Boneoak

Properties

Physical & Chemical Properties

Boneoak trees are able to absorb nutrients from the surrounding environment even going so far as to absorb the properties of stone from nearby rocks. Due to this unique nature a boneoak will consume all nutrients around itself and petrify if not harvested within it's lifespan averaging ten years. When harvested and treated with specific alchemical oils the wood from a boneoak will produce a strong yet flexible wood that eventually petrifies into an even sturdier stone.

Geology & Geography

Located on the continent of Neo Verge the boneoak tree is common around the inhabited forests thanks to Avron Blackwood taking seeds from the Primordial Plane.

Life & Expiration

Due to it's unique nature if not treated with the proper alchemical mixture harvested boneoak bark will petrify within a year. Once properly prepared the boneoak wood can last two to four years

History & Usage

History

Avron Blackwood the World Warden sought to introduce a material that would take the place of metal, while the previous lords of Verge had stripped the land for every bit of iron they could take the World Warden knew in a battle of wood vs steel the tree always fell to the ax. Travelling to the Primordial Plane Avron communed with the environment searching for an answer. It was then an herbivorous titan tore apart the stone that Avron had rested upon eating the wood fiber inside, what Avron had mistaken for a large rock was actually a tree, boneoak. Gathering the large rocklike seeds Blackwood returned to Neo Verge and began experimenting with the tree. Thanks to the combined efforts of several druid circles it too less than a year to grow a fully matured boneoak only for the first attempt to harvest meeting with failure as ax heads shattered and those that were sharp enough the tree burned away with it's acidic sap. The attempt to harvest the wood only accelerated the petrification process making the first tree unusable.
Undaunted Avron and his people attempted a second and third harvest sowing the seeds with magic and blood to insure quick growth with trial and error they learned the proper way to harvest the wood from boneoak without having too much trouble. Soon weapons and armors were crafted from the wondrous material as Avron Blackwood joined the identity of Neo Verge's burgeoning country along side the wondrous material.

Everyday use

Boneoak is used in a great number of building fortifications, weapons, and armor as the material when petrified can be as hard as metal. Many of the inhabitants of Neo Verge use the Boneoak for the simple tools that the Druidic Circles allow such as plows and scythe handles. Attempts to use Boneoak in furniture have lead to a number of failures as the woods dense properties do not provide comfort.

Cultural Significance and Usage

Avron Blackwood has made the boneoak a symbol of his country, the wood repels modern efforts to harvest it and stands tall and proud like the people of Neo Verge. While it is encouraged to work within nature for your needs it has become commonplace to use wood from boneoak for heavy tools or as a weapon or armor even if it is ceremonial. Every family now has at least one tool from boneoak as a symbolic show of pride even if the tool itself is more difficult or harder to use with the material.

Hazards

Harvested from the boneoak tree the plant itself is highly resistant to mundane methods of woodcutting, beyond the wood's hardness the tree itself produces a sap that is can eat through non-organic materials such as a metal ax head. The material when worked upon also produces a significant amount of dust that is toxic to those who could breath it in.

Environmental Impact

Boneoak draw the very life out of it's surroundings killing off all plant life that is nearby and making the soil useless for any other plants for years or until a significant amount of druidic power is reintroduced into the land.

Type

Wood

Odor

No characteristic odor

Color

Boneoak is a pale brown when alive but turns a paler gray after petrification.