Work In Progress The Mother's Root

[Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent​

To codify a specific Archaisian vine-root for use as a strong, military-grade psychedelic (smoke/dust/solvent) in PVP encounters.

Image Sources​

• Dividers
• Top header

Canon Links​

Soon, if pertinent.

Permissions​

tbd - Zef's final say, his planet his rules.

Primary Sources​

Soon, if pertinent.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Name​

• Biological Nomenclature: The "Radix Matris" Tertiary
• Common Nomenclature: The Mother's Root

Manufacturers​

• The Highland Brotherhood (Weaponized-Synthetic Production)
• The Novanians of Archais (Production for Religious Use)

Affiliation​

• Siyarr Ahan-Mitharran (Independent GA-Senator of Archais)
• Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim (Deposed Priest-King of Archais)
• Denniston Thrast II (Druid-Grandmaster of the Highland Brotherhood)
• Michael Barran (Lord-Imperator of the Imperial Military Protectorate)

Availability​

Market Status: CLOSED - Only open to Novanian Shamans, Druids from Galidraan III, high-ranking officials of the Highland Brotherhood, Pellaeon PMC and authorized IMP-personnel (with IMPAF-clearances granted only by the Lord-Imperator himself)

Modularity​

None

Production​

Scale: LIMITED

Material​

Archaisian Flora: Perennial Bushvine

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Classification​

Drug: Psychedelic Concentrate

Method of Consumption​

Inhalation: SMOKE - Ingested predominantly by the intoxicating fumes of the burned concentrate, derived directly from the dried root itself, or in it's many compounded, broken down forms. From the powder itself, many means of compacting and oil-concentration are made viable through Shamanic ingenuity, and through this inherent need for quality-improvement, many differing preferences are evolved within the Root's ever-evolving array of consensus-driven methods. The only other main method of condensing in compact form, strangely simple though it might seem to laymen observers, would be in honey-wax moulding techniques; with each differing from temple to temple, and with differing ceremonial/ritualistic reasons to each a differing Shamanic denomination, the main focus will align for all on the incense-burning, smoky-hued purpose of cleansing and purifying the air around them in prayer.

Dermavenously: INK - Blended with the right, sect-specific colour pigments, the spiritual practice of tattooing (in Novanian circles exclusively-) is one that should be enacted in conference with **the Ancients. Made all the more niche by the fact Ink-Shamans have become few and far-between over the centuries, and as the art steadily dies out, demand far-outweighs supply, though an attempted-revival has begun to take hold in the Novanian youth of recent-generations. However, great difficulty becomes the crux of the issue, as it was the diminishing skills of it's spiritual tattooists that made learning all the more difficult for the latest iterations, though much is currently being rediscovered on a technical, fundamental level.

**given surface-level mention in the Archais sub, though I intend to expand on that in my impending faith sub.

Average Life/Experience​

Effects: 12 - 14 Hours - Full intensity reached within 45 minutes of early-intoxication phase, thus it is said to act like a thunderstorm, with the thunder rolling after the first flash. Hybrids are known to reach the thunder stage much sooner, however, and usually with rushes far more intense than those with experience or the natural near-immunity to it's heaviest effects. Yet even with heightened tolerances considered, the intoxication period usually lasts every part as long for the experienced as it does for the uninitiated, with the only differences being the quickness of recovery for well-adjusted, acclimated consumers; often keeping normalisation aids close to hand, and in veteran understanding of what the body needs in such cases, many such holistic remedies have since been yielded for the sake of the Ajayids among them.

Detox: 24 - 48 Hours (Longer for Recovering Addicts) - The "Comedown" bears no withdrawals hallmarks, thus sleeping quickens the detox and lessens the lethargy, fatigue and all residual micro-hallucinations accordingly. Hydration, Saunas, and eating well is also known for shortening the duration of recovery, along with any good sources of minerals and vitamins, also notably ideal as remedial cushions against barraging acclimation-difficulties of Hybrid-anatomical concern. However, the detox process will always find a way to take longer spans of time for those recovering from illicit narcotic substances, often proving extensively volatile for the opiate-addicted specifically, as these are known to lead to chemical-tox conflicts within the lungs or the veins.

Nutritional Value: NONE - Though it has been known to be ingested from time to time, the vine and root are mostly lacking in the nutritional qualities required to sustain bipedal metabolisms, and virtually devoid of any meaningful flavour before and after drying. But in terms of shelf-life, and in contrast to most of it's closely-related groundwater beets growing on Archais, drying the vine and root alike assures a markedly-longer shelf life. The spiritual aspects of the tertiary root (unassuming though the Root had been for millennia before it's eventual discovery) had only been discovered and rediscovered by chance, and mostly on account of it's uselessness as a culinary beet or herb for that matter, and this matter of taste hasn't changed across the years, especially not after gaining tastes for herbs and spices from other planets in the Galaxy.

Allergic Reactions/Side-Effects: MILD - Over recent decades, not many allergic reactions or unforeseen side-effects have been noted to have resulted from use of the Mother's Root, but in reference to those who have reacted poorly to the fumes over the years, lesser-holistic remedies have often proven potent enough to counter the consequent ailments. Though it would also benefit to mention here the lesser-immunity of the planet's hybrid-born Shaman demographic, infamously known for being quite the adverse experience in the beginning, especially with their heightened risks of overdosing considered. Variant, of course, on differences in overall early-experience, thus effects can range from vomiting to stomach-cramps and migraines, visions of the dead, visions of ghosts and apparitions of the sort, all of which guarantees intensity unlike anything else but, oddly, appendicitis delirium.

Purpose
​

Much less a means to sustain the body, those who ingest it regularly consider it more like a means to sustain the mind instead, especially for Shamans who inhale it occupationally; relying on it's psychotropic effects for meditation, and consquently, also for the building of cerebral connections, astral bridges between the Shamans and their Gods. However, for the most-proficient of the aforementioned Shamans, in the right state and under the right conditions, powers can be realised and released in direct derivation from the Root's mind-altering effects. Yet there is much that changes in it's nature when methods of implementation differ, especially as far as the uninitiated anatomies are factored in to the matter, as many a Novanian will know it to be a concentrate too strong for those who know nothing of it's existence, let alone the little of what is known of it's effects.

But within the secretive confines of the Highland Brotherhood, (led by the very same man who mentored the Novanian Priest-King throughout his Imperial tenure) it is known by an elite military few that the Mother's Root has since been syntheticized into a military-grade compound, a formula so potent that it's hidden primary function was originally penned to destabilise entire regions on planetary surfaces. Fortunately for all the Galaxy in the new century, however, that versatility offers lesser, more-reasonable options for strategic application, presenting more than enough containment options as a result of the Brotherhood's propensity for level-headed reason, but if such a weapon were to fall into the wrong hands....

SPECIAL FEATURES
Physical
​

Blood-Tox Numbing: Similar to that experienced in the deepest thralls of inebriation, along with other substances, from stimulants to sedatives and other obscure narcotics of the sort, injuries and dull pains of almost every sort don't impede the Root-intoxicated as they would an unclouded mind, but perhaps even more-so than most common chemicals. A helping-hand though it may be in combat, ignoring the Root's power as nature's very own double-edged sword would be a grave mistake, as the pain remains in wait for all that follows snapping out from,"Twelve Hours of Thunder", ever poised to debilitate (and in some cases, even kill-) at a moment's notice. Very few sentient races would take such risks with the after-effects considered, but the Arkanians of Novania just so happen to be of the right, unperturbed sort, thus persist in reaping beneficial numbness in use against their adversaries.

Adrenal Release: Under affected conditions, Shamans, Druids and even soldiers of full-blooded or hybrid birth alike are known to respond to duress in the wildest of varying ways, such that rest far beyond the normative fight-or-flight boundaries of unaffected bodily responses; thus bringing about catalysts for the worst of delayed pain-threshold issues, as even in the days after relying on it's merit in combat, the injuries sustained will hurt all the more when the Root's effects finally wear off. But it just so happens to prove quite handy, and more oft than not, especially with anomalous feats of strength and athleticism serving as deciding factors in life-or-death struggles, rushing through their bloodstream as Root-Intoxicated combatants rise above and beyond the ceilings of their own limitations.

Resting Heartrate: Often associated (and in this case - incorrectly) with the adrenal response in those first rushes of intoxication, the perception of time-slowed may seem somewhat literal to the minds of all Shamans and Warriors who actively utilise the Root, regardless of whether they would for rituals or it's mind-altering properties. If the mind is trained in slow-building tolerance to it's heavier, often-overpowering effects, something of a calm, meditative hypervigilance can be attained, though such is only achieved under two specific circumstances; in the deepest of life-or-death duress, or in the Shamanic case, in clear-headed, serene tribute to the Ancients. The only ones to attain such a state are only ever highly-accomplished in their respective castes, thus only ever seem to shine in the long-run, and in the resulting informational scarcity, have offered limited insight for scholars to study in-depth thusfar.

Spiritual
​

Ancestral Connection: No matter the level of adept or masterful skill, no matter the strength of one's ties to the Masks of the Ancients, no matter how strong or faint bloodlines and familial ties may be, willing participants will seek (and with practice - find) the many rungs of their respective family-trees under the right conditions. Regardless of whether advice or blessings are beseeched, or even if only to see how far their lineage reaches into the past, the shock of awestruck revelation hits with the same, life-changing impact for everyone who willingly searches within for the raw history that courses through their blood. For many this is a positive, life-affirming endeavour, with what most would describe as a leap with the most wondrous of outcomes; but for some, and especially for those who come from troubled backgrounds, such curiosities often lead to traumatic realisations of the worst sort.

Unconscious Mastery: All plateaus beneath the summit of wakeful, tangible consciousness (even those resting on the adjacent hill of subconscious instinct) are subject to intoxicant-utilisation via the Mother's Root. However, in the case of the Dreamseer Coven of Arr'Huwal, and in the case of the Priest-King, the realms of restful slumber hide as many secrets as the depths of clear-headed meditation, if not, perhaps more if one knows where to look while wandering within. Initiated and uninitiated alike have noted finding certain doors, gates and obscure pathways in their dreams, and since research began with the Highland Brotherhood's mystics in the Spring of 868 ABY, some of these secret thresholds have reportedly led to realms that escape mortal, sentient means of articulation, much like the Astral Pathway to Melarran's Firmament - the Heaven where all the bravest Novanians ascend when they die.

Mask/Tattoo Activation: When Student-Shamans still lack the ability to activate off the jump with incantations, the main accelerant they utilise to unlock their abilities (and with help from the ink on their hands, arms and torsos) would be the very same powdered psychedelic the Shamans use for their ceremonies. Yet not even their masks are safe from the Root, subject to the same treatment in the process of blending it with their coven-assigned pigments for repainting, thus completing the links in the chain between the bloodstream and all those special abilities bestowed by the Ancients; though not at all without reason, as it is this specific chain-like connection to the realms beyond that transcends the method beyond all speculations of mere symbolism and the like, especially when mask and tattoo alike begin to glow in effervescent, light-bursting hues.

Military
​

High-Potency: On it's own, the Radix Matris tertiary is known for it's strength of hallucinatory intensity, but that didn't stop the Highland Brotherhood from finding a way to make stronger, syntheticized compounds from that same spiritual vineroot. It's many differing tactical utilisations will always find ways into the bloodstreams of the Highland Brotherhood's intended targets, but in the following process of first-time intoxication for foes of evil, Dark-hearted nature, the results of greatly-increased potency quickly begin to speak for themselves. Often a blight for all within reach of the smoke before it's eventual atmospheric dissipation, though on this, in particular, the Highland Brotherhood would rely in threefold grading, as any lapse of perception, judgement and focus would (and has-) worked to an Imperial advantage in combat.

​

Strategic Compatibility: Regardless of which method of implementation is decided, a vast-majority of the Brotherhood's methods of warfare can be augmented for Root-X Program implementation; from use in tank-shells for the Empire's ubiquitous XT-62 Cataphract, smoke-grenades right down to the liquified coating-gels for unprepared opposition to overcome. But the best, most-potent means of utilisation would be in payloads much stronger than those of lesser warfighting convention, creating blasts substantial enough to scatter the smouldering compound for almost 50 miles in every direction, and destabilising everything sentient caught within such a fallout radius. Every possible tool of war has been considered, yet with a compound too unpredictable to take lightly, it was only a matter of time before Imperials saw it's strategic potential.

​

Low-Density: Even in it's base powdered form, Shamans have commented on it's light, wispy qualities for centuries, and in moments when the burning-gold power is caught by a sudden breeze, it stands to reason that such qualities weren't lost on the Lord-Regent's son. Especially not in the understanding of it's compatibility with anything capable of creating shockwaves, from the minor, inconsequential booms that dissipate mere feet away, to the grandest, most-frightening reach of nuclear detonation of which he remains hesitant to consider in the first years of the 10th Century ABY. In this, many can understand such apprehension when coupling explosive power with low-density dissipation conceptually, smashing such elements together in a blend that has no right to fit as well as it has in testing-phases already, and in seeing the results in smaller-scale usage, the Tattered Regent has more than enough reason to treat the military-grade compound with it's due, shuddering respect.

STRENGTHS
Physical
​

Narcotic Immunisation: Among those afflicted by drug-addiction in life, the Humans and Arkanians of Archais are supremely fortunate to have a natural remedy for all extremes of drug-dependence, especially with a substance as potent for the task as the Mother's Root. Lending credence to the detox process feeling very much like a spiritual struggle in and of itself, and in the often-violent bodily reactions to ill-advised, incorrect usage of the Root, the mistake of trying to mix it with other drugs will always work itself out in the wildest of ways, knocking many a foolish drug-tourist for a loop in the fight against it's contradicting substance. An internal struggle so intense it stands as testament to the Radix Matris' drug-resistant properties, aiding in immunisation against sedatives, poisons and other mind-altering substances of the sort, despite coming with fair warning for first-timers.

Pain Tolerance: Whilst bearing many a risk to health and life-expectancy alike, the immediate benefits are enough that foes much stronger find difficulty in fighting Root-intoxicated Novanians, lending abundant credence to the woes of duellists who survive against opponents with sickeningly-high pain thresholds, with almost all encounters of the sort amounting to the closest of scrapes for the Galaxy's best and brightest. In this, these Blood-Tox Numbing effects even proved vital for the Novanian Priest-King in years bygone, relying on this double-edged sword on more than a few occasions in the formative years of his military service with the NIO, as many of Yorunarr's white-eyed compatriots had before him.

Spiritual​

Mystical Powers: Despite the small morsels of knowledge found in teachings passed down through the generations, enough is known that the Radix Matris tertiary remains as a vital means of realizing potential in all who treat the concentrate with it's due respect. Thus the Firedance sensibilities apply equally in ritual and in battle alike, gripping the Shaman at varying levels of intoxication until the heavier, psychotropic effects wear off, but in the prayers of war and inner-peace between each necessitated consumption, the intensity of their power is fortunately lessened to controllable, lucid lows. However, much like with anything involved with the lower-adept, lesser tolerances will be met with varying, often-unpredictably strong results in such cases, thus refinement of acclimation matters as much for safety as it would for mastery of the method.

Spiritual Safeguards: When certain predicaments become of an archetypal Novanian Shaman, there an entity often awaits to bring the unfortunate reeling back, and from whatever brink it is the devotee approaches in hubris or duress, sometimes all that is needed is the right little nudge from whatever Ancient happens to see it all unfolding at the time. A renowned safety-blanket for all who go a little too far in their Shamanic endeavours along the way, but as all white-knuckle thrills are known by many to be, this supposed assistance from Beyond is neither afforded everyone or much for the fortunate ones for that matter. If luck would awaken a God's sympathy, then luck would naturally dictate when, where and how the impossible would occur when it is needed most - though this could only be expected from a natural consequence of,"Dancing barefoot on naked flames".

Military
​

Synthetic Augmentation: In the wake of the Root-X Project's formation, much has been discovered about their military-grade compound, thus the base element itself has undergone three phases of evolution since the Project's initial inception, giving rise to the threefold RX-Grading system in their arming-stages. An imperative of necessity on many levels of thought on it's implementation, and despite it's previously-nonlethal properties, considerations for potency and lasting-sanity have still be made at arduous length, giving Research & Development research more than enough time to perfect and evolve the Root's synthetic formula. All from the tertiary root of an otherwise-unremarkable vine, all from a powdered discovery of esoteric, holistic origin, thus guiding the scientist caste as such - influencing minds to respect the Root as they would the natural habitat of which had given rise to it in the first place.

Varied Application: From the results of the RX1 program, Research & Development quickly yielded methods of disorientation, disarmings both in sedation and surrender alike, granting the Highland Brotherhood rights of production through it's nonlethal properties at the time. Starting with the humble-yet-versatile smoke grenade, a method's conduit that performed far beyond all expectations, consequently inspiring the creations of a vast array of implementation-devices from there, even sparking the required nucleus for starting both RX2 and RX3 programs in latter decades. But of these other devices at base-level, the results have comprised of gun-darts, blade-coating gel, and solvent gases, (to name but a select few) but in research-notes on both later iterations, their experimentation is reported to have yielded numerous applications of grander, more-complex design in contrast.

WEAKNESSES
Physical
​

Pain-Threshold: In most cases, regardless of any Shaman's level of proficiency, the higher pain-threshold cases almost-always affect the judgement and self-preservational leanings of those who fall under the intoxication of Root inhalation in combat; such is an unfortunate by-product of the general lack of sentient resistance to it's mind-altering effects, and for as long as the human and near-human conditions persist in slow, gradual evolution, this will remain an issue that warrants more than enough forewarning. Especially when the intoxication-period eventually wears off, as all the pain that a Shaman would compartmentalise ends up piling onto the pain when conscious cohesion returns, making it all the worse for the Shamanic/Druidic combatants who rely on the base, holistic powder on a personal level.

Diminished Lucidity: Besides the numerous issues brought on by the onset of Pain-Threshold increases, diminished self-control is also a factor in the general affectation of cohesive judgement, and for all who dance with naked feet on the flames, the element of the incommunicable can (and will-) always bear the risk of inviting altered thinking that borders on ferality. Although this only seems relevent for those under the influence of RX solvents, and though it has been known to occur in battle for Novanians and Goidels under duress, the highest risk will always mark experienced Shamans most of all, and in such cases almost-always occurring whilst on the verge of unprecedented Spiritual Growth - thus it becomes easier to understand how such vacant states of mind can become an issue for allies or compatriots.

Spiritual​

Force-Adjacence: With it's binding relation to the realms of Force-Adjacent souls, the Root's very own wellspring of power is known to obey an entirely-different ruleset to that of Kyber-Wielding convention, thus making the psychedelic concentrate all the more difficult to master without Force-Sensitive theoretics aiding as a fundamental guidepost, a helping-hand of which hampers the advanced stages of Shamanic education under it's influence. Making the process of mastery (and tolerance-building for some-) all the more volatile for a traditional practice that is still in it's second infancy, and for some, supremely dangerous at particularly-advanced levels of proficiency, risks of which are known to force many into early-retirement, with the cited reasoning mostly being in the interest of self-preservation.

Hidden Potential: While the Ancients were always considered to exist as Force-Adjacent entities by recent generations of Novanian scholars and Shamans alike, the attributes bestowed from these obscure, celestial souls certainly seem as though their root origin stems from something else entirely. Or at least for now, and until researchers and archaeologists uncover more in the near-future, there remains no tangible means (or at least - none beyond the most-believable of scholarly theories on the matter) of linking the Root's Mask/Tattoo-activation with the well-archived ontological corner of Force Spirit-related studies. Connecting with the Ancients was never easy, nor was it ever meant to be easy for that matter, significantly grinding research down to slow, snail's pace; and for a vineroot so-heavily studied, so revered for it's mystical qualities, the concentrate itself has been nothing but a pain for those who covet it's true power since it's rediscovery.

Military
​

Destabilization Issues: From all the known testing-runs with RX solvents thusfar, results often vary among the intended target-contingents/populaces, with some potential-complications bearing such lethal risks that implementation is rendered completely unviable under the IMP's ethical-restriction laws. After all, detoxification risks are there, (even in the base, pre-augmentation Root powder psychotropic) and when the risks of narcotic-addicted populations rear their heads, something has to give eventually; and when push comes to shove, and when the law takes precedence, the first to give way will always be the ones at the trigger. The previous, strife-addled century has fortunately passed us by, and with it, the lion's share of recent-history's worst barbarities, thus many now would prefer not to kill if other options can be considered in place of RX-Program implementation.

Force-Sensitives: In usage of holistic strains, matters of Ajayid and Force-Sensitive Overload aren't unheard of, especially not among the older Shamans living in Novania, but what is supressed from public record is the reaction of Force-Sensitives to the lower-rungs of the RX Program, and this will remain a scientific taboo for as long as the Brotherhood's Shamans forbid Force-Sensitive humanoid/near-human experimentation. Enough research can be found on the matter through the unforeseen variables of previous implementations, and in those alone can multitudes of examples can be found, but to make matters all the more taboo is the fact this mistake may be what cost the lives of entities to whom the Novanians still pray; creating monsters of their enemies, that which none of the Ancients could muster enough to power to outlast them, adding all the dread needed to dissuade from all thoughts of abominable tests with sentients.

 

[Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim]

DESCRIPTION
Image Sources​

• Top Header
• Botanical Header
• Root Image
• Lore Header
• Mask Icon
• Research Header 1
• Research Header 2
• Red Tape Header

Botanical Information

​

Deep within the forests of Archais, (though most-predominantly in the tropical wetlands of it's beloved Novania therein) wandering as close to the rivers and creeks as one might dare, a particularly-prevalent watervine may be found, though only in areas of seldom-touched seclusion, thriving only under specific conditions of warmth, moisture and humidity alike. Thus creating more than enough challenges for the Root-Scourers who wildfarm these vines for a modest, Theocrat's profit, and this is challenge enough for Novania's enterprising few, even without additional, dangerous factors considered.

Much to the chagrin of the humble Scourers, and much to the great interest of the Highland Brotherhood's R&D scientists in turn, the scent given off by the flowery bloom attracts many of the planet's most-dangerous fauna whenever the days and seasons run dry in the region, further adding to exclusivity advantages and disadvantages alike. But in this strangely-addictive scent for animals of strong or predatory traits, much is understood of the collective Novanian respect for nature, as even an Ancient would think enough of the physical realms to protect Melarria's little creations, warding wayward sentients back to the world of the norm in their own, indirect ways. After all, if a tertiary root could catalyse a means of finding one's way to the realms of the Gods, then it would only make sense for a celestial (and a Force Entity at that) to create natural barriers that correct this imbalance - that thin veil between the living and those to whom they pray.

But for those who can delegate such matters of volatile fauna, the difficulty in the endeavour then becomes a matter of luck, as then the early stages of the Scouring process consist solely of picking the best vines, judging by eye (and by luck-) in the careful snatchings from the vast array of candidates found by Novania's most-secluded riverbanks, lakes and rainponds. Then from those, the mainline-Scourer majority often identify the best picks for tertiary-farming by the depth and thickness of the vine's stem, though there are some of esoteric, traditional training who know to look to the bloomflower that tops the stem instead. As many of the best-trained Scourers will be reluctant to tell others, the secret hides in the hues on the rain-soaked petals of the rarities they seek, coveting that deep, bronzed vermillion fade-on; that special, coppery sheen that rests atop a bed of near-midnight blue.

​

After retrieving the entire flower in it's multitudes, root and stem with it, the easier (though greatly-tedious) task begins; with all their best-begotten gains brought back, and often over extensive distances on-foot, to their own homesteads to hang on sundrying racks. A seemingly-lazy part of the Radix Matris' harvesting process, and especially so for the perceived waste of the vine's other segments, but the results will always speak for themselves, an easy argument of which the Scourers themselves will always put forth in favour of their beloved rainflower.

A psychotropic wonder that will otherwise continue to carry an undeserved lack of bouquet-appeal.

Thus the Root-Scourers often find themselves disdaining this part of the process, involving all the same patience in earnest as they would in evading danger, draining the mind in hypervigilance rather than supervision, and all in the arduous, back-breaking work to find the best flower's bloom. A pursuit of which many other Archaisian botanists see as unfruitful, not understanding that the risk, to these Novanian Wetlanders in particular, is that one tree of wonder from where the fruit of vigor can be plucked, that which rewards one's courage to dance on naked flames in their own way. Something of a drug in it's own right, or at least to the viewpoints of those who refuse to understand the Scourer caste, a small blight that serves to bless in the long-run, especially in terms of exclusivity.

​

As soon as the vine's root-system is dried to adequate extremes, the secondaries are snapped from the primary-root stem by hand, though this part of the task is ironically the only stage of the scouring process where protective equipment is worn for the Scourers' sake. Blighted before, though in previous centuries of slower, laborious bursts of technological rediscovery, these communities often tell tales of the godly wrath of one who stumbles into the realms of the Ancients, telling of hapless, crash-dummie archetypes who scoured without gloves or mask worn for the task. Serving one useful purpose among many, including the utility of the respect due to the tertiaries the Scourers then part from their secondaries, plucking the thick hair-columns from every last one of their stick-like bases, further-adapted to modernity by the small vibro-sheers they use in replacement of the fishing-knives the Scourers used in the past.

Even in the packaging process, utilising the gifts of lifelong glassblowers and ramshackle crates crafted by the Scourers' own nails and mallets, everything about the last preparation-stage will go on to negate the modernity of the vibrosheers they use among the latest scouring generations; as like with all things sentient, with the white-eyed Novanians being no exception in the slightest, old habits seemingly continue to die hard at the turn of the next century. Willingly (perhaps even stubbornly so) taking on the extra risks just to fill and cork up their harvests by hand, the old-fashioned way - as their fathers did before them.

The Lore

There are many beliefs on the matter of how exactly the Arkanians of Novania could've come to discover the Radix Matris tertiary, some conventional, some scholarly, and others, few and far-between though their numbers might be, (and might've been then also) these others in particular hold beliefs on the Root that leap far beyond the precipice of the esoteric. Few truly know the way it all began for those enterprising Arkanian few who first discovered this vine-root in particular, the story of how that burning-gold powder would change their culture forever, but of those who do, there is still much they hold secret behind the surface-level truth.

Any deity, Ancients of the Root's native planet, would tell the common Shaman caste that not even their ilk truly knew their earliest beginnings with what they named,"The Seer's Flower", at the time; namely those of Maaru's Firedancers, of Melarranist Orthdoxy, with shamans of Blood-Shamanic affiliation included to name but a few. Thus bringing about the consensus that this would be a making of Melarria herself, known to have tended endless gardens and groves (in the ages before the Mother of the Forests married into her honorific, godly mask-name) in aeons long-forgotten to Archis, thus bringing about unanimous agreement on the assumption that this was, as a matter of canonical fact, the work of their revered Lady of the Wilderness.

But of those living closer to the Ancients residing within the masks of their chosen High-Shaman equivalents, of those seers in good, communicative standing with the wounded Force-Entities to whom they still pray, much more than this is known. Guarded though this truth might be, and correct though the main consensus might be at the surface, there is still a particular more to which most Ancients are unwilling to refer, though perhaps mostly on account of the fact they wish not to repeat a cursed chapter from Archais' ancient, near-forgotten history. As all under the system's sun (and all living in realms of ascendant design) would know better than to be careless with such potency, but recent times have fortunately turned to the safety of revelation, and with the Highland Brotherhood's Novanians devoting studies to the Root, it was only a matter of time before the Druids helped their Shamanic peers uncover interesting perspectives on the matter.

But the real truth beneath the surface, highly-coveted though it might be - is much stranger than the research on the Root ever could be.

I knew every single flower I ever made, every last one.
That is, until that fateful morning - the day my gaze crossed her bloom for the first time.

That one pretty vine by the lake, that unusual, burning bloom - she told me I knew nothing at all.
​

According to most Shamans, Mother Melarria would have carried an entirely different name at the time of the Root's,"Making", though this likely is an accurate estimation; lending credence to the hidden truth that this was a botanical side-project for the Force-Entities of Melarria's maiden-family, incorrectly assumed since to be of,"Chthonic" origin before misfortune found them eventually, as is evidenced in their spiritual contributions to the flora and fauna alike. Yet even with the questionable nature of it's origin, there are dwindling doubts as to whether the Lady of the Forests (along with her two brothers, Surr'Huwal and Arr'Huwal) tinkered with the flower's roots or not, as even the greatest of Novania's theological stalwarts can agree to the vineroot's potency by the time it was gifted to Melarran's family of foreign Force-Entities, potent enough to discover powers that perhaps might still exceed the limits of sentient comprehension in modern times.

But besides the realms they could make on astral, dreaming plains, the Root herself enabled the awakening of powers the Ancients themselves didn't know were attainable then, awakening the very auras around which emanated colors of which they never even knew existed until their moments of self-discovery; and on this, every last recipient of their gods' oral traditions will agree to this day, almost treated like a matter of a fact from where all affiliations are admitted. One of few things at all about their faith they can agree on, whatwith so many sects and cults therein drawing their own theologies from that one root collection of runes, tablets and scroll-translations, the mythology all Novanian Theocratics refer to as,"The First Awakening".

A positive beginning to a story that ended tragically for these Force Entities in the end, as many believe that without this era of dreamlike wonder, there would have been no mythical vine to seek out, nor any culture to uncover and revive in later millennia. But of all the minds who found and deciphered the first runes among the ruins of old Novania, of those archaeologists whose works led them to become fabled legends in their own right, the ones who searched out the vine-flower for themselves would be the ones remembered by time as ubiquitous with the Seer's Flower. Assuring this, however, was the fact all five Pioneers of the Laras Expedition would follow the Tertiary-Root farming instructions found on the back-face of the Mother's Tablet, but the one thing that drew them ever-closer to modern scholarly relevance - all five would unanimously denote the Root's double-edged nature in fearful understanding of it's power.

Wisely seeing it's potential to ruin the same world the Ancients had been building together before, all five archaeologists of the Laras Expedition agreed this,"Drug" was nothing of the sort to be trifled with, and nothing of the sort to consider of pharmaceutical value. A choice of which that would mark the very capstone of their curiosity, marking the first of many forays into spirituality for the Laras family in particular, but with it, marking the first of recent Arkanian shifts from industrious to spiritual, the first evolution from one race to something almost-entirely new. A choice wise enough that all Novanian beliefs today were inadvertently built on that same respect of the Root's power, as a grand more was learned of it's potential dangers thereafter; from the risk of Force-Sensitive exposure to smoky fumes, (or blood-exposure) to the Radix Matris being the very catalyst of the Ancients' downfall, it was clear from the offset that more needed to be learned for the sake of the world that accepted them.

And not only that, but also for the sake of their children, and the nation they would inherit when the Laras scientists passed away.

A sentient bouquet, though two Arkanians would always stand out.
That married couple leading their adventure.... Ernesto and Ulpiana Laras.

It was their eyes. Even now, I feel them peering into my soul.​

The Novanian people were gifted a fortunate turn of luck when the Laras Expedition found the Mother's Tablet, first to find what the souls of their people needed, more than anything else the Arkanians needed as reward for their journey to the Galactic Inner Rim, and long before the Galaxy's great powers colonized the planet in expansionist apathy. However, common-sense would prevail in the wittiest of minds in the budding Novanian community, as the earliest governing bodies always knew the overriding truth; if curious scientists could so-easily ignore Vicondor, sensing worth and wonder awaited on Archais as if gut-instinct guided their choice of two, then powers much greater than their own would doubtlessly make the same choice eventually.

Helping to hide the ruins, the tablets and everything the community had previously uncovered, letting Nature reclaim her wonders from the Galactic superpowers of the future, preemptively freeing Archais' greatest treasures of their prying, avaricious hands, as there were always other means of archiving all that was unearthed by the Laras Expedition. As by then, this archiving technology was centuries-old, even by Galactic standards, and improved upon many-multiple time over; but with that, such technologies had become complex enough to scrub their servers of information almost instantly, and without a single combustive detonation needed to complete the task.

As a countermeasure of which that eventually amounted to six generations in the making, and consequently, as a legendary Shaman's great wartime gambit several generations after it's completion, such forethought always made it easy for learned Shamans to see how such people could be lionized, even deified by future generations. Such opened floodgates of knowledge flooded the lands where Ancients walked, and despite it all, the Laras seers were always humble in their recognition, diverting all praise to the flower that changed everthing. Wonders that would never cease for as long as this Shamanic faith continued to grow and blossom around the archival library of the Expedition's making, making proper use of (what would later be named-) *O Arquivo Laras for as long as their good fortune lasted, sowing the seeds of faith and spirituality to all-peoples secular - like casting seeds to the humid airs of Novania's early dry-season dew.

Transl. (Arkanian) **The Laras Archive

This level of reverence would consequently give the Shamans of the future a very distinct impression of the Expedition, as many would rightly assume the Laras scientists learned to embody the very flower that captured their imaginations in the beginning.

The Research (Shamanic/Druidic)

In reference to research, almost all the Highland Brotherhood's most-controversial pursuits start with discussions in earnest, and in truely curious, scholarly fashion, these interactions usually result in terse, tense discussions of ethical, even moral concern before long. Showing the Mother's Root to be a naturally-prevalent point of contention in and of itself, and especially so within Novania's Shamanic spheres of influence, and since the founding of the first Shamanic sects, that priestly-demeanour (for which they were always known) has always taken a back-seat to the scholarly ways that serve as the bedrock for the very community that nurtured their culture in the first place.

As like with all-things Druidry among their Goidelic peers, Novanian Shamans are ever-seeking the empirical, the tangible in finds of supernatural nature, finding proof of spiritual presence and stepping through the doorways they find, and the Highland Brotherhood have encouraged this train of thought in all their brethren-members since the early, rebellious years of the order's tentative formation. One particular policy of which the Goidels would note had met with the great approval of their first Novanian initiates, and had continued to do so for every Shaman who dared to dream with them thereafter, making it easy to understand why curisoities had aligned from the offset of their education, though alignment quickly followed on the curiosities towards the psychotropic substances on which their contemporaries relied.

This was viewed as a good omen by Brotherhood initiates and unaffiliated masters alike, seeing this Goidelic tradition as compatible with their own, regardless of whether their Stagfood mushrooms were used to practice their ritualistic craft or not; but just as the Novanians became enamored by the practices of their Human brethren, the Humans soon became enthralled by the intrigue of the Radix Matris tertiary, with Lord Michael Barran being the one who stood as the very first Goidel in history to dance barefoot on naked flames. After that, all stigmas attached would be cast to the winds for the sake of their brethren, letting curiosity take precedence for all they would embark upon to learn from the Ancients, as there would be much and more the Root itself had left to teach them by then, though none knew then as to how far the Highland Brotherhood would tumble down the rabbit-hole - willingly falling deeper in search of knowledge.

Thus through the Priest-King and Regency's heir, the Brotherhood would dig and dig as deep as their research could reach, and though the lion's share of the verified theories and development lay within the tree of military application, so much more of their time has been devoted to the esoteric aspects of the Seer's Flower. Regardless of the mask, regardless of whether their masks were of wood or skull, Lord Michael's chosen minds, these mystics have uncovered vital truths and mysterious pursuits in abundance, making sense of all that would warrant the fair warnings engraved in the ruins of the Ancients.

The main points of interest being;

• Powers of the Ancients
• Root Vision Interpretation
• Astral/Dream Doorways
• Telepathic Communication
• The Downfall of the Ancients
• The Foes who Conquered their Civilisation
• The Tolls Inflicted on Archais' Ecosystems
• Results of Root-Inflicted Catalysm

The last of which meshing as a joint-department endeavour, blending mysticism and military-science to confirm the results of backfiring implementation, among numerous other strategical and ethical concerns. Most of the freshly-initiated find difficulty comprehending such interwoven ontology, but when tenures stretch on and insight is offered, a certain will to silence all detraction begins to take hold, granting easier access for those mystics who gain entry to the Brotherhood's laboratories in advisory roles. Knowing the lore (and learning more as one continues working within the confines of the Brotherhood's hierarchy) and understanding the extent of the risks involved through the archaeological research alone, this often proves enough for the scientists to refrain from hindering the cautionary workings of their spiritually-trained colleagues - lending context as to how catastrophic errors could make an entire esoteric order so cautious.

Over such a small, pretty little vineflower.

