Ashthorn

Description:

is a cruel-blooming desert curse, a thorned and withering shrub said to grow where fire once consumed the breath of life. Its brittle branches claw the wind, and its pale flowers never open fully—only curling inward, as if mourning. Known as “the Thorn of Oaths” among oathbreakers and exile-priests, Ashthorn is both feared and respected: a poisoner’s prize and a desert warden’s last warning. Its sap sears the blood, and its smoke draws phantoms. It thrives in sun-scoured silence, blooming only where even vultures hesitate to tread.

Structure & Growth:

• Low, scraggly bush with twisted, barkless branches the color of old bone


• Grows in dry washes, salt-flats, and the mouths of sandstone ravines


• Thorns are long, needle-fine, and hollow—capable of breaking off beneath the skin


• Root system runs deep and wide, often twined around buried bones or ancient firepits

Color & Toxins:

• Flowers are a sickly white with streaks of red near the base, resembling cauterized wounds


• Sap is black and tar-like, thick and slow-flowing—burns flesh and clots blood unnaturally fast


• Crushed thorns release a bitter dust that causes coughing, blistering, and faintness


• In drought years, its poison intensifies, turning even a scratch into a fevered delirium

Scent & Reaction:

• When bruised, emits a dry, bitter scent like scorched sage and rusted brass


• Sap contact causes intense burning pain, followed by cold numbness and blackening skin


• Smoke from its branches invites hallucinations and spectral visitations—used by desert cults to summon the dead or the damned


• Flesh pierced by Ashthorn may not bleed, but will blacken around the wound within hours

Folklore:

"Ashthorn blooms where words were broken. It is whispered that this plant first sprang from the burial mound of a fire-seer betrayed by her kin. Her curses took root in sand and thorn. Exiles mark Ashthorn bushes with carved stones or blood-painted runes to avoid their wrath. Wanderers who sleep near one risk dreams filled with whispers in dead tongues. In some circles, its thorns are used to sign cursed pacts or sever sacred oaths. It is said that if you burn its flower at twilight and speak a name, that soul will feel the heat of your breath wherever they are—and know fear."