[Guide] Epiphytes

[LaffenOutLoud 352]

 

A Guide to Epiphytes

[Lore Link]

 

“Seasons come and go, kingdoms rise and fall all around them. Nothing truly matters except that they are in the presence of the tree and they are in the midst of nature.” - An unsigned tome

 

Overview of Epiphytes

 

An Epiphyte is a Descendant who has developed a physical, mental, and emotional bond with rare plants that are able to enter the mortal realm from the realm of the Fae. Epiphytes have been viewed overtime in specific, separate contexts. These are the Dryads and Byrophites. What many do not know, however, is that they are both actually the same species, along with a more unseen variant of them, the Saprophytes. 

 

Epiphytes are unique beings with bodies made out of plant-matter. They are still much alike their previous self before transformation, both mentally and physically; however they undergo a physical change, where their bodies are remade to mimic the plant their sacred connection is tied to. They generally retain their former personality, albeit with a feeling of needing to protect the specific plant they hold a connection with.

 

Becoming an Epiphyte: The Connection

"I took part in something I never fully understood, and my life changed before it started. Things I never got to experience were lost, life ever changing I just learned to get used to it... sorta." - Former Dryad Chloris Holz

 

When a Fae plant in question reaches a certain age, it begins to seek any Descendant to “claim,” regardless of race or gender. The Descendant in question must have a soul, and creatures such as liches, dragons, or animals cannot be transformed. Treelords also cannot become Epiphytes, due to their soul not being housed in their husk. The person, whether merely a passerby or a person within a forest following a calling, may hear a deeper lull of intrigue, or simply feel drawn to approach the plant. Some may be lulled into a sleep or others may be met with a more brute detainment. The tree, flora, or fungi is not preoccupied with being gentle; after all, but is focused on it’s own survival. The Descendant in question is then taken by the plant, cocooned by roots, bramble, or any form of plant matter which applies to the plant species. In this cocoon, the Descendant’s soul is held as their body is remade. 

 

This process has no specific time limit, however generally, not much time is needed for the transformation to undergo. At the end of this process, the person will be released from the cocoon and find themselves to be completely remade… flesh, hair, organs, bones, and all made of the material the plant species which trapped them is made of. This is quite a brutal process, and some may even categorize it as a disease.. a verdant plague completely overtaking their bodies. Immediately after transformation, an Epiphyte will find themselves to be quite disoriented and briefly traumatized as the painful flashes of memory depicting the transformation process echoes through their minds. They may feel shock, insecurity, or fear after seeing their new bodies. This is why, more often than not, an Epiphyte will always seem “different” after the initial bond with their plant. Personality changes, caused by one factor or another, are very common and noticeable. The person is simply not just transformed physically, for their very minds will be found to have changed, as well as their emotions, and finally.. their priorities.

 

While any common plant seen IRL is known to be able to birth Epiphytes, lore plants may only be used if explicitly marked as available for Epiphytes.

 

 

An Epiphyte and Their Plant

"For what one cherishes the most, there is almost nothing that can be done to stop from protecting it to the very end." - The Owl Druid

 

Upon being released from their cocoon, the initial fear and confusion would oddly not cause the new Epiphyte to flee the plant which inflicted such a change. The plant would seem to have a strong bond to the newly formed Epiphyte in quite an opposite way. The Epiphyte will feel a deep connection to their plant, and will be drawn to stick close to it. Over time, an Epiphyte will begin to decorate the plant or it’s surroundings, or even set up home around it to be as close as possible to it. If another Descendant or a threatening animal approaches the plant, the Epiphyte will be overflowed with a strong feeling… needing to protect the same plant which changed them. They will instinctively go into a full defense mode, and do anything to assure the well-being of their plant. If an Epiphyte strays from their plant, they will come to realize that no matter where they are, underground, on a different landmass, or even in a prison, they will always know where their plant is, and will always find their way back to it. For the bond between the two is not just emotion, it is a bond deeply intertwined in the Descendant’s very soul. In quite a similar emotional feeling, an Epiphyte will generally not be able to be away from their plant for extended periods of time. After a few IRL days with a long-distance away from the plant, the Epiphyte will begin to feel very anxious and on edge. If further isolation is held and somehow the Epiphyte hasn’t been able to return to their plant, the Epiphyte will slowly go mad… resorting to violence to free themselves of whatever bounds keeping them unwillingly away from their plant. They will be unable to sleep or do any major task, as the desire and necessity to be closer to their plants will take dominance of their entire mind.

 This bond allows for quite a unique ability to be held by an Epiphyte, to communicate with their plant. This is much alike druidic communion, in the sense that thoughts, emotions, and images can be conveyed strongly. However it seems to be a much stronger and powerful communication, which no average druid will have to a singular being of flora. This ability of singular communication can be emoted without the persona speaking any physical word, for it is more of a mental message. Literal speech is not required, for the mind and the sentience of nature work in odd ways when intertwined. The Epiphyte simply knows what their plant is conveying, and vice versa. The tree, plant, or fungus becomes more than family, more than love, and breaks every barrier of priority the Epiphyte had in their previous life.

 

Epiphyte Quirks and Instincts

"Sister Honey once burned a patch of Veridian Moss in the Grove.. do be mindful of her." - Autumn Druid Nivndil

 

Epiphyte’s priorities begin to completely shift in order, with the safety and well-being of their bonded plant forcefully taking the top spot of that list. This doesn’t mean that the Epiphyte will lose attachment, priority, or love to things they had in their unaltered state before the connection. An Epiphyte will still love their family and friends, and be devout or hard-working to their former beliefs and jobs. However, if the unfortunate situation of an Epiphyte’s plant being in danger and the threatening of something else they hold dear occurs at the same time, the Epiphyte’s bond to their plant will override the latter. Here are some examples:

 

A Dryad’s nation is being raided by another nearby nation. Her tree is planted in a small garden within her nation, but so is her home. She has a small son who lives in her home, whom she loves very much. She is there with him, and the raiders break through the front door. At the same time, raiders begin to burn down buildings, farms, and the forest where her tree grows. Because her soul is altered to have the tree take priority, she immediately, by instinct, abandons her son to defend her tree from the arsonists.

 

A young Epiphyte boy bonded to a flower faces a heartbreaking dilemma. His bonded flower is planted in a flower garden planted above his mother’s grave. Before her death, this was her very own garden, and this was where she wanted to be buried. He had created a home besides this, due to his immense love for his mother and wish to be as close to her physically as possible, regardless of her being dead. A taint originating from dark magic surrounds the garden and begins to creep inwards towards his bonded flower, threatening its survival. Even though he has an extreme bond to this garden, the bond to his flower is stronger. By instinct, he creates a new Fae seed for his plant and evacuates the garden, creating a new home elsewhere, and abandoning the grave of his mother forever, for the well-being of his Fae plant.

 

The nutrition an Epiphyte needs is quite a loose thing and isn’t strictly categorized. Most of the time, Epiphytes tend to still consume physical food, yet it commonly tends to be of the herbaceous type. There are exceptions to this: Epiphytes bonded to carnivorous plants will eat insects and the occasional fauna where it applies, and those bonded to fungi tend to eat anything that is rotting. Epiphytes who are bonded to any type of plant that requires photosynthesis will require the same amount of sunlight, or else they will swiftly grow ill and require it once again. Saprophytes, the fungi Epiphytes, are the opposite of course, and tend to prefer shade and the dark- Although sunlight will not typically harm them. 

 

Epiphytes still carry over any curse they had in their unaltered Descendant state. An orc Epiphyte will still fall victim to bloodlust, and a human will still not live past the age of 150, for example. Additionally, Epiphytes are completely infertile, with no exceptions. Epiphytes are very vulnerable to energies that corrupt nature, especially if they are conjured near their bonded plant. Magics sourced from voidal or dark wombs which normally affect nature in a harmful way can in effect never be used or learned by an Epiphyte. If a voidal mage, for example, becomes an Epiphyte, he or she will immediately drop the usage of it and will by instinct never cast again, as it puts their plant in danger. The following are magics which are incompatible with being an Epiphyte:

 

• Deity magics on occasion, if devotion to the deity is expected to override devotion to the Epiphyte’s plant for the magic to work, or if the Deity is against altered Descendants.

• Voidal magic of any kind

• Dark Arts such as Necromancy, Mysticism, Naztherak, and Dark Shamanism.

