposes, especially surgeries in a battlefield environment.
Alchemists also use the plant in an attempt to expand on its uses and uncover its mysterious origins.

Refinement

In many cases of its use, the plant is boiled several times to dilute the properties to a safer level of usefulness.

Hazards

Constant contact with the dragavei plant has been suspected to cause side-effects in the ones using it, including but not restricted to: numbness of extremeties, lightheadedness, drowsiness and narcolepsy, and infertility.

Type

Organic

Odor

Ozone

Color

Green, White Flowers, Gold sap