The Living Archive of Templehelm Flora and Fauna

A collection of knowledge about Templehelm's environment and it's natural inhabitants.  All contributors welcome.

First Entry

Contributor: Rose

Name: Manathorn Vines

Other common names: Wildaven's Lantern, Thornblight Vine

Description:

The Manathorn is a vine known for its bioluminescent bulbs, toxic thorns, and its peculiar relationship with ambient mana. Found primarily in areas of concentrated arcane or divine activity, this plant is both a potential hazard and, according to rare reports, an aid to devout travelers.

In its passive state, the vine produces glowing bulbs that emit a soft radiance during daylight and intensify in brilliance at night, often casting a serene, bluish hue across forest floors.  The vine is known most commonly for coiling around long-standing trees and on rare occasions unnatural structures built by jungle inhabitants.

The Manathorn is a vine known for its bioluminescent bulbs, toxic thorns, and its peculiar relationship with ambient mana. Found primarily in areas of concentrated arcane or divine activity, this plant is both a potential hazard and, according to rare reports, an aid to devout travelers.
In its passive state, the vine produces glowing bulbs that emit a soft radiance during daylight and intensify in brilliance at night, often casting a serene, bluish hue across forest floors.  The vine is known most commonly for coiling around long-standing trees and on rare occasions unnatural structures built by jungle inhabitants.

Habitat:

Manathorns grow most abundantly in mana-rich environments such as near leyline convergences, Wildaven shrines and temples, or ritual grounds.

Uses and Warnings:

Some harvest the bulbs for their dim glow, useful in concoctions of divination or passive scrying. Others extract small quantities of the thorn toxin for use in sedatives. However, abundant harvesting is not recommended without divine blessing, as the vines may retaliate.

Depiction:

Second Entry

Contributor: Rose

Name: Lifebloom plant

Other common name: Healer's Gourd

Description:

The Lifebloom Melon is a vibrant, invigorating fruit borne from thick, creeping cines that flourish in locations heavily associated with the beginning or ending of life.  They have been known to sprout from seemingly nowhere when a child is born, at graves, or in the aftermath of a battle.

The vines of the plant are known to sprout hard purple growths.  These growths usually indicate a healthy vine.

Each melon contains a pale pink flesh interior speckled with holes.  When left to their own devises, those holes fill with a bitter sludge known to poison those who ingest it.  However, those who have tended diligently to the plant have reported those holes filling with a yellow flake that tastes much of honey.  Ingesting a well cared for melon is known to boost one’s life essence and ward off simple disease.  Some rumors suggest that being around someone who has consumed one may even bring health to you.

Growth and Cultivation:

Lifebloom vines are known to grow slowly and are very delicate, a heavy foot has the potential to kill the entire vine.  To tend to them well, a gentle hand is required.  Lifebloom vines need virtually no sunlight to grow.  In fact, too much exposure to the elements has the potential to weaken the plant.  It is suggested that if you intend to care for one, you should build a shelter around it rather than leave it exposed.  They are not restricted to any particular climate or environment, some have reported them sprouting deep within caves, though this has never been publicly confirmed.

Uses and Warnings:

If you do not intend to take care of the plant, it is best to kill it early.  The average person could be put out for days from eating the fruit of an abandoned plant.

Many years tending regularly to the plant could be spoiled by even one long trip away from it.  If you return from a long journey, it is always best to immediately check on the plant.  If it has grown sludge it cannot be recovered and should be killed.

Depiction