 

In the same way, Epiphytes will attack mages who conjure similar energies near their plants, in defense of it. Epiphytes are extremely unstable when exposed to blight. If either the Epiphyte themself or the plant is blighted, it will transfer over to the other. This drives the Epiphyte to a dangerous insanity, where they go feral, attacking anyone on sight, and begin to spread the blight further wherever they can. The only solution to this problem would be the presence of druids to blight heal either the tree or the Epiphyte. This is no easy solution, for the Epiphyte will attack any who approaches themselves or their tree The Epiphyte would thus need to be fought or detained for themselves or their tree to be blight healed. Because of the complexity of this task, more than one druid is recommended to fully heal the blight, and is absolutely required with druids who are not masters in the blight healing ability. Epiphytes who are druids cannot successfully blight heal themselves, as they will be driven far too mad to successfully perform such. 

 

Similarly to this, although much less chaotic- A druid’s energies can be used to heal wounds upon Epiphyte’s bodies using blight healing. A physically harmed Epiphyte may seek out a Druid to heal various injuries with the Druid’s usage of Blight Healing, even to the point of lost limbs. 

 

Abilities

“The Dryad might feel the roots within the dirt beneath her feet. She might feel the air passing through the branches above her, rustling the leaves. She would also feel the chop of an axe in her tree's trunk or feel the burning sensation of flames washing over the tree.”

 

Communion

Spoiler

Epiphytes all share an unmatched strong bond with their plant. It is believed that not even druids can form a bond with a plant as strong as the one the Epiphytes have. With this bond, an Epiphyte gains a “communion” ability only with their plant, where they may speak with it using only their mind. This may be seen roleplayed as not just worded messages, but as transfering images, emotions, and memories. An Epiphyte will always hear their plant, no matter how far away they are from it. If the plant is under attack, the Epiphyte will sense its fear. This ability can not be used for metagaming deaths, and the plant cannot be asked what it has “seen.” 
 

Redlines

• This ability can’t be used to inform a character of their death.

• This ability does not allow communion with any plant other than their own. That requires becoming a druid.

 

Fae & Mundane Seeds

Spoiler

Epiphytes have the ability to create two types of seeds. These seeds are always corresponding to whatever type of plant the Epiphyte is bonded with. The first, considered to be the more sacred, are the Fae seeds. Only one may be produced, and upon production of this seed the Epiphyte’s plant will die, they can then plant this seed somewhere else and their plant will regrow. This can be used to move the plant out of danger more easily, or to keep the tree alive during map changes.

 

Mundane seeds can be produced infinitely. The Epiphytes always have a drive to go on spreading mundane counterparts of the plant they are connected to. Epiphytes have a magical ability to form seeds or spores of their plant which normally grow in the Mortal Realm. The Epiphyte will then travel the realm and plant these in suitable biomes.

 

Redlines

• The Epiphyte can only have one fae plant at a time, and thus can only produce one Fae seed at a time, and can only produce a seed if the old plant is either dead, or it’s a map change.

• The Epiphyte is driven to place this Fae plant somewhere. They should find a place to plant this.

 

Rebirth

Spoiler

 

Epiphytes are in a constant cycle, repeating a period of 50-100 IRP years. The IRL equivalent of this is 1-2 years. At the end of the cycle, an Epiphyte begins to wither and slow down, as if dying of old age. Once they seemingly pass away, an infant version of the Epiphyte is born from the “corpse.” They have a similar appearance, and share virtually the same memories. The Epiphyte is reborn. The degree of memory obtained from the previous cycle is up to the player. In this youth, circumstances may happen where the personality of the Epiphyte in this new cycle will be different. This infant grows incredibly fast, reaching the normal adulthood after one RP year, which is one IRL week. In their infancy week, the Epiphyte is considered a child by the server and cannot break rules such as magic RP (the magic will be available to RP again after the week has ended.) The young Epiphyte is vulnerable and will often attach to another adult whom they will expect to take care of them. This ability does not add any length of time to your normal race’s lifespan. Humans will still die at around the age of 150, but they will still be able to RP this rebirth between one and two times in their character’s life-span. 

 

Redlines

• Becoming an Epiphyte does not erase existing lifespans. Epiphytes will still die of old age at the end of their original lifespan.

