Tree of Life

A tree of life is a weeping deciduous tree with a natural animus link. This infuses the tree with curative properties that can be further refined through alchemical means.
Many naturally occurring groves have had temples constructed around them to protect, cultivate, and harvest from them. Some of the oldest temples look more like fortresses, because historically entire groves have been deliberately sabotaged during faction wars.
However, the trees themselves can grow and potentially thrive in less than ideal conditions, as long as they are actively cared for. In zones where trees of life grow more easily, even some modest households boast of their very own tree of life, albeit many of these never outgrow a small pot. Merely keeping a tree of life alive inside the household is considered a sign of favor and good luck.
Almost every major city has at least one temple with a carefully tended tree of life in its courtyard. These temples house the wardens and their operations, producing aesul elixir and other similar curatives.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Naturally growing trees of life tend to have thin, gnarled black trunks, with crowns of long, spreading branches that eventually thin into weeping whips. They can only tolerate a modest number of branches before they become too heavy for the trunk to hold. Cultivated trees of life are often coaxed into straighter, thicker trunks to bear heavier, longer branches more easily, and thereby grow more leaves.
If healthy and growing in appropriate soil, the prized leaves of a tree of life grow in sleek, elongated shapes, and appear in shades graduating from a snow white to deep pink, often with faint, silvery veins. The animus link also causes these veins to glow faintly, which gives the entire tree a luminous quality after dark. However, if a tree is planted in soil that has seen heavy bloodshed, the leaves grow as a deep red or even black.

Ecology and Habitats

To achieve the best potency for the leaves, the tree must be cultivated in soil where blood has never been spilled, and be provided with a steady, pure source of water. They grow very deep roots, so careful attention must be paid when deliberately planting a new grove, or else one might find out the hard way that their site was once a battlefield.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Healthy leaves from a tree of life are the key ingredient in crafting aesul elixir.

Tree of Life by Dragonscribbles

Lifespan

40-160 years

Average Height

Natural: 10-20' Cultivated: 20-30'

Average Length

Cultivated trees can reach a width of 20'

Related Organizations

• Tree Wardens