The Research (Military)

"Michael, I'm sure you don't need me to remind you of the implications here.... What we're embarking on, it changes - EVERYTHING!!!!'
Yorunarr Ahan-Yan'Sharlim
Melarran's Godseer (865 ABY)​

"Doing the impossible, quantifying the esoteric, making reason of all in the mind that the Root would bend."

This was the early intention of the Woad and the Novanian leading the Brotherhood when their research began. Yet little did they know (though little they ever could know at the time-) as to how much their bid to understand, unable to divine what,"Everything", meant, and with it - unable to see how much momentum the Brotherhood's research could gain without interruption.

From what would begin as a way to pass the time on active duty, then stemmed out to what seemed like endless hours of investigative, archival recordings; but when entire R&D departments began to spring up around their supporting subordinates, granting precedents and funding for secret facilities all across the Pellaeonist reach of influence, the sleepwalking founders of these institutions would find abundant indicators of their ambitious miscalculation. Fortunate then that this research continues through the colleges that train the Shamans and Druids of the future, as the Brotherhood's High-Command have benefitted greatly from the insatiable curiosities of this unlikely friendship between Human and Arkanian mystics. Perhaps even moreso in consideration of the awareness instilled in the scientific caste, and to a standard professional enough that diminishes all risks to secure, sanitary extremes.

It is on this bedrock of health-and-safety awareness (of hazard-prevention doctrine at it's strictest-) that the military research has been conducted with the most success, and for as long as capsule and warhead containment-methods continue to evolve with the times, the Highland Brotherhood's top-secret experiments continue to yield accurate, trackable results. From the effectiveness of delivery-methods, from common coating-gels to niche SABOT shells, and everything in-between, to the very recipients of the Root in any of it's forms, all have been considered from the safe confines of the Brotherhood's many decontaminated settings, knowing the barely-explicable power of this anomalous native element.

Rightly so, as a pervading, near-prevalent truth of their pursuits indicate one particular finding; for every discovery they allow to trickle down to the mainstream studies of acolytes and students alike, another is thrown behind endless seals and red-tape in secrecy, as findings of the latter sort often end up being of the sort the Brotherhood wish not to fall into the wrong hands. But in the understanding of the very vineroot's nature, it becomes understandable as to why they hide so much about it, especially with the ROOT X Program serving as a deciding-factor of this discretion, as increasing the potency of the Radix Matris root (in any way, shape or form) could only ever invite a volatility that tests the very standards that safeguard against it.

However, it is through these risks with the Mother's Root that the most vital discoveries were made possible for military researchers:

• Categorized Risks/Hazards for Force-Sensitives and Hybrids
• Diagnosis-and-Treatment Methods for Force-Sensitives and Hybrids
• Uncovering Every Known Variant of Root-Berserker
• Berserker-Nullification Methods
• Open-Air Implementation
• Open-Air Containment
• Ethical Interrogation Alternatives
• Nonlethal Implementation Strategies

DEEP - Marking Novanian-Specific Research
' ' - Marking Goidel-Specific Research
PALE - Marking Goidelic Involvement
' ' - Marking Novanian Involvement

Without these discoveries, it is entirely possible the Highland Brotherhood would be giving new meaning to,"Dancing barefoot on naked flames.", by now, and as a result, many within this often-contradictory profession believe the rewards are likely to outweigh the risks. Perhaps averting disaster by daring it's return in controlled environments specifically, though in the case of intel gained from live, strategic implementation, methods of containment often meet with challenges that require ingenuity and unorthodox thinking to correct the consequences of miscalculation. This merciful, regretful way of thinking, however, is only usually reserved for foes of a specifically conventional sort, considered solely for the rivals in war who still comfortably boast of honour and civilisation, for the better souls of those the Force chooses to bestow it's gifts.

Studies enough can be conducted on the ones for whom the Brotherhood offer aid, in medicine as much as rehabilitation, bringing many back from the consequent vacant husks they risk becoming, but the resulting experiments fortunately present ethical limitations to scientific curiosity. Made all the easier in established grading-convention of the RX Program's compounds, thus risk-assessment for outbreaks of NFU-Catatonia, Force-Berserking and the like has prompted specificity in the doctrines that dictate live-implementation, and their fitting target-recipients split off accordingly.

RX - 1 [Threat-Level: JADE]
CROWD-CONTROL/DISTANCING TOOL​

Reserved inclusively for use by planetary law-enforcement and shamanic scholars. Novanian Law permits it's use in escalating riots, criminal interrogations, and Advanced Shamanic Studies.

Correct, sanctioned usage of the RX-1 Jade standard, as according to Hirkenburg Law, is also permitted against opposing beligerents as a nonlethal alternative to conflict escalation. In the understanding that most of the Galaxy's soldiers are still yet to acclimate to it, the only ethical requirements for arresting victors would be to be mindful in the process of providing aid as the resulting hallucinatory effects take hold. Beyond that, the only other requirement of the sort would be to supervise the subsequent detoxification-process, as this process is naturally more arduous for beligerents or rioters who happen to be battling substance addictions at the time, often proving to have violent internal effect in contrast to clean-blooded recipients.

RX - 2 [Threat-Level: AMBER]
AREA DENIAL/BLOODLESS VICTORY​

Reserved exclusively for use by the Highland Brotherhood taskforces and RX Program scientists. Novanian Law restricts it's use to military R&D and strategic application against opposing combatants - banned from use against domestic beligerents.

Whilst still considered nonlethal to the scientists appointed to the study of the Amber standard, the results on the battlefield could only present more volatile results with wartime variables factored into the catalysation, and though all the right antitodes and treatments remain close to hand in the Brotherhood's laboratories, counting on opposition to carry such things would be a pipedream at best for the taskforces who call for RX-2 drops under fire. The risks of Force-Berserker outbreak also begin here, as it often turns out that Force-Sensitives of wicked, psychotic disposition find greater difficulty in holding back suppressed ferality under the Root's influence, a combat-timebomb macro to the hallucinogenic micro of NFU combatants of the same, vicious predilection.

RX - 3 [Threat-Level: RUBY]
DESTABILIZATION/DISPLACEMENT​

Reserved exclusively for use by Brotherhood High-Command and by the RX Program's executive branch. Hirkenburg Law restricts usage for last-option strategic implementation - latter amendments permit implementation on Darkside/Mawsworn planets.

