Other Space Kaiden
Better than other-other space Kaiden
Name: Moon Rose, Flower of Unlife, Devil's Rose
Homeworld: Serreno
Average Measurements: 11.6 Inches from stem to bud, 1/2 inch bud diameter (1 inch high bud height)
Cultivation Requirements: The Moon Rose is a rare and delicate flower that has a unique set of cultivation requirments, especially when compared to other fauna found on Serreno. Moon Roses are unique in that direct exposure to sunlight is harmful to their delicate, blood colored petals. Thusly, Moon Roses grow only in the shade of other fauna or in places where hours of moonlight outnumber the hours of daylight. The rose is limited, however, by altitude at or below sea level and can only grow on planets with a Type I atmosphere.
These requirments are, overall, not overtly shocking or surprising. What truly sets the Moon Rose apart, however, is its odd and extreamly aggressive style of growth and expansion. The Moon Rose species is incapable of growing new buds completely on its own, lacking the structural integrity in its roots to maintain itself for very long. This brings us to the unique disposition of the Moon Rose. In order to grow and expand it must be given other, lesser fauna to destroy.
Once watered, the Moon Rose secrets a sweet smelling red fluid that penetrates the ground and roots of nearby plants. Once inside its victim, the fluid begins to break down the cellular structure of the plant; disrupting photosynthesis by directly demolishing the chloroplasts in leaf cells and sapping away Force Energy within the plant's midichlorian system.
When the process is complete, the weak roots of the Moon Rose begin to penetrate the withering roots of the dying plant. The smaller, sharper roots of the Moon Rose grow up, in and around the dying roots; slowly feeding Force Energy and nutrients back into them in a conversion process that can take up to three days. Once the roots have been fully intruded upon, the withered bud of the old plant is cut from the rest of the plant and a second Moon Rose bud would grow in its place. This process effectivly turning the old roots into a parasitic lifeform that relies on the Moon Rose's system so that the nocturnal flower can use the dead plants roots as a supporting pillar for its much weaker ones.
Distinctions: Moon Roses are dark-red petaled flowers with black, thorny stems that are thin and very fragile to the touch. The bulbs of the Moon Rose stay closed throughout the daylight hours, allowing individuals to only see the dark (blood red) outer layers. However, when the moon rises, the bulbs spread open in a display of bright red shimmers that sparkle in the moonlight (an effect of the old poison leaking out through the leaves in an ongoing renewal process). This sparkling is reminiscent of moonlight dancing across open water and thusly, Moon Roses are considered to be some of the most romantic and beautiful flowers on Serreno (if not in the galaxy).
The petals are soft to the touch and thanks to the secretion of old toxins out through pores in the bulb, Moon Roses have a unique fruity-flower auroma that some have compared to a combination of fresh roses and grape juice. When picking Moon Roses, one has to be careful not to be pricked by the thorns which secret small amounts of toxin that can cause searing pain and lethal infection if not treated; as the toxin will begin breaking down cellular structure and causing rapid decay in a similar manner to Komodo Dragon or Brown Recluse bites.
If succussfully pulled from the ground, however, one may find the thorny roots tangled and penetrating into nearby plant roots. When invasion on another species has started, the plant will wrap it's fragile roots around the victim fauna and penetrate it with its thorns so that toxin can be pumped into the ground and directly into the victim. When this is complete it acts almost cancerous in its spreading until the entire structure of the root is under its control. Often times these tiny roots are several meters or even miles long and thus most cultivators opt to cut the stem at the top and leave the roots; which will grow a new bulb and stem in a matter of weeks.
Strengths:
- Moon Rose toxin is highly lethal due to its abillity to attack the cellular structure, as well as Force Energy of a victim. Not only does this lead to rotting of the skin (or plant) but it can lead to blood infection, internal hemorraging, internal bleeding, organ failure and can even cause severe cancers even if treated before death. Perhaps the most deadly part of this plant, however, is the dulling effect it has on Force Users who ingest the toxin. Since the bodies within the toxin are naturally designed to sap force energy from the victim, it has a severe force numbing quality when ingested. Depending on the dosage, this can be anything from trouble calling on the force to full inabillity to sense or call on it until proper cures are administered. Typically a prick from a thorn will cause severe pain, skin decay, possible blood infection with a numbing effect on Force Sensitivty often described as "feeling the energy within yourself slowly disappear with no explaination." A full wine glass of the toxin, however, tends to cause severe internal bleeding and decay within minutes and once it takes full effect Force Users may find themselve completely unable to call upon the force due to the sheer amount of toxin in their bodies.
