Firesap Tree

The jungles to the south of settled Tyrnabay are filled with many wonders. Some are quite dangerous, but others can be quite useful. For Tyrnabay itself, a land that relies heavily on sea commerce to flourish, few of these natural wonders have proven to be as valuable as one species of tree that grows around the base of the Grimstone Peaks, a species commonly known as the Firesap Tree.

Physical Characteristics

Firesap trees are needle-bearing conifers. They grow with tall, straight central trunks, with many narrow branches radiating outward in all directions at regular intervals upward. Typically, they reach heights of between 100 and 150 ft (30 to 45m), but the tallest specimens have been estimated to be nearly 200 ft (60m) tall. The trunk girth of these largest specimens can exceed 20ft (6m).

At first glance, firesap trees resemble many other large coniferous trees commonly found extending up the sides of mountain ranges all across Cartyrion. They are distinguished from other conifers most easily by the characteristic aroma they exude - similar to pine oil, but more volatile and stringent.

Firesap Tree

Native Range

Lower slopes of the Grimstone Peaks

Conservation Status

Were it not so difficult to harvest these trees and transport their lumber to the Tyrnabay shipyards, they likely would be close to extinction. However, the dangers associated with their remote location have protected them thus far.

Uses

For the seafarers of Tyrnabay, Firesap Trees provide two valuable resources: lumber, and the oil or sap for which the tree is named. Firesap wood is naturally fire-resistant, and thus an ideal material for the construction of warships. The trunks of younger trees, perhaps no more than 50ft (15m) in height, make excellent ship's masts.

Ships built of firesap wood are extremely rare; only second are known to sail the seas today. One is the flagship of High Captain Garnat Windjammer, the Invincible. This fast pursuit ship leads the fleet of the pirate company called the Scourge of the Waves.

The second is Tyrnabay's Pride, a warship owned by the Regent of Tyrnabay. Officially, this man-o-war is the flagship of the Tyrnabay Navy. It is rarely seen leaving its dock in Wolf's Bay, though; it's most common usage is as a venue for royal celebrations.
The sap of the trees can be used as a substitute for lamp oil without any refinement, though the material is considered too valuable for this common use.

Gnomish alchemists and engineers of Delveshadow have developed methods of refining the material to produce a sticky, extremely volatile material that is used in the much-feared firebomb ammunition employed by some of Tyrnabay's pirate fleets. There are rumors of a modified refinement technique employed to produce fuel for an engine of Gnomish design that could replace the reliance on the winds to propel ships at sea.

It is believed the few Red Dragons remaining in the world still seek out the trees as a supplement to their diet, perhaps as fuel for their own internal fires. Any truth to this would certainly add to the dangers involved in any attempt to harvest the trees or their sap.

Origins

There is much debate among scholars and clerics of the world as to whether the Firesap Trees were the work of Berdea of the Alevar, or whether they were placed by the deities responsible for awakening the Great Dragons and their lesser kin, the Kobolds. The fact that they are a favored food of the Red Dragons and other draconids capable of breathing fire suggests the latter may be true, though the aesthetic form of the tree is reminiscent of the work of the Elven gods. A third view, and the one most commonly held, is that the Dragonar merely "adapted" one of Berdea's creations to suit the needs of their dragon-kin children.

Credits

Page Banner Orc Warrior Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay
Page Banner Sailing Ship Image by GLady from Pixabay