• The original Epiphytes soul is retained through this process, carrying over memories, magic, and curses. Iblees’ curses are always present. Magic goes dormant until the new Epiphyte is fully grown. Memories are up to the player to determine how they carry over.

• Due to no underage magic allowed, magic is temporarily unavailable during the RP year where they are growing up again. This is for the best.

• As a real-life year is equivalent to about 52 RP years, this means that this process can only be gone through close to once a real-life year at the most frequent, and should happen once every other real-life year at the least frequent. (This range of real-life time is why this length of cycle was chosen)

• While personality can shift, it doesn’t become the opposite of what it was in the previous life. A total reversal of personality still requires the same amount of extensive RP to justify as it would for any other creature.

 

 

Appearance of Epiphytes

"Ah.. At first, it was like being surrounded by the blinding light of my own race's rage against me, but.. Now, centuries later, I finally got to see a kind and gentle world. I used to hate what I was before, but now I feel if it were to come to pass again, it wouldn't be so bad." - Former Bryophite, Vivianne Verdigris

 

Epiphytes take on the appearance of their designated plant they are connected to. Large or small, and regardless of shape, your persona should resemble their original race, height and weight based off of this. When designing the appearance of your skin and general persona, you should keep a resemblance to your character’s previous self, save for them being made from plant matter. The plant in question matches the plant that changed your persona. The detailed features of Epiphytes tend to start straying from mundane Descendant features. These are exotic touches, such as flowers growing from the thigh and hair, toes becoming more like roots, eyes changing color, or small branch-like horns growing from the head. All of these features are aesthetic and shall not be used for any RP advantage. 

 

Skinning Your Epiphyte

Skinning your Epiphyte is a fun and creative process! It is crucial to keep strict appearance similarities to the plant your Epiphyte is connected to. You may start with coloring the normal skin-tone of your persona as the color of the bark or stem of the plant in question. An easy direction to take the hair part of the skin is making it more leafy, and changing the color to the color of any foliage the plant has. If your plant flowers, adding similarly colored flowers to the body and hair is a wonderful touch! Then, think of any details. Do you want to add moss? Markings? Be creative, your Epiphyte’s entire body is changed. Eyes and all. You may change the coloring of your eyes as well. 

 

General Redlines

 

Spoiler

 

• An Epiphyte does not give birth. The only “children” they have is the Epiphyte born from the rebirth process.

• Epiphytes can only bind to real life plants, trees, and fungi. If an LotC-specific plant has not been marked as playable by the lore or the staff, then it is off limits.

• An Epiphyte does not retain the medicinal/poisonous properties of their plant. To have access to plant matter that contains those properties, whether from their fae plant, or a mundane plant they have grown or found.

• A Bonzai Epiphyte is treated like a child character for the purposes of server rules and real-life law. No magic due to server rules. No ftb or erp due to server rules, the law in most countries, and basic decency.

• An Epiphyte’s fae plant is a fae plant like the one that changed them and is capable of changing new people. Epiphytes can prevent this from happening due to their connection if required. Generally, Epiphytes tend to allow people to come by their plant unless the person is considered a risk, or under agreement with whatever authority they live under.

• Epiphytes don’t try to force people to sleep beside their plant as doing so puts them and their plant at risk of extermination, which is an unacceptable risk to their altered priorities.

• Epiphytes can’t learn void magic. Void magic is toxic to their plant bodies.

• They cut pretty easily. Easier than a descendant. No shrugging off sword slashes.

• A tree lord can’t become an Epiphyte as their soul is not housed in their husk. The fae plant will not try to change them, and if it were to try, it would simply kill the husk. An Epiphyte, likewise, can’t become a tree lord, though this due to the fact that it would sever the connection to their plant, and that would run directly counter to their post-change priorities.

• Only descendants can become an Epiphyte. Other creatures like liches, dragons, or animals are not targeted by fae plants.

• When it comes to the influence of druid abilities, communion, control, or herblore can’t be used on the Epiphyte. The fae plant can be affected, and any normal plant the Epiphyte grows can be affected. Blight healing can be used on the Epiphyte, and can be used to cure blight and heal various injuries, up to and including lost limbs.