The Slug Bloom serves as an analogy of our people.
Our repression, only coming to life when we were subjugated by the Shejlt-Rajh of old.
Our power, the pain of a Slug Bloom is just the same as our bullets.
Our culture, it too has thrived in the harshest of conditions and come into its own as a symbol of The Iron Sights.
Overview
The Slug Bloom is a storied plant, that evolved several millennia ago when the
Shejlt-Rajh destroyed the lands of
Khatoum.
The Yellow Flower is most known for it's ties to
The Iron Sights and its poisonous property that causes immense pain in whatever it penetrates. Ingesting the plant is said to feel the same as being shot.
Appearance
The Slug Bloom appears as a bright flowering plant, only growing to about six inches tall. The tip of the plant blooms during the summer, erupting into a orange-yellow blossom. This blossom is what contains the poison, which is created through the acids of the sulfuric hot springs that it grows around.
The leaves and stem of the flower are hardy, almost woody in texture and difficult to break. The brownish-green color contrasts from the bright flower.
Applications
The Slug Bloom only has one application, and that is to cause immense pain. Whether it is ingested, injected, or its vapors inhaled, if particles from the flower make it inside the body it will cause an intense pain known to bring most
Sophont to their knees.
The affects of the poison subside after about an hour, or if medical countermeasures are applied to the wound.
Ceremonial
The Iron Sights cult uses the Slug Bloom as an initiation rite given to those who wish to join the higher rankings of the group. The ritual often involves the ingestion of the plants extract, and then running a shooting course.
The reasoning behind this tradition is to illustrate that being a Gunslinger will get one shot, and should be able to run a course while dealing with the pain of a wound.
Combat Applications
The Iron Sights also have an art of creating an extract from the Slug Bloom, one that can be applied to projectiles to cause lasting pain upon being shot. These rounds are specially made by the highest ranking members of the Gunsmithing Guild.
High ranking members of the Iron Sights can have a certain amount of these bullets to use in their missions.Cultivation
The Slug Bloom requires a specific acidic compound to be in the soil for it to grow. This compound is only found around the acidic pits of
Khatoum. With the acidic pits removed during the reclaimation of
Khatoum, these plants now have to be grown in specific grow beds that simulate the original acidic environment.
Extraction of Poison
The Extraction of the Slug Bloom's pain-causing compound involves the rapid heating of the flower and the collection of the residue that results. This residue still holds the acidic properties that cause the pain, and can then be emulsified and dissolved into a base to create a powerful pain-inducing poison.
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