Sine Fine Vitem

The endless vine stretches all across the West Jungles of Foisham and always seeks to expand beyond that.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The plant takes on several forms but namely it's 'limbs' or the vines are by far most of it's body. Sine's vine's are long long thick tendrils that send out tiny branches which grow leaves and bright red tropical flowers in bunches. Hundreds of these vines will be connected to their roots. These roots grow about six feet into the ground. The roots take on the apperance of gray tendrils that taper to the end. The roots themselves will have one core root as well. The core root can be identified by its often humanoid shape where the vines and roots meet, known as the Corpse Core. The reason for this shape and name will be disscussed,
The core roots are always connected to other core roots by Vitem roots. The Vitem root is a one foot thick black root that travels many hundreds of feet to connect to another core root. These thick vines are coated in a dense bark that prevents them from absorbing nutrients. Many tiny roots will expand from the Vitem root to make up for this.
The plant is mainly identfied by the bunches of red flowers or the reaching Vitem root. The red flowers, also known as Fine Flowers, are highly dangerous to most life. The flower emits a slight nerutoxin that affects only advanced species. Insects, beasts, and the like are unaffected by it. In fact the nerutoxin is consumed by many insects as a part of their diet. The vines also hold a simply lashing reactive mechanism similar to muscles that once released cannot change direction or be released again for several seconds. This is still much faster than many simple plants but appears lazy to most beasts.

Genetics and Reproduction

The main threat of the Sine plants comes in the form of its reproduction. When the plant captures a advanced creature with an apt brain it will pin them with vines and bombard them with nerutoxin. This will knock the creature unconsious. The vines will then slowly drag the body towards a nearby Corpse Core. There the body is sifted underground with slow vibrations from the many roots. The unconsious creature is then taken into the Corpse Core. There they are transformed into a new Corpse Core.
The creature is not killed during the process. They are rewired. Their body has in short been taken from them while their brain is hijacked as a sort of power source of intelligence. The body is filled with roots to activate muscles and then sent off to become a new corpse core elsewhere in a suitable enviroment. These walking corpse cores are the pseudo infants of the body and are vulnerable to attack compared to their adult forms underground.
The bodies are riddled with many roots, the brain addled and rewired. The true horror is that the body is mostly undamaged. Healing and remove curse affects do no free a corpse of the infection. High level magic is able to bring the infected person back to normalcy, but often they have some form of madness due to the stress's of infection. Corpse cores that have been buried are often unresponsive after healing. Some tribes within the region have invasive surgies that are capable of freeing a infant corpse core of the infection at high damage to the body.

Growth Rate & Stages

Once a walking infant corpse core has found a new location far from others, it will bury itself by digging with its bodies limbs. This often damages the body, but is also often the last thing it will do as a moving body.
Once buried the corpse core curls up and begins to release vines. Over the course of three days the body becomes malnourished but the vines release leaves and flours and small roots to begin to nourish it once more. This is considered a teenage Corpse core or Sine Fine. After the Sine is able to sustain it self it will grow a Vitem root towards the Corpse Core it came from, which has also done the same. Within one to twelve days the vines find each other with a huge network of roots and connect the Vitem roots. Now the new Sine Fine is a adult.

Ecology and Habitats

The species thrives within the tropical rainforest enviroment. It requires loose dirt and humid temperatures to function. Saltwater, cold, and hard ground are hostile environments for the plant. The West Jungles of Foisham have provided for its needs. Nearly the entire region is coated in tens of thousands of Corpse Cores that it utilizes.

Biological Cycle

Every two to four years the plant enters into a point known as a burst. These bursts are defined by a amaglmation of corpse cores near the borders of its occupied land. The corpse cores are different than their numerous counterparts. Instead of being buried they are kept near the surface and collect within only a few feet of each other over several months before the burst. Once a dozen to three dozen corpse cores are collected in several spots the burst occurs throughout the entire region.
The cores will do one of two things defined by the number or lack of vines. If the plant has prospered to have many thousands of vines in the spot it use them. The vines will launch the collection of cores far into the distance where they will land and stand up, crawl, or drag themselves to spread out. Often times most of the cores are usless after impact. This method is still preferable to the second option for that plants growth.
If not enough vines are grown the cores will all stand and walk like zombies away from the occupied region. They often don't make it more than a few miles. In this time they are attacked by locals, destroyed by weather, or end up on hostile ground. If they manage to make it to a suitable enviroment they will begin to grow again as a new section of the plants. Due to natural barriers the burst is mainly a hazard for nearby populations but does not grow the plant.

Behaviour

The most intresting part of the plant is its intelligence. As it has grown over hundreds of years it has gained a pseudointelligence. Many think this is due to the increasing number of brains it has hijacked. The plants throwing of cores is the first sign of such. This behavior only cropped up some two hundred years ago. The key event is thought to be the destruction of several cities near the Korvas sea during a large storm. Many people were stranded in the region and it is thought many thousands of people were captured by the plant once the city was in ruins during the following years.
This explosion of corpse cores may have drastically increased its intelligence and many scholars believe the plant might come up with other forced evolutions soon.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The Loxodon of the Snaleshi Swamps work endlessly to ensure that the Sine Fine Vitem does not work it's way into the heart of the swamps. They do this in exchange for the land which they keep the Hall of Requiem.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The plant seeks out pray through a large system of roots. These roots are reactive to vibrations, and pressure. Flying creatures are often unnoticed by the plant until they land in tree's covered in the vines. The Fine Flowers also seem to utilize a simple sense of smell at short range.
Vitem Roots utilize an additional sense on top of the previously mentioned ones. They appear to use a short range sensor for Zeal. Innate Zeal and currently held Zeal by person's or items cause the Vitem Root to react. Often times this comes in the form of Fine Flowers releasing additional nerutoxin and many vines will lash towards the source location.
Corpse cores have a final additional sense using psionics. They are able to detect mental energies of advanced species. Most any humanoid even walking within a few hundred feet of the Corpse Core will be attacked relentlessly. Many explorers utilize machines and other unintelligent helpers to get closer before the vines attack.

Origin/Ancestry

Destroyers Breath mutated a a section of Pandora in the Jungle. Sine has since pushed it out.

Conservation Status

This plant is to be destroyed and burned on site.

Geographic Distribution

• West Jungles of Foisham