[✓] [World Lore] - Everwinter Tree

[Pengin 387]

[World Lore] - Everwinter Tree

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Spoiler

Music Theme - 

 

 

 

Origins

           Arising in the blizzard-worn depths of the arctic regions, the Everwinter Tree is an elusive and estranged existence which finds itself secluded from civilization. Hosting an ethereal appearance, the frost-touched tree only naturally grows within the most treacherous reaches of snowbound lands where blizzards and freezing temperatures prove to be relentless and consistent threats at all times of the year. Rarely enough, a descendant, whether due to bravery, belligerence, or a form of insanity beyond comprehension, will venture far enough out into these extraordinarily dangerous reaches to chance upon these elusive masterpieces of nature. For those who are both lucky enough to find them and lucky enough to survive the discovery of them, the opportunity to bring both knowledge and samples of them back to society becomes a blessing, each expedition over the centuries having slowly offered more and more awareness of its existence. In modern times, while still an elusive myth to many, knowledge regarding the tree has become much more accessible, both for those desiring to raise them within the safety of civilization and for those maddened enough to venture out into the wilderness to seek a glimpse of their in their native environment.

 

Ecology

           The everwinter tree is a mystical looking tree. At first glance, it appears to be a tree without leaves, but rather a tangled mass of ice and icicles in place of its crown. The bark varies in shades of blue, light enough to be almost snow-white or dark enough to be akin to purple. Due to the unique nature of how they grow, each tree tends to have an equally unique growth pattern, similar to the fingerprint patterns of descendants. While these trees naturally have low temperatures, they don't come close to freezing temperatures. Their temperatures remain low enough to give an unsettling chill to those who touch it though. An especially high water content in the tree gives them a feeling of extremely dense gelatin. Although they give the impression of being easily dented and damaged, they are actually protected by a slick sleet-like coating that serves as their bark. Instead of being used to prevent water loss, this odd bark is used as a shock absorber. When receiving blunt damage, it may look dented, but is actually just compressed, slowly decompressing over the course of about half an hour. The trees are, however, fairly weak to slashes due to the gel-like consistency of the bark. However, the tree's exceptional regenerative abilities allow it to repair small wounds within an hour and large ones within a day, typically. If a tree takes too much damage, it may enter a pseudo-state of dormancy where all functions cease except for bodily duties, focusing on regeneration of the damaged areas.

 

          The wood itself is similar to compacted sleet, except much tougher. Once again, it is highly resistant to blunt damage, but can chip and crack from piercing and slashes. Akin to the bark, the structure of the wood focuses on efficiently receiving damage then swiftly restoring itself rather than completely preventing damage. The odd qualities of this tree allow it to thrive in places where blizzards frequently pelt the area with large chunks of hail. When the bark or the wood itself is dented or cracked, it gives off a chime-like sound of ice breaking. In particularly large forests during severe storms, there is a phenomenon called an “Everwinter Symphony” in which large numbers of trees , roughly two dozen (24) or more, receiving damage at the same time cause an absurd amount of sound to reflect throughout the woods, adding to the already tormenting sound of the blizzard. These events are often loud enough to deafen somebody, leaving them with a haunting memory of being able to hear nothing but the endless sound of chimes ringing, crystals shattering, ice breaking, and wind blowing until their world goes silent and they cannot hear anything anymore. Small forests are capable of deafening a person in about an hour, but the process shortens several minutes for each tree past thirty (30).

