Thistle of the Undying

Plant Type

Tree

Rarity

Legendary

Description

Haunting the despairing, damp shadows in patient wait lies the obscure Thistle of the Undying. Its charcoal stalk melting in with the chilling, dark condition where it successfully thrives, as if the tree's own appearance acts as a type of camouflage from unsuspecting entities. The Thistle trunk curves back and fourth in wavy growth, with bark that intentionally peels off from the tree, giving off a gnarled and disconcerting look that can sometimes be sharp to the touch. Faded maroon leaves drape lamely downwards from its multitude of thin branches, an oily sheen reflecting off the top surface of the leaflets that catch even the most dim streams of sunlight, though many develop wrinkles to present an illusion of wilting. Even in the darkest folds, these leaves are sometimes the only things seen held motionless in the air.

Usually lying upon shallow ground and facing stubborn rock below, the Thistles roots have not adapted enough strength to break through gritty soil. Instead, its roots splay in vast ranges, sometimes able to reach up to thirty meters of land coverage and usually exposed above the surface. While this loose expansion may seem like a defect for the tree itself, one may soon realize that is not the case. It does not thrive off the minerals below, but from those above. Often feared by its seemingly twisted power, the Thistle feasts upon the souls of mortals, either it be animals or people. Achieved by this profane power the tree possesses, as one enters the boundary of its teeming roots, an onset of tiredness and fatigue can mark the death of a living being as their soul is literally extracted from their bodies. The loss of this pure life essence can increase into gut wrenching pain, which ensues as a rapid pace before succumbing to casualty. While this may be avoided by exiting the Thistles range, ignoring the drainage of energy is extremely lethal, and finally noticing the onset of pain can be too late to make escape possible.

Actually chopping down the trunk of this tree can be a nearly unobtainable goal, due to the small amount of time one can stay so close to it. A sample of a root or branch is a more realistic section of the tree that can be gathered. Either by chopping or breaking off a piece from a Thistle, the collector may notice a faded hue of red in the wood- and in this, the sapped essences of souls. Depending on the size obtained, a smaller piece would have less vitality than that of a larger one.

Location

The Thistle usually prefers flat terrain so its roots may spread as far as they possibly can, however it can only be found in cold, damp places that have some small amount of dirt ground. Often closer to the North, and occasionally in the darkest places of the marsh, the tree shadows itself in damp areas of caves where light may not even be able to penetrate.

Development

The Thistle is an extremely competitive tree, only replanting itself once it decays and falls from old age so a new, single sapling may take its place. Burgeoning at a slow pace, as it can only grow through the energy it captures, taking nearly [3 OOC months] for the plant to reach full maturity and expansion of roots. Less power surges throughout the tree before it reaches peak growth, and therefore harvesting a sapling may be completely useless if trying to extract from it. However, underestimating a younger Thistle can be a common mistake. Though its roots do not spread as far, entering its boundary still leads to similar reactions as a full grown tree would conceive.

Material Properties

• The Thistle is an extremely lethal tree, where death can take place only after short amount of time of being in the range of its roots.
• Roots of the Thistle can reach as far as 30 meters, its soul capturing range as far as its roots are.
• A collected segment from a Thistle has a form of power from the souls gathered inside of it from the tree. These can be divided from the wood through alchemical or magical purposes. Depending on the way it may be used in alchemy, it can have a wide-range of effects that can be immense in strength, though temporary. Generally able to be used as a base and left up to experimentation.
• Extracting a pure, whole form of a soul from a larger amount of wood can be achieved.

Alchemical Properties

• None

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier