Sundrop Lotus - Extinct
Historic Records
Early records from the settling of humans in Costrus indicate that these beautiful golden flowers could be found in most ponds and lakes across the land. They were used in small amounts at first to create healing salves and tinctures, but everything changed when the mages learned of the unique mana capture properties of the plant.
It was noted to be extremely stable and contain some of the highest levels of mana in any plant species. It is still considered the greatest alchemical ingredient to ever exist and mages are still upset about the loss.
Extinction
The sundrop lotus was quite simply picked into extinction. Due to the ease with which highly effective potions were made, even by common folk, and its seeming abundance, it became the first choice of anyone who needed to make any alchemical concoction. It didn't take long to notice that there was a supply problem, and within 30 years the plant was scarce, and in 40 it was gone. The last sighting of a wilting sundrop is still disputed, but the common belief is that it was in a mage's private gardens 3 years after the wild plants were no longer seen.
by RandoScorpio via MidJourney
Historic Notes
Very little is known about the growth cycle of the sundrop lotus, but there are extensive notes about the appearance of the flowers. It was said the best flowers had almost clear petals with glowing gold patterns on them, and that even the lowest quality lotuses were stunning and looked like golden glass in the sun. Poems, songs, and love letters featured the plant and they are even mentioned in some plays today.
She's as common as a grave thistle, but as beautiful as a sundrop lotus.
Lessons Learned
The Fabiana Flores is fiercely protected by the populations that are closest to the small populations of these rare plants. They are also the subject of many mages' studies. Lessons from the sundrop lotus have been applied in the protection of these rare and useful plants. Efforts are even made to ensure that common plants like the grave thistle are never over harvested.
While the sundrop is no longer found in large numbers there are incredibly small pockets of them still blooming deep within ruins where mana stones are found. Grand Magus Alferno has more detailed notes about the life cycle of the flower, and it's extensive root systems. He beleived that every flower was simply part of a much larger whole and that the surface flowers became cut off from the main root system because of the over harvesting, a survival technique that viewed humans as a disease. Alferno advises against picking the flowers in abundance and perhaps taking only one from an underground source every season. A stone tablet was left by these small ponds to be used to indicate whether a flower had been taken that year.
Entry for Worldbuilding Summer Camp 2023
Answering: "a species now considered extinct"
World banner created by RandoScorpio with assistance from Artbreeder.
All written content created exclusively by RandoScorpio unless otherwise stated.
A beautiful species-- it makes total sense that something that useful would become extinct. Was there a reason mages didn't study their growth or try to cultivate them?
Magic was a new field of study, and as with any new thing, we never know the damage we do, often, until it's too late. Contemporary examples of overhunting, fishing, and gathering abound in the real world, which are where I drew the inspiration. Imagine a new resource you believe to be renewable only to find out years later that it isn't. It was fun to lay the groundwork to explain why the Fabiana Flores was so protected and well-studied in the common era of this world. Thank you so much for reading!