Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit is a wonderful food, capable of bestowing great power into the hands of its consumer, but it comes with a great price. Few substances exist in this world that are capable of such crippling addiction like the Dragonfruit. Those who consume it fervently seek it at any cost, hoping to satiate their need for it, even ignoring the dangers of where it comes from and how it's created.

— Random Apothecary Man

Dragonfruit is a potent organic material that comes from the vines of the Breathroot plant. Originally considered to be something that only dragons and their related species could consume, that notion has been disproven, but at great costs. Non dragonkind who consume the fruit suffer from withdrawals that at best can fracture relationships, and at worst, drive a person to ruin.
Despite the downsides to consuming the fruit, it is common practice by those who can locate it, which is a task in itself. Only a single fruit grows from the vines of a Breathroot, leading to a scarcity of the addictive food. The danger in trying to even find a patch of Breathroot only adds to the difficulty of satiating the addiction overcoming one's mind.

Discovery of Dragonfruit

Dragonfruit and Breathroot were discovered by the first Gold Dragon Overlord, Avateyka Lustitia. The land of G. Central was an open expanse of hills, mountains and crags. Small villages dotted the landscape, leaving plenty of area untouched in the space in-between.
Though she was already teeming with power, Avateyka partook in a daily regiment focused on strengthening her capabilities. One of those exercises was the training of her breath weapon. While her power grew over the course of a year spent razing the countryside with fire and debilitating air, it also spawned a curious plant. The plant had an attractive physique and coloration to it, it matched Avateyka's scales. Attached to its vines was a single mound of golden fruit, with leathery, golden skin.
As she bit into the fruit, her body filled with adrenaline. Her senses overwhelmed her with information at such speed that her brain could hardly process what was happening, or what was changing in her body. She felt like her core was being gorged with the power of dragons of ancient times, and that at any moment the might of the predecessors would rip her apart to spill their force into the world at large. All she could do was exhale. A wave of bright-yellow flame shot from her mouth, filling the sky. Not only had she discovered Dragonfruit and Breathroot, but she had created a rival to the White Flame that Ajax Cinderclaw proudly boasted. The Golden Blaze.

Properties

Material Characteristics

Dragonfruit is a highly variable material that can have many different physical traits based on a number of factors. 

1. The skin of the fruit takes the color of whatever color/shade Dragon was responsible for creating the birthing Breathroot.
2. The shape of the fruit forms in the pattern of the creating Dragon's skull. This method of forming means that no two Dragonfruits will look exactly alike.
3. The accompanying berries that are produced with the fruit are species local to the area the Breathroot grows in.
4. The color of the flesh will always be a lighter shade of the skin. The color of the flesh is generally shared with the spikes, though there are exceptions.

Apart from these exceptions, dragonfruit are the same. A pitahaya fruit with leathery flesh, similar to a dragon's scales, and spiny spikes that serve as a defense mechanism to wild animals. The spikes converge into a thick segment that connects the top of the fruit to the Breathroot's vine.

Geology & Geography

Dragonfruit can only be found in wild, non-populated expanses of land, and only in areas where the progenitor Breathroot plant can grow. Common locations for it include the Fatale Steppe of Alezar, Severnaya Valley of Briggs and the Fetid Bog of Zalesh. These areas hold no civilized populations and are commonly razed by dragons in order to produce Breathroot plants.
Dragonfruit is also incapable of growing underground or in bodies of water, as it requires direct sunlight to grow. While the Breathroot plant can survive in these conditions, the fruit is unable to live and will shrivel into a dried-out husk. This makes some locations like Aeternum Forest difficult to utilize for Dragonfruit production, as the booming growth of trees constantly block sunlight.

Dangers of Modern Harvest

Because Breathroot can only be found in isolated areas away from civilization this leads to a number of perils to those lacking caution, should they seek dragonfruit. These areas are ripe with deadly wildlife capable of killing inexperienced or unwary travelers. Most times the locations are also uncharted on maps, or at the very least aren't extensively charted. This can also cause those who are unfamiliar with the locale to end up lost in an undocumented wilderness. In cases like these, there isn't any rescue coming. They're stuck there, isolated and disoriented as they wait for either the animals to strike, or for mother nature to take them into the sleepy embrace of death. 
The dangers of becoming lost can be minimized if one is accompanied by the dragon responsible for creating the Breathroot, or if that dragon has made record of the path they make to get there. But the ever-present danger that wildlife represents can never be minimized. When someone makes the decision to seek out dragonfruit they are actively acknowledging the risk of being mauled, torn apart or mentally damaged by any kind of wildlife in the area. Even with the dangers minimized, there are still threats and dangers that can assail even the most knowledgeable travelers.

Contested Territory: Because of the amount of dragons present across the continents, feuds often arise over who has control over what territory. Borders for each family's territory were created as a result of the Royal Family Charter in 463 EoD. But the prevalence and scarcity of dragonfruit leads dragons to fight one another over expanding borders to include plots of land one might believe has greater potential to create the coveted fruit.
Even dragons not included in the charter will assail a member of a royal house in an attempt to steal territory. These contests are typically resolved outside of actual combat, instead handled behind closed doors either by courts, religious intervention or mediation. Sometimes, however, no amount of negotiation will solve the problem and it must be decided via combat.

