Ethral - Ghost Silk

A Epiphyte plant which solely grows in Aluness and has mutated and adapted to the high mana density within the forest. After the appearance of Vloresk it became a crucial part of the forests ecosystem.
Most of the plants and animals living in here have entered a symbiotic relationship with this plant.

Appearance:

Ehthral grows in bundles and is often seen growing on living beings, wrapping itself around the organism.

The plant can be split into several parts. The stem, the roots, the leaves and the petals.

The Stem

This part is quite fragile and similar in thickness to that of spides webs, making up the largest portion of the plant. When magnified, miniscule veins of condensed and liquified mana running throughout its entirety, become visible. These veins do not only transports the mana within the plant but also make up the roots, wherever it splits away from the stem.

The roots

by Lindorm

Despite their size the roots of Ethral are exceptionally strong and cover the entire stem, giving it a hairy appearance.

Made entirely from liquified mana, they latch to anything it comes into contact with, let it be animal, plant or sentient being. Once attached the roots start to sprout , piercing the hosts skin and penetrating the body, growing towards the bodies mana core and organs.

With the necessary mana supply the roots also are able to sprout and grow a new plant, rendering it extremly difficult if not impoosible to remove the plant from the host, once grown to the inner mana core.

The Leaves

They grow in regular intervalls around the stem in a symetrical pattern. While growing on a non living creature their main purpose lies in collecting Vloresk and turning it into a viscous liquid. During this process the petals extract the energy it needs to grow further.

As soon as the plant has found a host, the leaves transform into petals. Now the roots are used to suck out the mana, instead of the leaves.

The petals

Petals can be categorised into two categories. The crown and the regalia.

Crown petals are the largest and usually located at the end of the stem. No matter if rootet on a host or not, their job is always to recycle the left over mana into light. This conversion is the plants saveguard from mana poisoning.

The regalia are former leaves, turned petals after the roots took over the mana gathering. They assist the crown petals with the mana-light conversion. This transformation is due to the increased mana supply from the host creature.

Properties

Before the appearance of Vloresk Ethral was considered parasitic and quite dangerous. However now the plant provides life support for many animals and the elves living in Aluness. Its unique ability to extract mana from a living being is essential to fight mana poisoning.

However it's downside causes many elves to refuse this mutual benefitial relationship. For once entered, the plant cannot be removed, thus binding it's host to mana dense areas.