 

          Everwinter trees absorb moisture either by absorbing water from snow landing on their gelatinous bark or by direction absorption through the roots like a water pump. Water is heavily required in their gel-like icy bark and tough icicle-like leaves, neither forming properly without a large quantity of it. Most have relatively ovate foliage, but most have different patterns depending on where they grow. A good example is everwinter trees next to rivers, which more often than not heavily lean towards the river due to the increased moisture present from the riverside. Water plays a massive part in everwinter tree ecology, making up a majority of an everwinter tree’s size. The tree itself is normally thin and brittle, but typically doubles to triples in size after absorbing large amounts of water, akin to a sponge. Naturally produced antifreeze proteins within their sap prevent the tree from becoming brittle, despite the freezing temperatures that often accompany their habitat. When no moisture is present, the tree’s protective bark layer dries up and makes the tree very vulnerable. Given their biggest need is solely moisture, these trees can thrive in a variety of places. However, they will never seed outside regions where winter hits the hardest. Their biological cues to produce seeds are freezing temperatures, only dropping them during snowstorms when the wind can blow them a distance away.

 

          When it comes to natural illnesses, they are relatively resilient, having few diseases that can thrive within their abnormal structure. On top of being difficult to infect, their surfaces are relatively sterile. Both the gel-like bark and the surface of the leaves are uncomfortable for bacteria to survive on, resulting in naturally clean trees. One of the few diseases that can sicken, and even kill, everwinter trees is a rare disease native to them known as ‘Brittleblight.’ This disease causes the trees to be incapable of both properly absorbing moisture and producing their antifreeze proteins, causing them to dehydrate and shrink, on top of becoming very brittle. Although rare due to their host’s sterile nature, their mortality rate is fearsomely high due to the fact that the trees lose their impact-resistance when afflicted by it. Very few trees die of the disease itself, however, often perishing from being snapped by storm debris before they get the chance to wither away.

 

Everwinter Components

     Utilizable ingredients that can be gathered from everwinter trees. Mainly used in artisan handicrafts for jewelry and woodworking.
 

Sleetwood  Properties:      When saturated sleetwood is similar to oak wood in quality but is highly fire-resistant due to having so much moisture absorbed into the wood, but when dehydrated it shrinks by about 20%, becoming lightweight and soft on top of becoming hyper-flammable. The hyper-flammable dried wood has less intense flames than normal wood as well as burning out faster. The wood does have an interesting side-effect of changing the color of the fire to whatever the color of the wood was, which ranges from snow-white to navy blue. Touching saturated sleetwood is similar to touching dry ice. Upon coming in contact with saturated sleetwood (typically through removal of the gelatin bark), skin will rapidly lose both heat and moisture. After about a minute of touching it without protection the area of contact will be left dried out with minor frostbite.   Applications:        Due to the softer, lightweight nature of the wood it is often used for recreational sculpting and festive masks.   Harvesting:      Sleetwood can be harvested in the same way any normal wood can - by chopping down an everwinter tree. Sleetwood must then be dehydrated by letting it dry for several days, after which it will dry up and become almost completely incapable of absorbing moisture, becoming hyper-flammable in the process. This hyper-flammability can be dealt with using athin.   Redlines: - Sleetwood in its saturated state is too difficult to work with by any normal means. Even if one does painstakingly work with saturated sleetwood it is more than likely that unless they keep it submerged it will slowly dry out and shrink, ruining whatever product they created. - Saturated sleetwood can be guarded against through any protective layering egardless of how thin it may be. - Saturated sleetwood can only inflict minor frostbite as the temperature of the wood is too low to cause any irreparable harm. - Dried sleetwood can catch on fire by mere sparks, akin to flammable gasses. - The alchemical effect sleetwood has on the color of flames is only cosmetic and does not change the temperature of the fire. - Dried sleetwood is not sturdy enough to use for anything that should be relied upon such as building materials or weapon handles. - Does not require ST signature.

