Death Lilies

The creeping apocalypse

An incredibly lethal venomous flower first discovered in the Twin Wastes, later introduced to Hiraeth by the Pharic royal line.

Appearance-

Death Lilies are a blood-red flower with eight petals and long stems. Their leaves and petals have a faintly waxy sheen, more pronounced in Waste-grown plants, and they have sharp dark thorns growing on their vines. Their leaves are small and pointed.

History-

Death Lilies began in the Wastes, where they fed off Chatterers and thrived despite the horrible conditions. They spread, but not quick enough to become a concern, and they were largely ignored, except to source their expensive venom.
This changed when Hiraeth discovered a crucial property of the flowers- that those of the royal Pharic line could manipulate them like any other plant. Suddenly, the Death Lilies had the potential to become a deadly weapon for Hiraeth, and the royals began planting them in massive farms, encouraging their spread. The Death Lily became Hiraeth's symbol- even the countries banner sported the flower, and red became a sacred color.
The Death Lily also became the standard of royal blood in Hiraeth. Anyone who could manipulate them had a claim to the throne, and could vie for the right to become ruler.
However, as the years passed, the Pharic bloodline became more and more diluted. And as the line lost power, so did the ability to manipulate the Death Lilies. Before long, the royal blood standard had turned against them, and eligible rulers dwindled. Bloody claim wars soon broke out, with no clear-cut way of assigning a ruler, and the citizens vying for the nobility to be eradicated grew louder and louder.
Many royals attempted to hide their lack of power, but in the end all were found out and kicked from the throne. It seemed that the royal Pharic line had come to an end, and the citizens of Hiraeth, fed up with their rule, called for their heads.
The last king, panicked and desperate, saved his son with only hours to spare. A loyal maid took the prince from the palace, and as the protesters rammed down the gates and swarmed inside the palace grounds, he stood at the doors while she ran for the country borders.
As the last King was torn apart, the last Prince survived.
But the revolutionaries were short-sighted. With the royals gone, who would control the Death Lilies? Those who burnt them soon found their smoke as lethal as the flowers themselves, and while the smoke in the palace could mix and dilute with the air, the kind of inferno that would eradicate the Death Lily farms would kill them all.
So they did nothing.
Years passed, the prince became a man, with no idea of his heritage. A democracy was established in Hiraeth, and the areas near the Death Lily farms were abandoned.
And every year the Lilies covered more ground, expanding their territory.
Hiraeth must choose its death.
Wait, until the Death Lilies have escaped its borders, dooming the rest of the world to the same choice?
Or burn the place to the ground, incinerating every Death Lily with it?

Growth-

Death Lilies grow in thick, tangled bushes, which gradually expand over time to cover kilometers of land. The thickets are comprised of two flower variants- Scouts and Hearts, each with a different role and cost. The scout flowers are small, used to test new territory for threats, as they take less energy to make and are more expendable, and the Heart flowers are grown within the thicket, and bloom large and beautiful. They take more energy to grow, but give the thicket its iconic blood-splattered appearance due to their size and vibrancy. Both variants contain venom.

Spread-

Death Lilies spread by covering new areas with roots and vines and gradually moving in until the whole area is thicket. Rather than trying to spread their seeds over wide areas, they slowly creep over more and more land over time, and are almost impossible to destroy, as they would all need to be destroyed at once.
In the Wastes. Death Lilies get most of their nutrients by killing and feeding on Chatterers, as the soil is very poor. From a distance, Death Lily fields look like blood, attracting Chatterers. The Chatterers, who drawn into a frenzy don't realize the trap, are quickly entangled, killed, and dissolved by the Death Lilies acid-like venom, after which the nutrients are absorbed into the root system.

Venom-

Death Lily venom reacts extremely corrosively with any living material, though it can be contained in glass or metal. It dissolves flesh and plant matter, letting the fluid drip into the earth where it can be absorbed by roots. It is designed to kill Chatterers, and is one of the only substances capable of killing them, as well as being effective against Reapers- as well as anything else either living or once-living.
It is incredibly illegal, and sold at extravagant prices, for the extraction process is difficult and the consequences are dire for anyone caught selling it. It is a famously dramatic murder weapon, though it is very easy to identify.