Heartbloom
Heartbloom is the common name given to a rare alpine flowering plant prized for its extraordinary effect upon the heart, circulation, and nervous system. Found only at high elevations, it grows along exposed mountain slopes, rocky alpine meadows, and sheltered crevices near or above the treeline, where cold temperatures, thin soils, fierce winds, and intense sunlight discourage most larger vegetation. The plant itself is small and easily overlooked outside its brief flowering season, when it produces a distinctive deep crimson blossom from which its common name derives. Heartbloom is notoriously difficult to cultivate away from its native environment, and much of the world's supply continues to be gathered by hand from wild populations—an occupation in which the climb is frequently more dangerous than the harvest.
Properly prepared, Heartbloom is one of the most powerful natural cardiac and circulatory stimulants known to mundane medicine. Small, carefully measured doses dramatically increase heart rate and circulation, sharpen alertness, ease certain forms of respiratory distress, and can sometimes restore a failing patient long enough for other treatment to succeed. Physicians and surgeons employ refined Heartbloom preparations in cases of severe shock, sudden circulatory collapse, and other emergencies where seconds may determine whether a patient survives. The difference between medicine and poison, however, is particularly narrow: excessive doses can produce violent trembling, panic, dangerously irregular heartbeats, overheating, collapse, and ultimately failure of the very heart the plant is intended to stimulate.
Alchemists have discovered considerably less charitable applications. When concentrated or combined with other stimulants, analgesics, and mind-altering compounds, Heartbloom can form the foundation of powerful combat draughts capable of driving the body far beyond its ordinary limits. Such preparations may dull pain, heighten aggression, suppress exhaustion, and produce a frenzied state superficially resembling the battle-rage practiced by certain warriors. The effect is entirely chemical, however, and the body remains subject to the consequences of everything being demanded of it. Heartbloom does not grant strength that wasn't there or create endurance from nothing; it simply persuades flesh, heart, and mind that whatever limits they previously possessed are no longer relevant—and sends the bill afterward.
Properly prepared, Heartbloom is one of the most powerful natural cardiac and circulatory stimulants known to mundane medicine. Small, carefully measured doses dramatically increase heart rate and circulation, sharpen alertness, ease certain forms of respiratory distress, and can sometimes restore a failing patient long enough for other treatment to succeed. Physicians and surgeons employ refined Heartbloom preparations in cases of severe shock, sudden circulatory collapse, and other emergencies where seconds may determine whether a patient survives. The difference between medicine and poison, however, is particularly narrow: excessive doses can produce violent trembling, panic, dangerously irregular heartbeats, overheating, collapse, and ultimately failure of the very heart the plant is intended to stimulate.
Alchemists have discovered considerably less charitable applications. When concentrated or combined with other stimulants, analgesics, and mind-altering compounds, Heartbloom can form the foundation of powerful combat draughts capable of driving the body far beyond its ordinary limits. Such preparations may dull pain, heighten aggression, suppress exhaustion, and produce a frenzied state superficially resembling the battle-rage practiced by certain warriors. The effect is entirely chemical, however, and the body remains subject to the consequences of everything being demanded of it. Heartbloom does not grant strength that wasn't there or create endurance from nothing; it simply persuades flesh, heart, and mind that whatever limits they previously possessed are no longer relevant—and sends the bill afterward.
History & Usage
Hazards
Heartbloom possesses an exceptionally narrow margin between a useful dose and a dangerous one. Improper preparation, excessive consumption, or accidental exposure to concentrated extracts can cause violent heart palpitations, tremors, sweating, panic, dizziness, nausea, and dangerously elevated blood pressure. More severe poisoning may progress to convulsions, irregular heart rhythms, loss of consciousness, or sudden cardiac arrest. Particularly concentrated preparations have been known to kill otherwise healthy individuals with frightening speed.
The danger increases considerably when Heartbloom is combined with other stimulants or used in the aggressive mixtures sometimes employed as combat draughts. Such preparations can mask pain and exhaustion while simultaneously forcing the heart and circulatory system to work far beyond safe limits, allowing a user to continue exerting themselves even as their body begins to fail. Survivors may suffer prolonged weakness, confusion, muscle damage, or lasting injury to the heart.
Experienced alchemists therefore treat concentrated Heartbloom with the same caution afforded to potent poisons. The plant does not provide energy—it compels the body to spend what it already has, whether it can afford to or not.
The danger increases considerably when Heartbloom is combined with other stimulants or used in the aggressive mixtures sometimes employed as combat draughts. Such preparations can mask pain and exhaustion while simultaneously forcing the heart and circulatory system to work far beyond safe limits, allowing a user to continue exerting themselves even as their body begins to fail. Survivors may suffer prolonged weakness, confusion, muscle damage, or lasting injury to the heart.
Experienced alchemists therefore treat concentrated Heartbloom with the same caution afforded to potent poisons. The plant does not provide energy—it compels the body to spend what it already has, whether it can afford to or not.
"The climb nearly killed me, which seemed an unnecessarily thorough demonstration of the plant's intended purpose." - Victoria Pendrake
Type
Organic
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