 

 

Everwinter Leaf   Link to Source Properties:      Everwinter leaves are unlike other tree leaves, instead of taking a wide and flat form, they take a form similar to icicles. These “icicles” are crystalline in texture and dense to the point of being rock-hard. They absorb and retain moisture extremely well. Excess water that condenses or drips out of the leaf is dripped onto the roots. Their surface with anti-bacterial properties makes it hard for bacteria to survive on them. Their shape and size greatly vary from leaf to leaf, but they always have the same conical, icicle-like design. Unlike the tree’s bark and wood, the leaves are always icy-white and somewhat translucent.   Applications:      Everwinter leaves have varying uses depending on the shape and size of the leaf. Thinner, sharper needles are often used as a substitute for metal needles in villages far from larger towns which have access to such commodities. Larger ones are often used in decorations such as wind-chimes and ornaments after being dulled, some even using them to style hair. With a specific refinement technique common within northern farlands the leaves can be “melted” down into thread which are used to make a type of silk called sleetsilk with a similar consistency to polyester.   Harvesting:      Harvesting everwinter leaves is as simple as breaking them off the tree. It is recommended to cut at the base due to the softer nature of the tree bark and the density of the leaves making them hard to snap with human hands.   Refining (Not for Sleetsilk):       Everwinter leaf refinement is as simple as shaving them with a metal blade or grinding them down with another rock.   Redlines: - Their anti-bacterial nature only applies to the leaf’s surface. It is hard for bacteria to thrive on the surface which makes it sterile, they cannot be used to kill bacteria. Thin ones CAN be used as a replacement for sterilized needles. - The leaves are ineffective as weapons - Does not require ST signature

 

Sleetsilk Properties:      Sleetsilk is similar to polyester fabric. While not the most comfortable, it has higher durability than standard cotton or silk. The oddest property of sleetsilk is the extreme hydrophobic properties of it. The silk refuses to absorb water unless heated to the boiling point of water (212°F or 100°C).   Applications:      It can be used to make anything normal fabric can be used to make. It can be dyed inefficiently to a pastel shade or tint of any color with a proper dye. It is extraordinarily hard to get any coloration deeper or brighter than a pastel one.   Refining:      By boiling everwinter leaves for several hours they begin to lose their tension and density. They slowly unravel over the course of about a day into many long pieces of thread that can be weaved together to create sleetsilk sheets.   Redlines: - Sleetsilk does not have the rock-hard properties that the leaf does. It is as soft as any other fabric. - Sleetsilk cannot be dyed past a pastel shade or tint. - Does not require ST signature

 

Everwinter Seed Properties:      The seed of the everwinter tree in its normal state appears to be nothing more than a palm-sized spiky ball of thorns the same color as the tree wood that glows from bioluminescence. The truth behind it is that the seeds are actually the thorny bioluminescent spikes that adorn the exterior of the core, which most would presume to be the seed. After dropping from a tree, they have a period of a week in which they will randomly burst with enough force to embed the thorns into nearby terrain. The thorns cause minor frostbite and numbness if a person or animal is pricked by one. This effect only lasts for around 15 seconds before the thorn is rendered inept and no longer causes said effect. The bursting of the seed leaves nothing from the original seed aside from a small pearl-sized orb that shimmers iridescently and lacks any bio-luminescent properties present within the seeds. While it is almost pure white in coloration normally, when any amount of light refracts through the translucent orb there is almost no white to be seen. Instead it appears to dance softly as a palette of pastel rainbow colors shimmer throughout it. They are as smooth as glass and shatter just as easily.    ^ Images used are from Risk of Rain 2 by Hopoo Games Applications:      These seeds are coveted for their ethereal appearance, often being used in jewelry and rings. Like the leaves, they can be softened by boiling them (turning gel-like), but unlike the leaves they harden once again after cooling down. This strange trait makes it easy to work with for craftsmen.   Harvesting:      Obtaining these seeds is often a dangerous task as they are only produced when snowstorms are at their peak, often making treks to everwinter forests extraordinarily dangerous for a wide array of reasons. Those who are smarter amongst the people who gather them grow the trees themselves to prevent having to delve into the dangerous icy forests the trees form to search for them. Forcefully detaching a seed from the tree results in it immediately bursting, making protective gear a must if they wish to retrieve them. A safer option, yet less efficient, would be to scour the ground a week after a snowstorm occurred to look for orbs not buried in snow or for seeds that ended up being duds. These duds can then be pried apart and cleaned to retrieve the core.   Redlines: - Softened beads squish easily and must be handled more carefully than hardened seeds which are similar to glass. - The numbing and frostbite effect of the thorns are not capable of inflicting any serious harm. The effects fade almost immediately after either 15 seconds have passed or the thorn has been removed. - Thorns are functional seeds and do not require any special conditions to grow. - If grown by a druid, the tree will not possess moisture. It will be brittle and thin, requiring moisture be absorbed through the roots, typically through direct contact with a water source, in order to saturate itself properly. - Thorns from dropped seeds lose their bioluminescent properties - Does not require ST signature

