Merklin Beets

These thin, light pink beets are a staple food for much of Iskiss' desert peoples, especially in the colder regions of the south.

They are stubborn and stalwart, and need little soil or care to produce edible roots. Thus, with even a handful of widely available and conjurable seeds, one might survive for quite awhile in rural or isolated areas. These plants predate the use of organized magic likely by many millennia, sustaining entire populations of non-Aspectral peoples for generations. Merklin beets are found in personal farms and larger production operations in practically every southern province in Heirbrosse, including on the blasted shores of the Daxish Sea.

The beets are so reliable that many seafaring vessels, Culdur's included, house beet gardens or belowdecks greenhouses for emergency food purposes.

Juice made from the beets is a less popular item, as much of the value lies in the fibre and ease of cultivation—juicing takes disproportionate amounts of energy and cycles, so many of the poorer settlements or cities focus on the intact plant. An exception to this is fermented beet juice, which produces a rather crisp alcoholic beverage with a sour tinge. Beers and wines are typically preferred, but in areas where those vices are hard to come by, the beets come to the rescue once again.

Use on Deadpoint

When Deadpoint was first settled, the only crop the pioneers brought were Merklin beet seeds and wheat. It took less than two harvests to understand that the beets would be the superior source of fibre and carbohydrates. The majority of the beets are grown on roughly tilled farmland on the north side of a line of stone houses, though every house on in Deadpoint has its own northern garden. The beets and fish would sustain the island's tiny village for multiple generations.