- Moon Roses are rare and ill observed plant outside of Serreno. They are rarely cultivated due to their lethality and their dependance on in-direct sunlight usually gives an individual flower days of life on most parts of the planet. Only in the darkest, most perfect conditions can Moon Roses thrive and these conditions are not often met near civilization. Thus, these plants have gone realitivly unnoticed for years as they are seen as far too risky to obtain compared to their use. While this does have its downsides, it does mean that the galaxy is widely unaware of this fauna and thus makes detection of its toxins much more difficult as most people are unaware of its effects and characteristics.
- Moon Roses, with bulbs attached, can be dipped by the stem in a variety of beverages in which it will secret its toxins. This makes administration of the toxin simple and takes away the need to hide the poision on one's body in a vile or other suspicious container. An individual can simply hide the rose in a bouquet, wear it on a suit or spread them among vases.
Weaknesses:
- The Moon Rose Toxin is neither oderless nor is it colorless, thus limiting the ways one can covertly administer the toxin. One could not, for example, poison a glass of water with the Moon Rose Toxin without the glass being obviously tainted. Thus it would require severe chemical altering to make such a poisoning possible and even then, the effects of the toxin would be severely diminished because of it. Therefore, one must choose their method of posioning carefully and thoughtfully if they wish to use it to full effect. Even with such careful planning, however, it might be simply impossible to posion an individual if their personality traits do not align in such a way that they would consume something the Moon Rose toxin can be hidden in.
- Cultivating The Moon Rose is a difficult, taxing process that requires a great deal of care. The flowers themselves are highly fragile and one must choose a location or spend ludicrous amounts of money to ensure that every condition for the flower's survival is met. One slip up, a day with too much direct sunlight or a flower species that did not subcome to the toxin quick enough could destroy months of work almost overnight. One could not be a warrior traveling the galaxy or a bounty hunter who never stays in one place and expect to cultivate this flower. The time and care needed to be dedicated to these plants makes mass-production of them unprofitable for a corporation and annoyingly time consuming for most individuals.
- The toxin is not extreamly fast acting, unless used in a dose no smaller than a wine glass. The process of death can be slow and is curable; its strength lying in the crippling pain, internal failures and force disruption it causes; giving the assassin time to finish the victim off or allow them to writh on the floor until death. This means, if one wishes to ensure a quick and painful death, they would need a plan lain perfectly to see their target drinking a dose of poison the size of an average beverage before the toxin takes effect. This can be difficult as the symptoms of poisoning usually take effect within ten minutes of ingestion.
Average Growth Cycle: A new bulb (a Moon Rose seed that has found a place to settle where easily corrupted plants are available) can take anywhere from 5 to 6 weeks to fully mature. Secondary bulbs (bulbs grown from existing Moon Rose roots) can take 2 to 3 weeks to fully mature.
Average Life: When cared for in optimum conditions outside, a Moon Rose lifespan can be anywhere from 3 to 6 months. When kept in optimum conditions within an enclosed, enviromentally controlled space, Moon Roses can last anywhere from 6 months to over a year. Harvested lifespans are rather long due to the invasive nature of the plant. It will constantly grow new roots in the old's place even if only the stem was taken. Most Moon Roses will last up to 14 days and still secret effective toxin and will last 36 before completely withering.
History: Moon Roses were discovered on Serreno before the days of the Old Republic or Revan's Empire, sometime during the planet's first founding. The popularity of the plant, however, was kept to a low roar as many initially believed the flower to be a legend due to its extreame rarity and lack of readily available sources. The Rose would see very little mention in the history books for thousands of years until a massive grove of the fauna was discovered deep in the Serreno forests by Kalin Dracul who dubbed the field of toxic flowers "The Blood Grove". The discover of the Blood Grove took place early on in the Clone Wars but, due to the conflict, saw little recognition outside of Serreno. Even still, the first recorded use of the Moon Rose toxin was written in the middle of the war when Kalin Dracul, discoverer of the Blood Grove, used a massive supply of tainted wine to kill the entire bloodline of the Great House Jalinn.
Though evidence enough to put Kalin behind bars was never found, it was widely assumed he played part in the families death once used their corpses as a way to promote his own families ascension as a Great House. Again, during The Empire Era, the Rose fell into realitive obscurity. It did, however, see small amounts of use by Imperial Intelligence Agents as a tool to kill political threats and assassinate planetary governors; though the source of the toxin was never discovered. Since then the Moon Rose has seen very little in the way of public spotlight, aside from it being used as the crest of the Dracul (now known as Drakul) Great House of Serreno.
Intent: To give more depth and interesting backstory to Aleister while providing a story tool that can be used by the site at large.
