Raoxen Trees

The Raoxen trees are a variation, native to Rekia, of the Rao trees from Uchana brought to the region by the first settlers during the Age of Expansion.

Description

Raoxen are long-lived, evergreen, tall trees with thin trunks and compact crowns.
Like Rao trees, the Raoxen absorbs water from the soil and turns it into sap which is stored in the trunk for when water is scarce (a periodical occurrence in Uchana). But, unlike Uchana, Rekia is a region with a larger precipitation rate. With more water, the raoxen produces more sap which makes the trunk bendier. As the trees grew, and their trunks became both heavier and softer, they lean into the tree closer to them and began to twist into the shape of a braid.

The excess water also changed the reproductive capabilities of the trees. Instead of small, light, dry fruits full of seeds, the Raoxen has large, oval-shaped, seedless soft fruits with a kidney-shaped buttery pulp. Each Raoxen tree trunk produces up to fifty fruits per year.

Connection to the Raoxeni

"One for each of you, so you'll remember we need the embrace of our friends to thrive and grow"

— words of the Wise Ones to the group of settlers who would travel in the direction of nowadays Rekia, as they gave them their parting gifts: the original hundred seedlings of Rao trees.

The reproduction of the Raoxen trees is directly connected to the raoxeni people, as the tree alone is unable to do it.
Within a few years of noticing the new behavior of the trees, the words of the Wise Ones at the beginning of their journey became clearer. The raoxeni believed the trees were an omen of good fortune and that they represented their history. That's how the Cutting Ceremony began.
Whenever a family had children, the parents would make a cutting using branches of the families' trees and plant it at the base of the tree the babies were heir's too. This tree would later braid itself to the others joining their roots and becoming one big tree.
With the richer soil and the influx of hatchlings the trees began to get extremely wide, this leads to a new custom where newlyweds could petition their families and later the village, for permission to create a cutting of their own trees and plant it as a new one.
A few hundred years later what started as a group of sixty trees, became a wide forest of intertwined canopies.

Raoxen Tree by Víctor Carbajal

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

The tallest Raoxen to date is 350 mts tall.

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Upper Base
When the first addition to a braided tree is added (when a family has its first batch of hatchlings), the family would boil water at the base of the tree and the steam would rise softening the upper branches and making them more maleable. While the wood is soft, they would insert a large vase (the size of an adult nabasti) at the top. The new trunks, as they grow, would encase the vase creating a sort of tent like refuge where the Braid Guardian would perform its rituals as needed.
Some families use their upper base as a meditation spot, or to even hold vigils when a member pass away.

Other Uses and Products

The fruit of the raoxen is used in special occasions:

• During the wedding ceremony: The parents of the newlyweds would make rusu, a dish made with mashed fruit of raoxen, cheese, and garlic, to wish them a fruitful marriage.
• During birth: A paste made with the pulp of the raoxen fruit is rubbed in the makwatzu to help ease the egg laying and prevent tearing.
• After the hatching: As the new children are presented, the parents would feed them small pieces of warm raoxen fruit to welcome them into the family.

Sacred Trees

Nowadays, harming a raoxen tree is an offense that carries a death penalty. The only time a raoxen tree can be cut deeper than in the seedling ceremony, is when a family member is cast out. in such cases, the trunk belonging to the offending member, would be cut at the base, and within time the rest of the trunk would slowly bleed out and the dried chunks would fall off leaving a permanent empty space.