Roses of The Briar

The Maiden's Gardners

The information presented in this article is not known to many characters of the web. This is a bit of a spoiler warning.

Morrigan stood, refusing to subject herself to the thorns that covered the ground. She looked around for some way to fashion clothes, or at least some way to shield her delicate flesh from the razor briar, but nothing caught her eye that wouldn't require a fight to obtain.
She was so close. She could see the endless red hair as it stretched from the top of the palace and disappeared into the blood-red clouds above. She needed to find shelter soon.
The rains would begin within the hour. She cursed having her sight again. It would have been easier if she couldn't see. The thorns seemed more jagged, longer, and she could see the toxin drip from each point.
She raised a foot to take the first painful step, then she stopped. She heard something, distant yet too close for comfort. A requiem drifted along the still air. She heard the roses singing...

— From The Scarlet Ashes

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The Roses of the Briar are among the most hostile and dangerous entities encountered in The Wetworks, the domain of The Red Maiden. Only two groups in The Web are firmly aware of their existence and both have had an alarming amount of trouble studying them due to their volatile and reclusive nature.
The entity was first recorded by The Children of The Fiery Lock. Every matron to oversee the cult noted how the Rose of the Briar is one of the few physically dangerous trials one can encounter on the pilgrimage. It is also the only trial everyone who engages in the pilgrimage is guaranteed to face.
The entity is directly linked to a strange plant found in The Wetworks: The Razor Briar, which it protects wherever it may appear. Each rose is unique in physical appearance, though many features are universal.

Appearence and Behavior

A Rose of The Briar, or simply Briar Rose, is humanoid in appearance. It has the body of a female, but it is a mass of muscle and plant fibers. Nerve endings branch from beneath the tissue, sprouting in plumes around the body. The 'head' of the entity is a massive rose. The Briar Rise has human hands with nails that are not particularly long, but they are sharp, capable of clawing holes in steel.
The rose and plant like fibers can come in any variety of colors, though hues of green and red are most common. Their height and the dimensions of their body can vary just as much, and each entity has a unique voice that separates them from the rest.
A Briar Rose communicates using a series of sounds. These sounds range from clicks to screeches and screams. Some have a disturbing tendency to produce a sound that imitates laughter as they tend to the flora that grows in their territory.

Territory and The Razor Briar

The Roses of the Briar are fiercely territorial. Taking a step onto their territory without permission is met with swift and violent action. A Briar Rose is deeply connected to the Razor Briar, and can detect anything that enters their territory. They are most protective over the flowers, as these flowers are the most sought after botanical in reality.
The razor briar is a toxic plant that blooms a gorgeous flower in the colors of copper, brass and red. It grows in massive patches along the ground like a moss, with tiny stems and roots that stretch both above and under the ground. The roots, stems, and leaves all contain some form of thorn or barb that can wear out the soles of a shoe in minutes.
The Rose of The Briar cultivates the plant all over the Wetworks and all other flora that grows in their territory. They do so with loving care, actively searching for what could be days before finding ideal soil for a plant to grow in. On occasion, a Briar Rose will sing to growing plants, a process shown to assist in their growth. The songs are haunting, beautiful but strange like a dirge performed at birth.

Past life

The Briar Rose can transform into a human form, though they rarely do so. They only look human when docile, a state few find them in. This led to the discovery of their origins. The Maiden loves these entities, effectively acting as her rose garden.

Many wondered if they were prominent members of her cults from the past. This theory proved true, as Task Force: Scarlet entered the Wetworks and approached one with items belonging to past matrons of the cult.

The task force could name and identify each Rose of the Briar they met, Each Rose of the Briar was grateful for the return of possessions that had emotional significance, and bestowed a considerable amount of Razor Briar to the explorers in exchange.

Fun Fact: The Rosen Requiem

The song produced by a broad rose is the clearest sign of their presence but also a statement of their state of mind. Singing is a sign the entity is either happy or content when meandering about their territory, or they may be preoccupied with their eternal task if they are tending to their eldritch garden.
If you hear the song, and cannot see the entity, it is meant as a warning and an invitation. It knows you're there, and is watching, but it is in a pleasant mood and willing enough to live and let live. These are sentient beings, many of them were once human. On a rare occasion, they may enjoy the company, and would love to chat, especially when asked about their darling plants.

Hemolyst Classification

The Rose of the Briar is a Hemolyst, a form of classification that indicates a dependency, desire, or connection to blood. While many retain human skills including The Scarlet Arts, but their abilities extend beyond that when they become a Rose Of The Briar.
This connection to blood also stems from the Wetworks itself. The domain is one of blood, passion, and extremes. When these cultists become Roses Of The Briar, this power of blood is expanded on. They thrive in the bloody rain of the domain, they control The Scarlet Arts with greater power and less fear if the passion and even have increased healing.
If blood is drawn, by their own attacks or by the thorns of The Razor Briar. They can heal any wounds suffered, revitalizing themselves. If one is unlucky enough to encounter more than one on the border of two territories, they can even give the gift of healing to one another.

A gift or a curse?

Those who become Roses of The Briar are never upset at their new-found life. They are deeply sympathetic, loving, and devoted beings, despite their violent behavior. They have knowledge well beyond what was available to them as a human, though they do experience pain more than any human could.

Pain is a part of their existence. The exposed nerves on their body when not in human form leaves them vulnerable, and any damage to them can incapacitate them for some time. They are, however, wrathful beings, much like The Maiden, herself. They have been reported to leave The Wetworks and hunt those who have caused them such pain.
One should be weary when trampling through The Maiden's rose garden. One of the first groups sent by The Alexandrian University to explore the Wetworks did not listen to this advice and The Red Maiden took notice. The Roses of the Briar and even The Red Maiden, herself emerged from The Wetworks to drag them, kicking and screaming, back to whatever horrific fate a place like considers a punishment.

... The creature stood at the edge of the Briar, still singing, as it gently tended to the nearby flora. The song was bittersweet, a warning yet also an invitation. It begged Morrigan to step forward. It dared her to enter, but then again, perhaps it was more.
Morrigan knew this sound; this tune. A song that comforted her once upon a time, back when she too required care. She remembered how the song seemed to keep the nightmares at bay when she drifted off to sleep.
She felt a drop of blood on her cheek that dropped from the clouds above. It burned, but it made her feel alive. She couldn't run away, her eyes fixed on the creature as the head, if indeed it was a head, turned to her. It stepped forward, its posture indicating concern. It reached out, the bare muscle of the hands wiping away the blood as it continued its song.
"It's you, isn't it." Morrigan whispered, her smile trying to show beneath her frown. The creature said nothing. Morrigan took the ring from her finger, presented it to the creature, and finally got a response. It took the ring and analyzed the inscription, "Rose & Nathan." It slipped the ring on its left ring finger, a perfect fit.
The creature tightened its hand into a fist, and turned away from Morrigan. It wasn't a rejection, but a blind eye to a rule it was about to break. The Razor Briar parted, a perfect path leading to the palace steps.

— From The Scarlet Ashes