 

Everwinter Sap Properties:      Everwinter sap has the consistency of milk with a translucent blue coloration. Due to proteins that act as antifreeze, the sap never crystallizes or freezes even during the coldest of winters. It is safe to drink and tastes like tart blueberries. Boiling temperatures cause the antifreeze proteins to break apart and stop functioning.   Applications:      Everwinter sap can be mixed with other liquids with a ratio of at least 1:2 (sap to liquid) to prevent it from freezing up so long as the mixture isn’t boiled. Mixing 1:3 will let the liquid chill into a sludge, but still not freeze completely. Anything mixed 1:4 and beyond spreads the proteins too far to work efficiently.   Harvesting:      Everwinter sap can be collected by tapping a tree. It is highly recommended to use home-grown trees for this as tapping from a forest is extremely unsafe in the event of a snowstorm.   Redlines: - Heating any mixture with sap mixed in will ruin the sap’s antifreeze properties and only make the mixture diluted with no special properties. - Does not require ST signature

 

General Redlines

- The tree does not require ST signature to grow, but when grown outside snowy biomes it must be grown either next to water or somewhere with heavy rainfall to maintain proper health.
- When grown without proper moisture the tree becomes weakened and slowly refuses to absorb moisture until it is brittle enough to have the trunk crack from a mere child’s punch.

- While there is no technical limit to seeds nor sleetsilk, they are still an uncommon resource. Over/Spam production of items utilizing these resources without roleplay stands for grounds of a lore infraction.
 

Purpose
     The purpose of this lore was both to introduce a new piece of tree flora (Which I considered a somewhat desolate place compared to amount of reagents and noded herbs. There is also the fact that most of already few tree submissions are native to Mali'ame territory.) as well as giving artisans a new variety of toys to play with. With a variety of non-weapon focused components, each with somewhat special attributes, I wanted this piece to give a bit more fervor to the field of arts and crafts.

Spoiler

Real Purpose: Colored campfires.

Formatting was based on the Ashwood Tree submission but all lore for the everwinter tree was written by me.
^ (Thank you to AstriaS for telling me how to get the boxes and lines) 

 

[squakhawk 14040]

Looks very interesting, look forward to reviewing it!

[Royal Peasant 462]

Another interesting design for a tree. I do like how you describe more than just the wood itself in the details for this, detailing the sap and even the seed and their potential uses. Not leaving a single piece untouched! Even the leaves! Not a single part of a downed tree would be wasted with this set up. 

[DistantCryptid 405]

I adore this piece, good work, i can picture such a tree in my head since you described it so well, amazing job!

 

[KaiserJacobII 1458]

Multiple components from one unique tree? Sign me up!

[AstriaS 4988]

Boy I sure do love tree lore.

Spoiler

Also I take complete credit for everything, except for whatever is unpopular/controversial/etc.

 

[GammaRose 195]

I wanna draw this when I ever get my laptop back.

[squakhawk 14040]

This Lore has been accepted. Moved to Implemented Lore, it will be sorted to it's appropriate category soon. Please note that if this is playable lore, such as a magic or CA, you will need to write a guide for this piece. You will be contacted regarding the guide (or implementation if it isn’t needed) shortly.