Phoenix Bloom
And as I climbed up the mountain in the Razorblade Range,
I saw it glowing in the dusk, overpowering the red of the setting sun.
The flower started blooming.
It opened up its petals, as they changed colour,
from green to yellow inside,
as the older ones faded from yellow to orange,
becoming red to black,
before they fell and crumbeled to ash.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Genetics and Reproduction
Once there, it is carried around by the heat and evocation-magic currents in the Ley Field, attracted to hotter locations or places with more evocation magic.
Upon meeting the pollen-like seedling of another flower by being attracted to hotspots, they fuse in a superheated process and melt their way back into the Prime Material Plane where they use the same path they took to find eachother, in order to find a good spot to root, then growing into a new Phoenix Bloom.
Growth Rate & Stages
Dietary Needs and Habits
Biological Cycle
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Cinderpetal - Tea
The probably simplest and least dangerous use is harvesting leaves that have achieved a certain stability, flying around near the source plants, which are then used for teas and as herbs called Cinderpetals. These yellow petals are warm to the touch, are said to have healing capabilities and are used as remedies for people who have just experienced frostbite. At room temperature, these petals can be stored for up to twenty years, and are sought after nobility for their slightly spicy taste in both tea and as spices.Rebirth of Fire
A more grim usage of the Phoenix Bloom is its original namesake. Back when the Dawn War was raging between Gods/Deities and Primordials, the primordials retrieved more Phoenixes from the Elemental Plane of Fire, by distributing these flowers in the material plane as a sort of drop in point for Phoenixes. Using a well-guarded costly ritual, the petals grow in size, as does the flower, while the stem shrinks and whithers away like ashes, before the flower grows and grows until a warm egg is revealed as the last big petals open up. This resulting egg then works exactly as if the phoenix had perished, and been transported into the material plane, immune to any harm, and rebirthing a phoenix into this plane after one to six days.Civilization and Culture
Common Taboos
Through the ritual described above, with enough time and effort, a phoenix could be called into the Prime Material Plane, an event that for many cultures can mean the end of life as a potential doomsday scenario. Thus, fragments of details of ritual descriptions are highly sought after by elemental and death cults, and thus these flowers are highly endangered by good natured folk, who would very much prefer not seeing their home burnt to a flaming desert of ashes.
History
...and as the highpriest removed the charred fabric from the flower, which then started flaring up again, blooming, and searing as the highpriest spoke the lines.
The recounting of the phrases, it's not a voice, it is a mix of crackling, chirping, spitting, as the Primordial words, in an Ignan dialect.
Like a flare, the flower lit up, the bud growing, revealing
something
something
moving in the egg that grew out of the opening flower bud.
All the while, new yellow petals keep reforming in the center of the flower.
This process only takes a few seconds and repeats until the flower runs out of heat/elemental energy, and looks like the flower is burning based on the movement, quick aging and colour changing, as well as the ashen whilting of old petals.
Why the flower blooms in the Material Plane:
The Phoenix Bloom was and is used by Primordials to bring Phoenixes as weapons into the Prime Material Plane.
While the Dawn War is now over, the flowers remain, and are a popular target for cultists.
Very cool concept. Will try to leave better feedback when i am more awake/less sleep deprived. but i like the idea of its reproduction happening mostly in another plane. also, the fact that it is sort of a "landmine" able to be used to summon/birth an actual phoenix
Nico
Thank you so much! (And I am really looking forward to that feedback :D)
Gah......, it took me to long to get back to you (the joys of moving) But all the changes that you have made with the coloring of the text and additions of the quotes are awesome. I appreciate that you used pollen/pollen-like correctly as cells for sexual reproduction as opposed to how many people have been using it as interchangeable with spores. While I wish the geographic distribution had a map (personal preference), the fact that you linked articles mostly makes up for it. The lighter yellow in the last quote is a bit hard to read. (All the other feedback i had written down was covered by other people). As said before though, cool concept and great article.
Nico
Holy moly thank you so much (also no worries I feel you, haven't gotten around structural edits) Unfortunately I: 1. Haven't yet come to make the structural changes 2. And cannot diclose positions (although I LOVE the idea) because it might tempt the players in the campaign to seek them out before any cult can get em :D I will definitely work over the yellow and the other feedback right now! Thank you once more