Faerie Flowers

The Faerie Flowers as rendered by Raoul Solomon (with inspiration from Enuryn's drawing)

The Faerie Flowers (first dubbed Alice Flowers by Erin) are a species of magical flowers.

Appearance

Faerie Flowers by Enuryn the Naturalist
(commissed by Pirateaba)

The flowers have a yellow-golden color. They have a spicy smell, instead of a floral one. The nectar fizzes on the tongue. People with a magical sense can feel the flowers being magical, which means they are the equivalent of bioaccumulators for mana, similar to Sage’s Grass. The bright, small yellow flowers are much like short dandelions, although the flower petals are much more exotic.

The adult form is a huge flower with much longer stalks of spirals attached to it, numerous offshoot buds growing on them. It has long roots.

Magical Properties

Almost every bit of the plant is strongly magical and reacts differently depending on how and in which combination it is used. Similar to unicorn horns, the amount of magical power within the power is unable to be properly quantified.

Gold Mimicking

A Faerie Flower can be turned into an illusionary gold piece by speaking the word "gold" when you hold one. This enchantment holds for a day and the gold piece cannot be detected as fake by mundane means, like weighing it, bending it, biting on the gold, tasting and smelling, and several other means.

Limits: Counter-illusion spells have not been tested. Toren was able to see through the illusion as if it wasn't there, so other creatures and Undead that are able to see Mana flow and other magic, might also see through that illusion. Only Erin has been shown to turn flowers into gold, so the trick might be dependent on her skill [Wondrous Fare].

Psychoactivity

The nectar is a hallucinogen, and the entire flower is possibly psychoactive, including the pollen, petals and stem. Known episodes include:

• After tasting the nectar and expecting something to happen, Erin experienced an illusion of herself shrinking in size during an Alice in Wonderland like episode lasting an hour.
• Halrac experienced a vision of his deceased love, Ariael, when given a beer with drops of Flower nectar in it.
• Apista the bee has become addicted to Faerie Flower nectar and has changed since. That mutation is probably also influenced by the highly magical environment of The Wandering Inn and her bond with the [Beast Tamer] Lyonette.

Xif confirmed the magical psychedelic nature that even neutralized anti-magic blockers.

Perspective

It is theorized by Saliss that all the combinations of the Faerie Flowers with different substances did not exist before they were mixed together. As such, their effect has to do with perspective. Any potion made with Faerie Flowers will have the desired effects, but with an added catch or trick. If a Faerie Flower is combined with a substance just to experiment and observe the result, it will generate a minor prank such as an itching effect, and that will be the only result of that specific combination from than on.

Dimensional Powers

An adult Faerie Flower is said to turn the surrounding area into a part of Avalon. The roots of one were able to pass through the limits of a dimensional Skill, the [Garden of Sanctuary], and pass through the simulated realities of the [Palace of Fates]. At the cost of destroying the root, they can grant existance to a simulated person and allow them to leave the simulations, and might possibly do the same for the memory of Sheta.

Products

Faerie Flower Drink/Ale

Made by Erin by putting the Faerie Flower nectar into alcohol. Currently unclear if this can only be made with Erin's [Wondrous Fare] Skill or not.

Contents: Faerie Flower nectar and any type of alcohol. Additionally one can use a few drops of the nectar for a much weaker effect.

Effect: The Drinker enters a trance like state were they have lucid dreams/hallucinations with someone who is important/significant to them, even if they are dead. The one made of only a few drops can relax the drinker from a hard day of work.

Side Effects: May lead to incredible depression or dependancy.

Minotaur’s Punch

Erin creates a weaker more tolerable version of the Faerie drink called Minotaur Punch.

Contents: Firebreath Whiskey, a few drops of Faerie Flower nectar, all of which is set on fire with Erin's [Like Fire, Memory]'s Pink Flame of Glory.

Effect: Imbiber sees a vision of the past, in all its horror and glory. Relative duration unknown, but objective time can be measured in seconds.

Side Effects:

Soporific Smoke

Lyonette could use dead, wilted flowers to create a fire that made Ashfire Bees unable to attack her. Xif later determined that burning a wilted petal created a potent sleeping agent.

Effect: Those who inhale the smoke fall asleep.

Side Effects: Unknown

Painkillers

Made in Oteslia by the [Researchers] as a pill.

Contents: Faerie Flower and Oteslia's mild moss-based painkiller.

Effect: Powerful and effective pain reliever.

Side Effects: The patient sleeps an additional hour for every pain-free hour they get.

Fertilizer

Made in Oteslia by an [Apprentice Gardener] who had added some detritus to their own manure mixture.

Contents: Some Faerie Flower detritus and any kinds of manure.

Effect: Amazingly effective, as it causes overnight sprouting, even from seeds with weeks of germination time. It will not be as effective after that.

Side Effects: Unknown

Potions

The Faerie Flowers can also be used to replace certain Potions ingredient to complete them, and even enchant their effects, becoming something else.

