Demon's Breath
What is Demon's Breath
Spread, Danger, and Opportunity?
Geographic Distribution
Demon's Breath somehow grows in relative abundance on the noxious planet Veira-X97, despite the planet being quite inhospitable for both flora and fauna. In appearance, the Demon's Breath plant is quite the sight, it has multiple dark green stalks that grow from the ground each growing to up to two feet tall and ending in a large bulb-shaped head. The head, which adds another foot to this behemoth of a plant, is roughly 40 centimetres in diameter and has a thick leather-like skin that is purple mottled with brown spots.
This head has the ability to split open and has developed a reactionary defence mechanism of spitting acidic spray at predators, which often resembles a yellow smoke or mist, the spray being produced by excess sulphur dioxide it has pulled from the air. It does this whenever a perceived predator approaches to closely, which is essentially everything in the plant's opinion. Even a stiff breeze often sets of this toxic defence mechanism.
These plants grow thick roots that dig into the rocky surface of Veira-X97. The plants have evolved to pull in sulphur dioxide from the atmosphere for sustenance, which has made them the heartiest and most prevalent plant on the planet by far.
Large fields of Demon's Breath can be seen clinging to stretches of the landscape of Veira-X97, especially in the low foothills of volcanoes making these plants numerous and quite plentiful in those regions. They have not been studied extensively for a multitude of reasons, those that work on the planet don't really see it as a priority, and two, whenever these plants are approached one of their survival mechanisms is to releases a large store of sulphur dioxide into the face of whatever has approached it. Unfortunately, these noxious plumes have become acidic in the bellies of these plants and cause quite a lot of damage if struck.
However, a small group of intrepid researchers have recently discovered an interesting trait of the Demon's Breath that could lead to future opportunities. They have discovered that the plants not only pull in sulphur dioxide but also median quantities of other potentially hazardous gases like carbon dioxide and several dangerous sulphides. The researchers have noted that the air quality surrounding fields of Demon's Breath is actually less toxic than other areas on the planet and hypothesize that the plants have actually filtered the noxious gases and instead of releasing them back into the air have neutralized them somehow and seeped them into the ground as waste. This has lead to speculation that cleaner communities could potentially be built near these Demon's Breath fields, which could cut down on costly maintenance that is costly and frequently required for those communities currently operating on Veira-X97 by The Miners of Veira-X97.
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