Rolling hills of green are suddenly intercepted by a patch of crimson red. A battle was once fought across this gentle countryside. Many great soldiers lost their lives and what is left to show is a tangled mess of a dark red plant. One that grows forth ever seeking more dead.
Description
Corpse Nests are a type of flow mostly associated with death. These flowers grow similar to spider lilies, a red flower, the color of blood, blooms off a green stem. However, after they have matured instead of sending their pollen to the sky they look down, for more blood. Long spindles of leaves come out of the flower spreading out up to a couple of feet and burrow into the ground.
Eventually, those leaves that find corpses will have enough nutrients to grow their own flower, eventually repeating the process. Because of this large battlefields can become a large carpeted nest of intertwined flowers. Newer flowers compete to grow bigger than the others, or farther out.
Maintenance and Uses
Unlike normal flowers, Corpse Nests get their nutrients from corpses instead of the soil. Many herbalists have tried to manually give these plants their nutrients, however, few have found success. Herbalists have found that Corpse Nests are able to be used in incense to help commune with the spirits. As well as potions to ward off decay or to slow the decomposition process. Because of this many mortuaries try to keep a supply of flowers on them at all times.
Gravekeepers usually disdain Corpse Nests as they can easily grow out of control within a graveyard. As an invasive species, Corpse Nests are known to kill competing plants and have been known to completely overrun graveyards.
Mythology
It is unknown as to how and when the first Corpse Nest starts growing on the battlefield, as the plants do not have distinct seeds. Because of this many believe it is Ydes, the Goddess of Death, herself that plants the flowers. Ydes is pictured in many texts as leaving behind a nest of flowers in each footstep.
