Description:
Royal Bileworth is a striking, highly toxic plant known for its dramatic color, sharp scent, and bitter reputation. Often found in sun-drenched clearings, windswept moors, or near ancient battlegrounds, it stands tall with sharp, upright stalks crowned by vivid yellow-green bracts and black-veined blossoms. Though once cultivated for its potent uses in poisons, purges, and protective salves, it is now feared and revered in equal measure. The plant is said to “choose” when and where it blooms.
Stems & Growth:
- Grows in single, proud stalks from gnarled, woody roots resembling twisted limbs
- Stems are straight, ridged, and tinted with dark purples or bruise-blue hues
- Common in disturbed soils or places with long memory—old keeps, dueling fields, forgotten graves
- Exudes a faint acrid scent when bruised, similar to bile or burnt sage
Leaves:
- Long, narrow, and serrated, often marked with irregular black blotches
- Dark green with metallic sheen, stiff to the touch and bitter when crushed
- Said to shimmer slightly when touched by moonlight or firelight
Flowers:
- Sharp-petaled, star-like blooms in acidic yellow, tinged with green and black veins
- Bloom upright in a tight cluster like a crown or scepter’s tip
- Inner stamen oozes a thick, resinous fluid with a foul taste and numbing effect
- Rarely visited by insects—pollinated instead by wind or strange nocturnal moths
Folklore:
"Royal Bileworth has long been called the “King’s Scorn” or “Crownroot.” In old tales, it was said to sprout from the blood of betrayed monarchs or unjust executions. Witches used it to curse nobles or cure poison—depending on intent. Warriors sometimes carved charms from its dried roots to ward off deceit. Despite its danger, it is occasionally planted in boundary hedges to protect sacred or cursed ground. Folk wisdom warns: "Respect the Bileworth, or be ruled by it."
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