Nieblev

The Nieblev (dwarven tongue for blue seaweed) is a common plant found in The Blue Bay and is responsible for it's name. It grows all over the sea floor of the cove and is used in both cuisine and potion-making. The seaweed is collected by the Nieblarz, who dive down to seabed, farm the nieblev and then dry it before selling it.

Description

Even though the nieblev is called seaweed, it would be better described as underwater tree, as the plant grows with large trunks from the floor of the blue bay. It can grow up to thirty meters from the seabed, but is much smaller the deeper the cove is. Many of the nieblev near the coast even reach the sea surface, painting the bay in a dark blue color. On approximately the highest third of the plant, big blue leaves grow out in all directions, often spanning more than two meters to each side of the tree.

Obstacle for the seafaring

Since the nieblev grows so high on the coast of the blue bay and once formed one big forest around the cove, the humans searched for a solution to make it possible to sail their ships through there. At first they tried to just slip in between the forest, not expecting the plants to pose a threat to their ships. But soon some of their ships broke down on some of the harder, older nieblev.
Soon afterwards the idea to cut down some of the trees to make passageways through the underwater forest was born. The experimenting with magic and the enhancing of diving equipment started and only a few decade later the humans were able to dive at least forty meters down to the seabed.
The profession of the Niebleik, the seaweed cutters, was born and soon the first paths to the deeper parts of the bay were created.

Usage

While the nieblev has many uses after being harvested by the nieblarz in both potionmaking and cooking, the most important ones are listed here.

• Dried leaves for food: Many of the gathered leaves are dried in the sun or near open fire to preserve them for longer transport. They bring a natural saltiness and are used as seasoning in many meals. Some foods like fish or delicate meats are also wrapped in the weed, both for presentation and taste.
• Fresh leaves for food: In the towns and villages surrounding the bay, the leaves are also consumed fresh out of the water. In this state, they are quite nutritious and can be used both as the main ingredient of a dish, replace meat or as a vegetable to accompany the rest of the meal
• Dried leaves for medical purposes: The dried leaves of the nieblev are used to wrap fresh wounds, as it is documented that this usage lessens the chance of the injury becoming infected. But for this prevention method to work, the leaves need to be replaced every second hour and so it is quite expensive and only applied if the patient is able to pay a hefty price.
• Fresh leaves for potions: Some potion makers in Rashor and Tam mastered the skill of brewing healing potions out of the fresh leaves of the nieblev.