An altar will only be authentic if a Nélandrée blooms within. The clergy will provide a seed each year to each altar on the continent. Pilgrims are given a pot that contains a flower with seeds and roam the lands, stopping at each altar to provide its seed. It will then be up to each Dove to take care of their altar and its flower.
The Nélandrée, or formerly Whitebloom is a flower native to the southernmost part of the
Great Forest.
Religious symbol
Shortly after the beginning of the
Golden Age, it became the symbol of both the
Nelandrean Cult and the Menicean royal family.
Nelandra Aigleran was native to the only region where the species naturally grows: the
Whitebloom Plains. According to her friends and family, she especially loved the flower and was often seen carrying or even wearing some. This made it the perfect emblem when the clergy and the royal family were looking for one.
Later on,
Kelyeran Asturac even wrote that having a flower a requirement for every
Nelandrean Altar to be authentic. This led to the
White Castle to build its Nélandrée greenhouse to provide every altar with a flower, each year.
Delivering the flower
Pilgrims gather each year, on the 31st of the 2nd month at the
Peace Palace to get their gear before going on their sacred duty.
They can be recognized by the generally big pot they carry on their back, containing one or many flowers that give seeds, and to their traditional religious clothing. They are entrusted with the delivery of the seeds to a range of altars in a given region. The whole trip is paid by the clergy; Pilgrims are supposed to stay at the
common houses during their stopovers, but people often invite them to the inn or to their homes.
Growth, Specificities
To reproduce, Nélandrées require highly rich soil and hot, mild climate: conditions only met in the
Whitebloom Plains. However, a seed can nearly grow everywhere, which also made it very convenient for the Cult. The challenge was to actually deliver them. If Pilgrims carry a seeding flower on their back, it is because the seeds wither extremely quickly once they are plucked off the flower.
Once fully grown, the flower is very resistant and beautiful. It will bloom for a full year, before reproducing and dying.
soft explosion sounds Your local feedback wizard is here to give you some feedback and baked bread! smoke detector goes off Okay maybe just the feedback for today... This article is so connected to the Whitebloom Plains and all of your other articles that I can't really separate them all out in my head. That's a good thing! It means that the various parts of your world are working together which shows an internal logic. A wonderful thing to have! Kind of like with the Whitebloom Plains, a good proofreading before publishing the article goes a long way. Sentences like "Pilgrims will be entrusted with a pot carrying a seeding flower and will roam the lands with that purpose." and "They can be recognized to [by?] the generally big pot they carry on their back, containing one or many flowers that give seeds, and to their traditional religious clothing." can obscure meaning more than aid it, which is a real bummer for such a great article! Finding more specific vocabulary will also help too. Before I go bother Dhelian (again) I've got a quick question for you: does the flower have any other uses beyond its use as a religious symbol? Do they smell nice and brighten up a room? Are they associated with anything in literature, art or music? Such an important plant has affected the culture of Ménicéa beyond just religion, I'm sure! Alright, I've got to go and clean up my oven, but I'm rooting for you Happy :)
Hellooo, thanks again for your feedback o_o I knooow for the proofreading, I really suck at it. Thanks for pointing the problems out though, will correct them right now :) The Nélandrées definitely have a sweet smell, and I guess that the royal greenhouse sells the seeds they didn't need. I did not dig into the Menicean arts yet but they surely are in some books and songs. :) Thanks again for your time and kind words. ♥