Badass Bookworm
The Crimson Orb Tree
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To set up a drug which can be harvested from this tree. This drug will be the subject of a future sub. This tree sets up a dynamic for Tephrike well where good could be done…but more often it is evil which is chosen instead. It is somewhat based on the real Rambutan tree, though with numerous changes for the setting and later use.
- Image Credit: Here.
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Dominion of Light, Disciples of the Vader, Republican Guard, Tephrike,
- Name: The Crimson Orb Tree. Also known by such labels as 'Blood Tree', 'Fire Orb' and most dramatically 'The Bringer of Crimson Despair'. Tephrike is good at dramatic names.
- Origins: Tephrike
- Other Locations: None currently, but it could potentially be grown elsewhere.
- Classification: Fruiting tree.
- Average Growth Cycle: From planting, the tree takes 5-7 years to be large enough to produce ripening fruit. It will then continue to grow and lasts for decades if well cared for. The oldest known example began almost 400 years ago, but it's possible older examples exist in the deep jungles.
- Viability: The Crimson Orb requires lots of water, plenty of sun, and humid temperatures. This makes it perfect for all the tropical regions of Tephrike, and can even grow as far down as 40 degrees north and south, though is slower to grow and less productive at these latitudes.
On the other hand, the Crimson Orb is not particularly fussy about soil, though it requires at least deep enough soil to get its roots into. It does not grow as well in sandy soil as in loam or clay. - Description: The Crimson Orb is an evergreen tree which can grown to ten metres or more tall. It has waxy green broadleafs with serration on the edges, though not sharp enough to cut flesh. The bark is a deep tan colour and starts as rather soft but eventually becomes tough and gnarled. The branches spread into a canopy and from the branches hang clusters of fruits. These fruits change from a lime green early on to orange and finally a deep scarlet. The fruits also have small but quite sharp spines and about two centimetres across and circular. It is these fruits which give the plant its name. Crucially, the fruit does not ripen if removed from the tree meaning it must be left on the branch until it is picked.
- Average Height: 5-10 metres.
- Average Length: Canopy of 10-15 metres across is not uncommon. The trunk
- Color: Dark green leaves, tan tending to deep brown trunk, lime green fruits maturing through yellow to crimson.
- Nutritional Value: The young green fruits can be eaten and are rather acidic but edible after being opened and washed thoroughly in water. The yellow and especially red fruits are actually severely toxic to most humanoids due to leeching toxins from the seeds. The fruit is also unbearably acidic at this point as well.
- Toxicity: Common effects of eating yellow or red fruits involve slurred speech, blurred vision and headaches. Reports of deaths and blindness especially from aquatic species have occurred. Tephriki people are nothing if not persistent though and through a method of drying and boiling it can be eaten…though by this point it's barely worth the effort.
The seed of the plant is extremely dangerous to eat, causing greatly increased symptoms of the fruit's flesh. Death or incapacitation is common in these cases, to the point that a sprinkle of ground Crimson Orb seed is an effective method of poisoning. - Other Effects: The seed of the Crimson Orb is incredibly valuable because of its narcotic effects. It can be refined through grinding, roasting and blending into the addictive and dangerous drug Key.
- Distinctions: On its own the Crimson Orb is not very notable. Its fruits are a distinctive red colour, but the other physical characteristics are unremarkable. Were it not for the fact that the tree's fruit can be turned into a profitable yet dangerous drug it would barely attract much note.
- Sturdy. The Crimson Orb tree is strong and when established is tough to kill. Even cutting it down will prompt it to regrow from the stump unless the roots are poisoned or destroyed.
- Hardy. Though it demands water and heat, the Crimson Orb otherwise is easy to grow. It can grow in many types of soil and can survive brief droughts with ease. Its wide canopy makes it ideal for plants or people to shade underneath it.
- Fruitful. Each mature tree can produce dozens of fruit a year, often in clusters of 6-15. This makes it a good prospect for growers once mature. The green fruits can be eaten safely, though this is not why they are grown.
