Ælen Blossom

The plant known as the ælen blossom is a special flower that holds great significance and reverence among the whole of Kadagard.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The flower nine, 2 inch, violet petals that have distinctive red splotches on them. These splotches are asymmetrical and irregular in pattern, but the distinctive mixture of colors is what gives the flower away. The stamens are bright blue and draw the eye due to their distinctive color. The stem of the plant is 18 inches tall and causes the plant to tower over other most flowers. The leaves are a distinctive shape unique to the ælen blossom: they are 24 inches and have a serrated shape to them, almost like the leaves of a fern but not quite.

Ecology and Habitats

While it is known across a continent, the blossom only blooms in the chilly reaches of the north. The regions that the flower grows the best are Brainey and Kiaglatch, as the flower is developed to withstand specific temperatures and grow in a specific type of soil. In addition, the plant only grows in dense forests, a habitat where flowers are normally incredibly rare. Where the flowers do grow, they normally grow in mass, creating patches of flowers in an otherwise barren space, save the trees.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

The plant’s coloration is a warning to others of its potent torpor inducing-ness. The petals have medicinal properties but one must be careful when using it. One cannot use the plant to cure minor diseases and illnesses, such as a cold or even measles, as the potency of the flower would be liable to kill a normal human. However for serious diseases, those liable to kill in mass, the plant has been an integral ingredient in their cures for centuries: In fact, it was the ælen blossom that allowed for the Bloodwhip to be cured, ending the plague’s reign of terror.
Its medicinal properties are used for nonmedical purposes, however. With the right ingredients, the torporific properties of the flower can become hallucinogenic. The flower of the ælen blossom when combined with the snow stone of the Allfire Peaks creates the compound known as Oracledust, a hallucinogenic powder that is known throughout Kadagard for its ecstasy inducing fantasies and supposed magical properties, though that has yet to be proven.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Many would enjoy having the flower grow in their country, but the requirements of the soil the blossom grows in are only met by the soil in the north. The northern regions past the Allfire Peaks are the only places the flower blooms naturally, and it is very common in Brainey and Kiaglatch.

Lifespan

2 years

Conservation Status

While the plant is revered and to some is holy, the plant is in no danger dying out and so has little official protection. Those who use the plant, however, do take the seeds, so they may plant new ones should something happen.

Average Height

18 inches

Geographic Distribution

• Brianey
• Kiaglatch