Blackthorn

So I know it doesn’t look good, smell good and probably isn’t the tastiest or healthiest to devour raw… But I’ll be damned though if you can’t brew some killer tea from it.
-Bacchus Hertzenkranz

The Swamproot

The rootbased flower known as blackthorn is a plant that can only be found within cold and wet areas, such as swamplands, mires and the rare lake or rivers. In its appearance, it looks and acts like a toxic type of rose that has black leaves and curled thorns. Sometimes known as Saraksbloom due to a belief that it has some form of origin from the realms of Death.
While the rose’s poison wont kill anyone, rather having the effect of up to two hours of stinging pain, its root can be boiled out of its harmful effects, as can the petals of the flower.
This plant has both fame and infamy to its name. The prior because it has a lot of healing effects and the inky barbs on the oily leaves are just beautiful. The latter because of the scarcity. Being easy enough to find in areas where one has to risk life and limb to retrieve it.

A healing wonder

The medical properties consist of a combination of soothing, painkilling and anxiety-removing effects that come from inhaling the vapours from the burned root. It’s also edible and beyond a nice, spicy taste from the poison, it also has a tendency to attack necrosis as a type of preventative measure. Making high concentrated doses of the root a treatment against necrophage bites or wounds.
While it can not cure the necrosis, or zombification, it drastically increases the likelihood of survival from surgical treatments. Drinking a potion, or even just a tea brewed on the root can also make someone resistant towards necrophages. To the point one's blood might even be harmful to these creatures.

Violent Cuisine

The Blackthorn, while rare, is considered a nice delicacy among those of higher societal standing. Especially among the Dyskhari who consider the Saraksbloom a divine plant, ensuring brewing and partaking of its tea is considered a religious undertaking.
Beyond different types of tea, the blossom’s petals are also dried and ground to a spice. As the natural poison weakens from a lack of liquid, it leaves behind a powerful sensation not for the light of heart. With an oddly sweet taste of liquorice. Like that, the root is also edible but with a less spicy side and more of an overwhelmingly powerful taste of just liquorice.
Sometimes the barbs and leaves are crushed up and ground to a paste and then boiled, where the toxins and liquids are refined into an oil. While using this oil in food would be torture beyond the pain that eating the plant raw would cause, it is usefull coated on weapons utilized against necrophages. The refined version of the poison practically causes a chemical reaction within the necrosis of these creatures that make them burn from the inside-out in black flames. Oftentimes making a rather metal display when zombies start to burst ashen fire from their eyes.

Writing by Tonarus
Art AI generated with Midjourney

The Nachtblut

The Nachtblut is a Dyskhari tradition, mostly seen in the Naglovia region, where devoted followers of Sarak carefully prepare and partake in the tea from the ground up.
As this tradition exists to ward off evil forces, warriors and hunters of wicked creatures are often invited to these sermons before a terrible battle, to strengthen their resolve and purify them from infections.
Sometimes the Nachtblut even allows outsiders of other races and creeds to participate. Though with the catch that to be allowed the blessings and to drink of the black tea of Sarak, one has to present a carefully plucked flower to the priests, before the ceremony can begin.