- Widespread. The Crimson Orb has been a very productive plant over the millennia. Through animal, bird and water distribution it spread across much of the tropical areas of Tephrike in clusters. Now, due to farming it is certainly not at risk.
- Tropical. The Golden Orb is a tropical tree and starts to suffer dramatically the further one goes beyond the 20-degree line. By the 40-degree line it has reached the point of being ungrowable without elaborate precautions.
- Thirsty. The Golden Orb is a thirsty plant, consuming dozens of litres of water daily. This is not a problem in its natural habitat where the wet season lets it store large amounts. Beyond that though, especially in farm conditions it requires irrigation which can take water from the growth of food plants.
- Slow. The Golden Orb is not a quick plant to grow. It requires 5-7 years to establish and then grows its fruits twice yearly. Thus, orchards are operations which take a lot of time, effort and expense to maintain before any profit is possible.
- Narcotic. Were the Golden Orb just an ordinary tree with sometimes edible fruits it would barely be notable. However, because the seeds of the ripe fruits can be turned into a lucrative drug it has indirectly caused much suffering. This is not the plant's fault, it just wanted to spread its seeds…and in a way it succeeded!
The first record of the Crimson Orb Tree comes from explorers shortly after it was settled around 500BBY. Its distinctive red fruits were observed and collected for study. The findings that the seeds had narcotic properties was suppressed for a while, but word got out. However, in the days of the Old Republic there were much more accessible drugs such as Spice available and the Crimson Orb was mostly ignored.
This ignorance lasted a long time, with only minor smuggling for local or regional consumption. Lessons were learned though and local criminal syndicates perfected the methods of creating the drug known as 'Key'.
With the downfall of the Old Republic and ascension of the Galactic Empire, the Crimson Orb was listed as contraband. The Empire had no desire to create production of the drug beyond some for the local administration's recreational use. This continued with the return of the New Republic and the golden age which followed.
The Crimson Orb really became notable after the Gulag Plague, isolation and breakdown of the planet into warring factions. Cut off from space travel, criminals and governments alike looked for new ways to make profit. In the depopulated lands south of Palmyra a thriving trade in Crimson Orb orchards began, with the fruits being harvested to be produced into Key. At first the Jedi, Sith and Republican Guard opposed this new drug which began to rapidly circulate. Indeed, officially it is still a heinous crime punishable by severe and often fatal sanctions. However, all of them have unofficially come to accept its presence and profit from growing and distributing their own supply. Indeed, providing Key as a special 'bonus' ration is an evil yet effective way of keeping motivated staff.
For the Crimson Orb tree itself though, the last two centuries and especially the last fifty years has seen an explosion in its population and distribution. Large orchards in hidden valleys or in unofficial groves span the tropical regions of the planet. Officially these are for the green fruit which can be eaten. In reality it is to harvest the ripe, red fruit for transmutation into the drug Key.
Harvesting these groves is a menial, difficult and often dangerous task. For this reason, as well as secrecy, prisoners, slaves or indentured workers are used. Since the tree can get tall rickety ladders are used to scale up to retrieve the spined orbs. These spines can pierce flesh painfully but labourers are rarely provided gloves.
Leaving aside the creation of Key, there are other knock-on effects of growing these orchards. Firstly, they are plants which demand constant water to extract the best crop. This leads water to be diverted from communities to water the Crimson Orb. Anyone who interferes with these private groves is liable to be severely punished, no matter the grower. Indeed, when a group of farmers in the Dominion who had their water stolen for unofficial Crimson Orb plantations complained they were punished rather than the growers! Indeed, some were forced to work the very plantations they had seen take their livelihood.
Another issue with the proliferation of the Crimson Orb is the space they take up. Fifty trees to a hectare are common, and due to the roots trying to fit more is counterproductive. Meanwhile, grain, regular fruit trees or vegetables are much more efficient and grows usable food rather than drugs. And yet, it is becoming more and more grown for the profits which can be made.
