Flowering Alseas
"Don't give it a name, don't leave it food or gifts, and by all that's sacred, don't knit it sweaters for when it's cold--it is a PLANT, people!"
"So you hacked it apart?" Despite her small stature, Eloise shook her rake perilously close to my head. In her other hand she wielded a trowel, which I'm sure was meant to be menacing. "When you made the first cut that teeny human-sized brain of yours didn't think 'gee, who here bleeds sap'?"
To be fair, things in Pandorive bled all sorts of things, but I could see Eloise wasn't in the mood for particulars.
"No one steals me gold!" came the retort, and he shook the 'limb' again. The 'arm' dripped beads of a milky white substance to the ground.
I sighed. This spectacle played out every time a stranger came to town, doubly so when they'd been visiting the tavern as often as Raoul. Everyone saw 'faces', but those who weren't used to the frozen 'expression' on the plant's main stalk tended to take umbrage. The Flowering Alseas were too often dubbed 'evil golems' animated by an 'evil wizard'.
Our town had no wizards, and the only animated part of an Alsea was, perhaps, its petals fluttering in the breeze coming off the river.
Regardless, it always seemed imperative to newcomers that they instigate some kind of brawl between person--or persons--and plant. Someone else would find the bloodless 'body' and cry "murder"--again, to be fair, the chopped up remains of an Alsea looked like utter carnage. The whole town would bolt awake at midnight, they'd haul me out of bed to handle the crime, and the Planters Guild would tear down the walls until justice was served.
"This is a TRAVESTY," Eloise screeched. "Just look at his face, Deputy--the stupid human mutilated his beautiful face!"
Before the drunkard could argue that even the locals could see that Alseas appeared human, I snapped my notepad shut. "See the Planter's Guild by midday tomorrow, Raoul. Do not attempt to leave town before compensating them for your rampage against the South Garden, or they will upgrade your debt to provisional fertilizer. And no," I added, eyeing the slow grin that crossed the gardener's face, "I do not mean you will be buying fertilizer."
Basic Information
Growth Rate & Stages
Dietary Needs and Habits
After consuming illicit murmurings the plants release a lowgrade air of suspicion, which among sentients tends to produce even more whispers. You can always tell when a Pandorive settlement is brimming with secrets, because any nearby Flowering Alseas aren't merely flowering but absolutely covered with an enormous amount of blossoms. A surplus of secrets tends to encourage pollination, and therefore propagation, of Flowering Alseas. Ambient levels of suspicion rise with more Alseas and more blossoms.
Biological Cycle
Origin
Once upon a time, there were dryads and dhus, bound to beautiful oak forests and capable of plant magic. Some solitary, others plentiful among the trees, these spirits took care of the flora around them, made it vibrant and lush. Those dryads and dhus bound to particular groves may have heard their name called out as the Alseid. Most of the legends end there. For one Alseid grove, however, a new story transpired. A tendril from Pandorive reached from the nothing to claim a piece of their world, devouring the grove of oaks and their spirits. The Void consumes. In Pandorive, the grove retained a bubble-like space from its original world. But bubbles thin...and eventually pop. A century passed before the "bubble" became thin enough that the original Alseid grove saw effects of its time in Pandorive. Over the next decade, the trees were no longer oak, but a variety of plants, some native to their old world, some born of the new. The dryads and dhu spirits transitioned into solid and sentient forms, that most would consider human. In this new form, they took the name Alsea. As Alsea, they could no longer return to their trees to rest, but they could roam further, and there were new, fascinating things to see in their grove. The forest provided unique berries and nuts for them to eat and a variety of flavored dews and saps for them to drink. The Alsea in return continued to see to the grove's care. Life was good, and nature thrived. Alsea harvested flowers to twist into crowns and played games among the plantlife. Children seemed to sprout from the earth for the very first time. Forming family groups that branched off into plant specializations, it looked to be a new era for the Alsea. The Void changes. A mere fifteen years later, the "bubble" which had contained and protected the grove and its people from direct contact with Pandorive lost its fight to remain separate. When it failed, Pandorive welcomed it hungrily, and the Void tumbled in like it was trying to fill a vacuum. Nature magic which the sentient life within the grove previously controlled stopped in the Alsea's veins. They Were Devoured. Again. Every Alsea who had been in the grove, no matter how tall or small, how old or young, had their sentience drained into the very roots of the grove of plants they'd sought to protect. Void-touched nature magic rushed to claim them, sap moving into their veins, the flowering crowns atop their heads regaining life and fusing with their bodies. Flowers pressed from their skin, budding, blossoming, dying, budding again. This outpouring of energy created what are known as the Flowering Alseas today. The Void reverses, twists, and creates anew.PSA: Alsea 'Clothing'
One does not 'undress' a Flowering Alsea. The appearance of clothes and flesh are surface level only. The entire plant stalk is a single fibrous construct, not layered with outerwear, as one might otherwise assume.
Genetics and Reproduction
- Self-Pollination: Pollen travels via air from flower to flower on the same plant.
- Cross-Pollination: Pollen is delivered from one plant to another by one of Pandorive's pollinators.
The flowers which will eventually bloom on the new plant are determined by the pollen provided:
- Single-Parented, Self-Pollination: Offspring will contain the same floral makeup.
- Dual-Parented, Cross-Pollination: Offspring may contain the same floral makeup or produce a variant hybrid.
- Multi-Parented, Cross-Pollination: Offspring will produce a genetically disconnected hybrid.
Oh. My. Goodness. This is so good. Their tendency to fill their surroundings with suspicion probably doesn't help with the visitor hack and slash tendencies. I love your flashfic. Pandorive is not only good for you, it is GOOD. I am loving it!
Necromancy is a Wholesome Science.
Thank you!! <3 It's nice to have a space for the weird things in my brain that don't fit anywhere else. :D With a Flowering Alsea nearby it definitely heightens the "someone's watching me" sense. :D
You are doing a great job! Keep creating; I believe in you!
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I SO agree with you, Angela! Goodness sakes, Dani--you're brilliant. And so you know, my son asked to borrow my iPad to read some entries himself and he LOVES your article. (...and he's one of my overly-critical kids) One of my favorite articles.
Storyteller, Cartoonist,..pretty awesome friend =)
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Thank you SO much Jaime!!! I'm super honored by the compliment, and I'm very glad you and your son enjoyed it; it means a LOT! <3
You are doing a great job! Keep creating; I believe in you!
Luridity: Where love is love and life is lived. Contains NSFW content.
Now with serialized fiction on Ream!!