Dragon Fighting: When negotiation doesn't work, or in cases where a dragon attempts to illicitly use territory to create their own dragonfruit, violence is the answer. While not a common occurrence in today's age, the risk cannot be glossed over that you may come across two raging dragons vying for their chance to sow fruit. In cases like this, the best option is to run and hide, wait out the fight and hope that you aren't caught in the crossfire of any breath weapons.
Sometimes a wild animal may also pick a fight with a dragon in the midst of the daily breath routine. These are usually harmless, as there are very few animals that can fight on even footing with dragons. 

History & Usage

History

The fruit was originally thought to bestow curses and ailments to humankind and their related species due to the nature of how the fruit is formed and the shapes that it takes. Dragons utilized this idea to hoard as much of the commodity for themselves as possible. Having a collection of the fruit, especially ones shaped like oneself, was looked at as a sign of honor and royalty.
This notion changed when it was discovered that humankind is capable of consuming the fruit without risk of death. Though death was disproven, the idea that the fruit caused ailments in other non-dragon species was proven true, as any lucky consumer who was not of dragon relation would suffer the effects of crippling addiction.

Everyday use

The daily usage of dragonfruit has fallen drastically over the past millennia. Locations that satisfy the conditions for its growth are waning, and the known locations are constantly having their claims of ownership contested in combat.
When the fruit was more abundant, it was commonly consumed in draconic households as a dessert. Most specimens of the fruit tasted sweet, with some being more tart or succulent than others. Individual fruits that did not fall into this spectrum were given to preferred servants or even sold at market to freed persons that had spare income to spend.

Cultural Significance and Usage

As dragonfruit has become scarcer, the consumption of it has turned into a privilege for dragonkind. The days of being able to freely eat as much as one desired, stuffing their faces till their cheeks became numb or their bodies became vessels of destruction, are long passed. Now the fruit is considered a delicacy among the royal families, something to be treasured and only consumed for special occasions or when a significant boost in strength is required.
Humankind are only able to procure the fruit by buying it from registered merchants, otherwise they must come across it in the wild, steal it or be given it as a gift from royalty.
If you are a player in my games. Do not click this spoiler.

The consumption of dragonfruit also serves as the integral part of the Sacred Rite ritual performed at the Tiamacle. In order to complete the ritual, a prospect must consume an entire dragonfruit that matches the color of the prospect's scales. Failure to completely consume the fruit renders the consumer infertile, incapable of attempting the Sacred Rite in the future and also barrs that person's soul from ever entering Dracos Naan

Distribution

Trade & Market

Only licensed merchants may participate in the sale of dragonfruit, and those merchants must be the ones to gather the product from a dragon's territory with a valid permit. It is illegal for a merchant to sell any dragonfruit in the region where it was birthed. Because the effects of the fruit are amplified on dragonkind of the same color as the progenitor, any time spent in that home region increases the likelihood of theft taking place, which as a consequence prevents the government from taxing the income of the merchant that would be acquired upon a sale. 
Because of it's rare and exotic nature, dragonfruit is considered a delicacy and a must-buy item when a merchant with one is located. While there is no set price, typical market value of a single piece is around 100 platinum pieces. There are exceptions to this value, namely when bartering is involved, but most sales involving solely the fruit are fixed around this price. Dragons and wealthy persons who can afford the steep price are always on the lookout for traveling merchants, hoping that they will be lucky enough to carry such a gem.

Red Dragonfruit by StaticStar1 via Midjourney

An example of Dragonfruit, the red variety.

Type

Organic

Value

100 Platinum pieces per individual fruit

Rarity

Highly prized among dragon royalty

Taste

Varies depending on the dragon responsible for its creation.

Color

Dependent on breath weapon used.

Common State

Solid

Related Locations

• Severnaya Valley

Related Species

• Breathroot

Regarding Addiction

Consumption of dragonfruit by a non dragonkind race leaves them with a craving to consume more. This addiction manifests in the following ways:

• Increased aggression
• Lack of self-preservation, leading to increased risk taking
• Violent outbursts
• Withdrawal symptoms that can cause organ failure or brain death

There is no cure to these symptoms. Once someone has tasted the dragonfruit, the addiction will linger with them till their death.

— Addictive and Harmful Substances of the World, Chapter 1

Effects on Dragonkind 

Opposite of the negative effects on humankind, members of dragonkind benefit from the consumption of dragonfruit. The fruit acts as an accelerator to multiple metabolic and circulatory and cellular functions within the body. The muscular system also strengthens, leading to increased muscle mass and overall size. It is essentially what humans would call a steroid or performance enhancing substance. These effects are doubled, sometimes tripled in individuals who consume fruit that matches their scale coloration. 
These benefits do not come with a downside like they do for humankind. Dragon species are free to consume as much dragonfruit as they desire without fear of addiction or withdrawal.