shadow vines
Shadow vines are a thorny weed with minor magic traits, symbolically tied to death.
There are many superstitions about the vines, so much so that it's difficult to disentangle fact from fiction regarding their properties.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Shadow vines are identifiable by their dark color, unusual berries, and spiraling growth pattern.
Genetics and Reproduction
The vines are usually barren but seemingly at random they will sometimes grow large quantities of grayish blue berries. Birds, especially crows, are drawn to the berries, they will eat the berries, be compelled to fly unusually flight paths and poop the seeds out in places associated with death for new vines to grow.
Growth Rate & Stages
Shadow vines are a hardy but slow growing vine, but they will often experience a growth spurt when exposed to ambient magic.
Ecology and Habitats
Shadow vines can grow almost anywhere, but they especially strive in places symbolically or literally tied to death: old battlefields, cemeteries, quick sand swamps, and necromantically focused magic fonts.
Curiously enough, they commonly grow around Greymoria temples, which doesn't help allay various superstitions around them.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Despite their magical traits, shadow vines live and grow like most ordinary plants. They need sunlight, water, and soil to live.
They are considered a weed and have a tendency to outgrow and choke out plants people like.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
The berries can be distilled into reagents to make necromantic potions. Interestingly enough, the berries are not effective reagents for creating undead but it can be used for almost anything else related to necromancy, both baneful and benign."-Lloyd the Physician, (also a necromancer)by Me with Hero Forge"The berries are poisonous to humans and human-like mortals, but not deadly. They essentially cause an upset stomach for a few days. Tengku can safely digest the berries, but usually claim it tastes midlly unpleasant. It is rumored that periodically eating shadow vine berries will help a person gradually build up a partial immunity against all poisonous berries though the sources of this rumor are suspect, so I wouldn't suggest trying this out yourself.
Civilization and Culture
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Given shadow vines ties to death and necromantic magic, many Scarterrans fear shadow vines and will slash and burn them when found.
Benevolent Death Vines?
-Carcelli the Arcane Priestess "Given that shadow vines seem to have a connection to Greymoria, some of us who areher Children have engaged in studying the vines. Other than the various ways the berries can be used to distill reagents we haven't discovered much. I read a passage in a colleague's journal with an interesting theory. He postulated that shadow vines represent Greymoria's benevolence and protection. There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that the presence of shadow vines reduces the appearance of twisted elementals and exogenic undead. The theory is that the vines absorb necromantic energy like a sponge and safely dissipate the energy. Further research on this possible phenomenon is intriguing but difficult. Most shadow vines grow in isolated areas and the ones that don't are often destroyed by superstitious locals, so we don't have reliable access to specimens to study. Also, we don't have as experimentally minded necromancers as we'd like, and the ones we do have are focused on more 'interesting' pursuits than experimenting with odd vines that might actually impair necromantic magic."Carcelli, Parchment Background by Zeta Gardner
Geographic Distribution
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