tikkoon

I am in the orchard and a few of the trees feel anxious. Is this normal? I would ask Jeb, but I didn’t want to leave them.

— Auren Reed

A rather high maintenance fruit-bearing tree, the tikkoon was genetically altered by the former inhabitants of Janikk to carry a uniquely strong sensitivity to light. Over the millennia when Janikk was allowed to grow wild with minimal interference the trees have since developed a fear of the dark, turning anxious at dusk in anticipation of the loss of the sun.

Basic Information

Anatomy

If you've tried everything on that list and can't find the problem, but night is falling and the moons aren't visible, check if the tree has a rough gray-white bark with three-pointed purple leaves.

— Tarvick Nalonni

The tikkoon is easily recognized by its purple leaves, arrayed in a lopsided three pointed star with the ribbed points nearest the base only slightly shorter than the midrib to its apex. The tree's bark is a light grayish white, with a tendency to peel and break off as the tree grows in size and diameter. Unlike most trees the bark of the tikkoon will grow back within five years.
Fruits begin as an elongated bright red, mellowing into a green then yellow as they ripen. The fruit is edible at any point in the ripening stage, beginning as tart, dry, and mildly spicy when first appearing before mellowing into a delicate, juicy sweetness with floral undertones once fully ripe.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The tikkoon is light-sensitive and afraid of the dark. You can help by putting the night lamps out if the orchard mages haven't hung them yet. Should be a shed nearby with the gardening tools.

— Tarvick Nalonni

Their light sensitivity allows the tikkoon to accurately track the seasons and time of day, information the tree uses to maximize its yield and minimize its strain from environmental conditions. Unfortunately this also leaves the trees with a fear of the dark. The Mordena help ease the trees' concerns by hanging specially enchanted lanterns on the trees' lower branches during overcast evenings and the double new moon.
Care must be taken to only use the lanterns when needed, as constant exposure to light confuses the trees' internal clocks and resets the trees' baseline lighting conditions to that of the lamps, causing unnecessary stress on the plant.

The lanterns need to come down again when the sun comes up, or the trees get too used to them and they won't help in the dark anymore. We tried growing some of the glowing night plants once instead of relying on the lanterns and it only worked for the first couple months.
Poor things.

— Jeb Kane

Scientific Name

Turikk tikkoon

Geographic Distribution

• Janikk

Further Reading