Shade Root

We call it Shade Root, althought its more of a wine. It suffocates the life out of this forest, one tree at a time. The elder root is thick enough to be a tree of its own, impossible for our axes and blades to cut. Its a cancerous growth, bound to snuff out all other life in time. We can do nought but try and burn it and cut it were it grows, but for each 2 we cut, we miss one. And that one "root" will grow to be four more.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Shade Root looks like massive gray vines, with hard bark like texture that gives it a root like appearance, hence the name. Shade root is extremely dense, to the point were normal axes and blades have a hard cutting trough it. Each wine reinforces the other as they tend to twine together, making it extremely difficult to break Shade Root that is well established.

Biological Traits

Elder Shade Root is believed to be near unbreakable.

Genetics and Reproduction

Shade root is a parasitic form of flora, and cannot exist unless there is a host tree to grow from. It spreads its roots from tree to tree, winding them around healthy tree roots and slowly corrupt the tree and ground around it.

Growth Rate & Stages

Shade root seeds are small, hard and can lay dormant within a healthy tree for years before it starts to grow. The initial growth is slow, but the more its established the faster it grows, drawing upon more nourishment from its environment. The last stage of its growth slows down to a crawl again. These massive, slow growing roots are reffered to as Elder Shade Roots, and look like massive trees themselves.

Ecology and Habitats

Shade Root is rampant trough the Forest of Lost Valor and The Grey Fields, having consumed most of the forest.

Biological Cycle

Shade root only grows denser and thicker as time passes, although reaching

Lifespan

Shade Root can grow indefinitely as long as there is host trees to feed off.

Average Weight

A young "root" weight about 2 kilos per 1 meter of length. A established, entwined root may weight as much 10 kilos per 1 meter of length. Elder Roots weight up to 30 kilos per meter of length.

Average Length

The average root tend to reach around 10 meters of length, wound around its host tree.