Guiding Lily
| Guiding Lily | |||||||||
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The Guiding Lily is a plant found deep within mist-laced glades and shaded forest paths of Eldland. Though reminiscent of the Lily of the Valley in its stature and form, the Guiding Lily carries with it an ethereal quality, due to its unique bioluminescent pollen which seemingly ignores gravity. However, said pollen are not truly weightless, but rather extremely light weight, allowing them to float through the air for hours or until the pollen gets covered by heavier materials, such as raindrops or falling snow. At the same time it is to note that the Guiding Lily is not toxic, unlike its cousin, the lily of the valley.
Appearance
From a rhizome, the Guiding Lily sends up a cluster of greenish colored, slender stems that rise no more than twenty-five to thirty-five centimeters in height. Each stem curves in a slight downward arch, supporting a delicate chain of bell-like flowers that dangle in succession along the underside of each stem. The leaves of the plant emerge in pairs or trios near the grounded base, holding a smooth and broadly lanceolated shape, which reaches up to twenty centimeters in length and ten centimeters in width. Those leaves have a rich, dusky green sheen, with a curious, soft iridescence that catches ambient light in dim settings, giving the foliage an almost silvery-blue cast in low illumination.
The flowers are the plant’s most iconic feature. Similar in silhouette to normal lilies of the valley, the translucent-white blossoms of the Guiding Lily are slightly larger, each measuring up to two centimeters across at the bell’s lip. The petals curve outward near the base, forming five rounded lobes.
In the center of each blossom, five slender, green-tipped stamens protrude just slightly, offering a colorful contrast against the pale petals of the blossom. Those blossoms release a subtle fragrance, cool and clean, with notes of linen and sweet vanilla. During the spring and summer times the scent is stronger, thanks to the increasing temperatures, and seems to drift over long distances.
During the same time, the Guiding Lily produces tiny, light-green pollen, which glow softly in the dark, due to a form of bioluminescence. Said pollen are easily released from the stamen if the whole plant or the individual blossoms are shocked by strong winds, animals or people. After the pollen have been released the bioluminescence continues for roughly two hours before dimming down and vanishing shortly afterwards. The most interesting aspect of the pollen, however, is their weight, as they are nearly weightless, easily floating and gliding in the air for hours before finally falling to the ground, due to the pollen being weighted down by condensation or rainfall.
Impact on the Ecosystem
The Guiding Lily has a positive impact on its surrounding ecosystems, mostly due to its pollens capability of releasing a soft glow due to the bioluminescence, but also due to the fragrance released by the plant. Both, the fragrance and the light, attract insects, especially pollinators to the plant, which can drink the nectar of the plant, while also releasing the pollen from the plant with their very movements. As such farmers have attempted to cultivate the Guiding Lily near their fields, as to enhance their chances for a better harvest or to attract helpful pollinators, such as bees, to build or inhabit hand-made hives, as such creating a stable production of honey.
Usage
The most common usage for the Guiding Lily, besides its horticultural usage, is it’s application as a light source. Most often adventurers or explorers take the lily with them to unexplored caves and use the plant as a natural light source. Commonly the plant is being held as a lantern and is shaken every few meters, to release a steady stream of pollen, which float to the top of the cave's ceiling and in return create a “safety-line” for those venturing in the dark depths.
The second application and usage applies to specific burial rites of the Kingdom of Reinar. Upon the cremation of a deceased body the ash is often mixed with the pollen of the Guiding Lily and released into the wind, carrying the pollen and ash towards the sky, symbolising the continuation of the deceased individual's soul to the heavens.
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