John Locke
V U L K A N
- Intent: To make a flower to help in healing and other, later submissions.
- Image Source(s): Burntfeather | Year of Blooms
- Canon Link(s): N/a
- Permissions:
- Link(s):
- Name: Orchidaceae Aeterna
- AKA: Healers Light
- Origins: Tanaab - growing around the Tal Hospital
- Other Locations: Cuttings were taken and planted at the Sprite Gate Shore on Naboo, the residence of
Gianna Aegis
. - Classification: Flower
- Average Growth Cycle:
The life cycle of the Orchidaceae Aeterna is similar to many other plants, seed to growth, flowering, pollination, reproduction and death. A Orchidaceae Aeterna with a healthy root system and plentiful resources can keep flowering and staying alive for decades. Once the seed has been planted the flower will take roughly 6 months to grow into a fully grown plant. One grown the plant takes 3 months to bloom into a fully flowering plant, a state which will last for roughly 4 months. Once the flowers have died, the plant will bloom again in 6 months. In the proper situation, with plentiful resources the Healer’s light will continue this process, slowly spreading its seeds across its environment.
- Viability:
Like most Orchids, the Orchidaceae Aeterna is a hardy plant that can thrive anywhere as long as it meets the minimum conditions for survival. The flower needs minimal resources from the soil and only a little water to flourish and grow. A single flower needs an ice-cubes worth of water to grow and thrive and can draw nutrients from the roughest soil. While it can’t bloom in a desert, there are very few other environments the Aeterna won’t be able to grow. As with most blooming flowers the Aeterna needs sunlight, and a lack of it will result in a stunted flower, or a failure to grow.
Once the flower has grown and been harvested the fresh flowers can last for a week before they lose their viability. The flowers can, however, be chilled, dried or processed to extend their use-by-date (as detailed in the other effects section below).
- Description:
Like all orchids, the Aeterna grows primarily from a stem that can grow upto 80cm in height. Buds sprouting from this stem will bloom into pale pink and white flowers with large petals. In its full flowering, several buds will bloom along the stem, creating a field of waving pink and white flowers that can stretch as far as the eye can see. Slender green stems support the flowers, a picturesque image right out of a storybook.
- Average Height: 0.8m
- Average Length: N/a
- Color: The flowers generally are a pale pink, with deep green leaves and stem.
- Nutritional Value: Very little nutritional value, although some people do use it as a garnish in their food for the light, fresh flavour the petals have.
- Toxicity: None
- Other Effects:The Orchidaceae Arterna is more than just a beautiful plant that adds a wonderfully beautiful, almost ethereal look to an area, it is also, due to its provenance a very very potent medicinal drug.
- Tea: The flower can be used to create a herbal tea that is said to have soothing effect that can help alleviate common ailments and lessen symptoms that one might be suffering under.
- Oils: The oils of the flower can be used for various purposes, they can be made into a cream that can be used to treat eczema or to help with the healing of scars or blemishes. The oils can also be processed into medicine taking advantage of the plant’s natural healing qualities.
- Poultice: If ground into a paste, the plant can be used in the creation of a poultice utilizing its natural healing and antibacterial qualities to help keep wounds clean and speed up the process of healing.
- Distinctions: A very homogeneous plant the Aeterna lacks any regional differences, still being early in its life. The plant is capable of blooming multiple times a year under the right conditions, mostly in greenhouses or when being tended to carefully. The plant does have an extensive root structure that can spread out underground to gather resources and water for the plant.
- Sturdy: Like all orchids the Aeterna is a very sturdy plant, capable of growing in most conditions. City, plain, shallow or deep soil, with the right cultivation it will thrive.
- Healing: Every part of the plant can be used for healing, the leaves, the roots and the flowers, making it a favourite amongst healers.
- Force: Given their providence, it is hardly surprising that the flowers have a faint trace in the force. Not even strong enough to be called a nexus, the flowers just project a sense of peace and wellbeing around them, making them a favourite for people to relax nearby or to keep in their homes.
- Sea of pink: Aside from their myriad of medical uses, the flowers just look pretty, a sea of pink stretching across the landscape that catches the eye and often draws out a contented smile.
- No natural defences: While hardy in the manner of most Orchids, the Aeterna is incapable of defending themselves against the predations of insects or others who would do them harm. If you’re not careful, a well-meaning animal could wreak havoc on your flowers.
- Fire: Like all plants a fire will tear through the field, devastating the Aeterna.
- The Darkside: While capable of growing almost anywhere, the Aeterna will not grow somewhere steeped in the darkside of the force. Any attempt to transplant them will leave them sickly and weak before they die.
Certain events have a profound effect on the force, so much so that they leave an indelible effect on their surroundings. The sacrifice of a Jedi Master, giving his all to the force to save the lives of friend and foe alike is one such event. It was during the Confederacy Invasion of Tanaab that Jedi Master Orn Pharr made this ultimate sacrifice near the Tal Research and Medical Hospital, sacrificing his own life to heal all those around him, Confederate and Mandalorian alike.
That sacrifice lived on in the memories of those touched as they all moved on with their lives, as the planet healed and recovered from the conflict. However, as time passed and one season ran into another a miracle happened, on the site of that sacrifice a scattering of buds bloomed pink and delicate. Fueled by the impact of that event the force itself had been touched in the area, the blooming flowers a testament to eh mass healing that had occurred in this spot.
While some herbs and plants had moderate healing properties, almost everything to do with the Aeterna had some capacity for healing, making the plant sought after by many healers, on Tanaab and across the galaxy.
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