Potion of Time’s Return

Resembling liquid sunshine, the Potion of Time's Return restores the drinker's body and mind of their youth. While they would still possess the entirety of their memories, it would be as if they were being possessed by their old self, at the cost of their current self. Saliss was able to create it at a fraction of the cost and effort to make a Potion of Temporary Youth by tossing in a Faerie Flower with expectations that it would just "blow up"

Shapeshifting Tincture (Gender)

The Faerie Flowers are able to replace some of the more expensive ingredients involved in brewing a Shapeshifting Tincture (Gender).

Effects: As good as the normal version, if not better. It also doesn't seem to run out.

Side Effects: User will forget their previous self, treating them as a separate person. They will remember everything that happens after reverting back, but there will be a disconnect, feeling as if it were someone else even though they know it was themselves.

Fearie Flower tonic

Like a calming tonic that uses Faerie Flowers as an ingredient. Tessa forced Xif to create it.

Effects: Removes negative feelings such as those stemming from depression and trauma. Removes dependency and withdrawl symptoms of addictive substances.

Side Effects: Does not remove the desire to indulge in addictive substances.

Itching Cream

Saliss and Xif discovered that by combining the Faerie Flowers with water, it created an itching cream that even Saliss's own remedies couldn't remedy

Reproduction

The Faerie Flowers that Erin received were able to grow again when they were planted in soil, even after having been slightly wilted. That shouldn't be possible with regular plants. Erin managed to plant and multiply them, until she left the inn to Lyon. The [Barmaid] didn't water the plants for a week up to ten days. Until she remembered to water them, most of the flowers had wilted again and died, but some could be rescued.

This ability has been later explored some more when Xif inspected the plants and found out they were all identical, basically genetic clones that reproduced asexually.

Despite frantic pollination through Apista, the flowers have not produced offspring or fruit so far. Pallass' [Alchemist] Xif suggested that they are not mature plants yet. Their trigger for maturity is yet unsure, though they reached maturity during the Battle of the Winter Solstice and their roots have then extended towards the [Palace of Fates] for nourishment, so it's hypothesised it may have something to do with fate or momentousness.

Xif has noted how difficult it is for him to cultivate cuttings of the flowers. Whether or not this occurred because he did not fulfill some hidden, non-botanical criteria is unknown at this time.

Chronology

Volume 1

Erin received the Faerie Flowers during her first winter as payment for hosting a Faerie Banquet. She planted them together with Ceria soon afterwards, hoping to still make a profit from the economic disaster that came from said festivity. The Faeries begrudgingly allowed Erin to keep the Flowers, having expected her to throw the Flowers away in frustration, as is the traditional human reaction, but ultimately decided the Flowers were fairly given and they could not be taken back.

Volume 2

Lyonette forgot to water the Flowers during Erin's long absence in the winter, ruining most of them. She was however able to rescue the rest, burning the wilted ones for use in acquiring Ashfire bee honey.

Volume 5

Mrsha later took over watering the plants as part of her household duties, becoming a [Gardener] and later a [Druid] from continuing this line of work.

Volume 6

Xif forcibly purchased a single Faerie Flower from Erin for 220 gold pieces. A [Thief] steals a box of the Faerie Flowers from The Wandering Inn, but Klbkch, Tkrn, and Jerci manage to track him down and recover the stolen flowers.

Volume 7

After Erin gains the [Garden of Sanctuary], she moves the Faerie Flowers into it. Xif reveals to Saliss that he is having trouble growing them and is planning on sending them to Oteslia. Later, Erin is able to create a new drink, the Minotaur's Punch using glory fire and Faerie Flower petals. After being ambushed by Magnolia, Pryde, and Wuvren, she decides to give some flowers to Saliss to "prepare for the future". He is able to use the flowers to make Potions of Time's Return, which he gives to Maviola.

The Faerie Flowers in the garden died when Norechl came in during the Summer Solstice.

Volume 8

With no one to take care of them, all of the Faerie Flowers in the [Garden of Sanctuary] are dead. However, at Mrsha's insistence, Ulvama is able to grow five back. Meanwhile, Lyonette, Saliss, and Xif discovers that Faerie Flowers have been disseminated without permission across Oteslia. Lyonette has the Gentlemen Callers destroy or steal the flowers, and has the [Druids] vouch that they did indeed belong to her, and could not have come from anywhere but The Wandering Inn. She made deals for the researchers' aid in reviving Erin in exchange for access to the flowers.

Saliss and Xif experimented with the flowers, but found that all of their efforts resulted in prank effects. Eventually, Saliss figured out how the flowers worked, and used some with his shapeshifting tincture.

Distressed by the abduction of the Healer of Tenbault and hearing that the flowers might work as a substitute for her services, Tessa held Xif hostage and forced him to make a tonic with the Faerie Flowers for her.

Volume 9

Tessa stays at The Wandering Inn to have access to more Faerie Flower tonics.

Trivia

• The Fey didn't expect Erin to actually keep and use the flowers they tricked her with as fake gold coins for the feast she prepared for them, as mortals are supposed to throw them away. One had suggested to remove them, but another replied by saying that it is not possible as they were a gift. Later on, after telling the other Faeries about it, they start using pebbles as fake gold coins, not flowers as there was too much value in them.