Quitli Pepper

Contents

Kweet-lee

First, your mouth burns as if on fire— but, as in life, this soon gives way to healing calm.
— An alchemist
  The quitli pepper is found natively throughout the continent of Rqet, and has seen widespread use as a pain suppressant— both on its own, and within alchemical potions.  

Appearance

Quitli peppers are easily distinguished from others, due to their off-white coloring, and their unusual shape. Unlike other peppers, they tend to be thinner at their tops, and curve downwards to a wider bottom. Each tends to grow up to 5"-6".

A common cure

Quitli peppers are not terribly picky about where they are grown— and can be found anywhere from the searing Cipou Canyon to the thick rainforest of Ytoulch Chotol.   As a result of Rektouzk's many trade route throughout the world— the peppers have begun appearing in farms and gardens across the known world.

Growth

It takes around two months for a newly planted quitli pepper plant to produce fruit, afterwards this averages around one-hundred days. A week after it has grown, small three-petaled pale-yellow flowers will bloom from the plant, from which the fruit will slowly grow.  

Use

I feel as if my entire head has been lit aflame— I cry out for cool water, only for a moment later to feel soothed.
— A farmer
 
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When asked, those who have eaten a quitli pepper will simply say it tasted "hot, then not." The pepper is known to be notably hot in comparison to most other common peppers, giving those who require its usage pause before consuming it.   Typically, the heat and resulting pain are nearly instant— leaving many in tears and some screaming, before giving way mere minutes later to a soothing calm that takes away not only its own pain, but many of the others pains experienced by its patients. This only works for mild or average pains, however— for extreme pain, the pepper can only suppress its effects.   Some may choose to harvest the plant's flowers before the fruit has a chance to grow— believing them to have a "purer" pain-suppressing effect— while they do in fact, have a significantly reduced one. Though, they do lack the infamous heat of the pepper proper— which to some is a fair trade-off. This being somewhat common knowledge, the grand majority of people pick the ripe peppers, instead. It is sold commonly in most markets, and one can easily find pain-suppressing potions made from the pepper at their local alchemist. While most treat it as medicine, some add it to their meals alongside hotter peppers— in order to assuage their effects.  

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Comments

Author's Notes

Feedback is very much welcome! Whether on the content, or the formatting! Please, point out typos if you spot any!


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Aug 12, 2020 22:31 by Morgan Biscup

My father in law would love this pepper, he is a big fan of home remedies. Although he also loves spicy foods, so the "then not" might be considered a drawback in his case.  

only a for moment
Small typo here, with some disordered words.

Lead Author of Vazdimet.
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
Aug 12, 2020 22:49 by Grace Gittel Lewis

Who knows? And thanks for catching the typo! It was there only a for moment.

Aug 14, 2020 00:30 by Dr Emily Vair-Turnbull

I really like the contrast of a fiery pepper that is used as pain relief. Really clever idea, and certainly very memorable.

Emy x
Explore Etrea
Aug 14, 2020 04:56 by Grace Gittel Lewis

Thanks! It was a fun one to get back to writing with.

Aug 18, 2020 08:12 by Simo

This is very clever. I suppose you already know, but capsaicin actually has a two pathways for the analgesic effect: one is for the topical applications and it's caused by overload of the pain receptors that get numbed for a variable time (like what you describe), and the other is for ingestion because it can cause a release of endorphins (but this is less reliable because it is a very subjective reaction).

Aug 18, 2020 15:26 by Grace Gittel Lewis

Thanks! Yeah I was researching natural pain relief methods and came across capsaicin as one— and kinda thought that a topical cream was less practical in-game. I did NOT know that it could have some amount of pain relief when ingested, however— I've certainly never experienced that, myself! Glad that just...lined up haha.

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