To incur the Ruby standard (as of 901 ABY) is to incur the absolute worst in wartime hallucinogenic experiences, and though the Brotherhood clearly do not intend to conduct research on a would-be,"RX-4", its likelihood remains for that slim chance the first three formulas fall into the wrong hands. The Galaxy's powers have proven, time and time again, that they cannot be trusted with biological weapons of any sort, let alone the Ruby standard. Thus it falls onto the judgement of a Druid-Grandmaster's varying temperament, along with that of the Shaman overseeing the security and development of the infamous RX-3 compound, to dictate when it makes sense to use it against their enemies. As it is under Ruby standard conditions when the Root's Force-Berserkers begin to resemble those the Ancients fought, suffering greatly to the tide of ferality in the weeks leading to their downfall, and its these cases the Brotherhood know they need to record and study most of all - as the Galaxy itself could depend on what they might find.

The Red-Tape

NOVANIAN LAW
Domestic/Academic Statutes
For Planetary Guards, Police, Shamans and Academics
​

Through the autonomies granted by the New Imperial Order, the Empire and the Imperial Military Protectorate, the Novanians have been allowed to preside over their own governance for the most part, and as a result of their longstanding service to Imperium, have been granted their own collective voice in the supervision of Root products resting within public reach. From the powdered psychedelic hiding in the deepest corners of every Shaman's satchel, to the legally-controlled compound in the smoke-grenades of Guard-Trooper and Law-Enforcement arsenals alike, the matter of policing mainstream Root distribution falls under Novanian jurisdiction, much to the relief of the local Shamanic caste.

The insight of the Novanians has proven instrumental so far, thus their perspective has been vital in the push to draft laws concerning the RX formulae, and with signed resolutions committing the Goidels to Novania's newfound purpose - these Arkanians are more than willing to gatekeep the first layers of bureaucratic red-tape for their Human brethren.

Providing several tiers of approval for applicants, all aspects of Root-distribution are overseen by officials and enforcers alike, and from the humble scourers of the Wetlands right up to Hirkenburg PD's serving high-commissioner, all now answer to Novania's appointed,"Cloaks", accordingly. But with adherence incentives in place, gradually diminishing cost and taxation over time, diminishing counts of penalties are incurred for unsanctioned purchase/implementation with every passing year, making the matter of control much easier for the Brotherhood's Novanians in the long run. Shaky though the start might have been, the amnesties offered the established channels assured market dominance within months of implementing the aforementioned incentives, lending further credence to the perceptions of local administrative effectiveness.

It helps greatly to see that Novanians take pride in maintaining that synergy between mainstream and top-secret jurisdictions, as peace-of-mind could very well be the desired outcome for all involved; evident enough in the controlled flow of information and distribution respectively, but perhaps especially in their quickness to resolve each glaring issue to lawful, sanitary standards. The Druid-Grandmaster's clique have since grown to respect this dedication in particular, though the Goidelic element have always appreciated the workings of Novanian Law for it's efficiency, even if only from afar. Thus In light of this realisation, the Novanians were duly invited to attend when the first command statutes were written; collaboratively drafting proposals that formed the very bedrock of today's Hirkenburg Law, all operating under acquiescence to the fact the open-access days of the Laras Archive were long gone, and especially so by the time the Hirkenburg statutes were established.

HIRKENBURG LAW
Command/Scientific Statutes
For Military, Fleet, Armorers and Approved Scientists​

If one were to meet with resistance at the second layer of red-tape, its usually at that point when stricter punitive measures are taken, as the circumvention of Novanian law will have met with charges of their own, lesser severity. After all, it takes one sort of idiocy to be caught attempting acquisition of the RX-1 formula, along with any number of it's many products, but another brand entirely to seek out the military-grade formulae. The Hirkenburg-locked substances always have been (and always will be-) secured behind multiple layers of fortified, armed cordoning, and for as long as these compounds bear dangers to public and Galactic stability, Druids and Shamans alike have dictated the need to protect Brotherhood assets,"As one would his own home.", complete with enforcement clearance for all on-duty security staffers.

Yet regardless of the fact they retain permissions to arrest, intern and investigate accordingly, the strictness of the statutes could only sensibly include precedents granting clearance to neutralise the real threats, especially in the unforeseen circumstances that dictate viable need to defend their stations effectively. It is on these matters of disastrous implication specifically that the Hirkenburg statutes reveal their hidden nuances, as further resolutions were written on Parliament Row to ensure the lasting integrity of every RX Program site, including grants of yearly funding-packages, building-materials, armaments and surveillance-equipment to make these sites as defensible as possible.

Thus it will become quite apparent, and to all who either daunder or dare, that tripping Brotherhood alarms will mark infractions much greater than those policed by Novanian law - and the severity of the consequent response will serve as a fitting illustration of that point.

Tripping alarms, as many well-adjusted security operators know from the defensive layouts, would mean the intruder either infiltrated or fought their way beyond the first line of defence; and though reason often prevails in the enforcement of common-law on lesser intrusions, as tresspassing laws are usually enforced nonviolently with the qualified permissions, there is always the rare chance that raiders, marauders or OPFOR could be enacting siege conditions. This is where the latter Hirkenburg proposals come into play, as the first of these Imperial grants were also passed down with containment protocols to follow, defensive strategies for every conceivable attacker, from the lowest common gang to the highest rung of Mawsworn Marauder collectives.

Even going so far as to provide servers for a threat-database, built for every site-security array to reference at will, granting another tactical advantage against the highest-possible risks. The greatest, most violent of which will likely carry green-light permissions, with each specific shoot-on-sight clearance granted only by,"Cloaks", of Hirkenburg Law. Though just like their Novanian brethren's amnesties, time was also on Hirkenburg's side, compelled though they were to compile and complete approvals for more than a thousand green-light orders every year, the threat-databases have since grown immensely. The Cloaks in charge of holding the red-tape know the necessity, as they have seen first-hand what their enemies are like, the way they fight and even the sorts of superweapons they seek; thus know how much is needed to uphold Hirkenburg Law, to hold the ground around the RX sites - against any and all prying hands.