Kroashent Bestiary - Alraune

Anatomy

The Alraune resembles a giant flower with a humanoid figure in place of the pistil within the large petals and bracts.  A pair of large vines extend above the ground, serving which can serve as prehensile limbs, mentally controlled by the Alraune pistil as if they were limbs, capable of surprisingly fast and dexterous movement.  Above the ground, the main body of the plant is a bowl-like structure, surrounded by wide spade-like bracts and vibrantly coloured petals, spreading outward evenly around the deep, pitcher-like interior filled with sap. These petals and bracts can be closed during times of cold, danger or rest, creating a tight budlike form that protects the interior with the tough underside of the bracts.  

The pistil of the Alraune resemble slender female humanoids, although in rare cases, they may manifest as more androgynous and lacking the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. They are typically pale mint green with darker leaf-like growths, sometimes resembling clothing, cover parts of their bodies, most commonly the wrists and chest, and slender vines traveling up their arms and legs.  Alraune have long, straight hairlike threads  growing from their heads, resembling the hair of Bediz, but capable of passively processing foyson in the surrounding air. Alraune heads are crowned with a small flower, often resembling a lilly or rose, usually off to a slight angle, theorized to be vital to the consumption of foyson when outside their primary body.  The pistil of the Alraune must spend the majority of their time within their flowers, and are only capable of leaving them for short durations. 

Origins

Alraune are native to Hengoad Bleed, when an area is magically overtaken by fast growing vegetation. The explosion of unstable magical energy interacts with the spilled lifeblood of sapient creatures, pulling together and coagulating into a tough, fibrous corm.  Alraune draw much of their intelligence from these progenitors, sharing basic skills, languages and sometimes memories with the slain creature.  In extreme cases, they may carry over entire distinct personalities from these entities.  language capabilities. 

If an Alraune pistil is destroyed, but her flower remains, the remaining body might, through the use of its prehensile vines or enticement of its sweet nectar, capture or lure a new creature to serve as its host, transforming them into its new pistil-core. The captured creature is held within the bud, partially submerged in the sap as their clothing is dissolved and they are reformed. The host retains most of its memories, but also gains those of the prior core. Alraune often target the attackers who kill the original core in this method, as the creature will wither and die without its host.   Alternatively, a mutation in some Alraune allows for the creation a second pistil within the flower, most commonly drawn from two lifebloods linked together by some magical means, such as lovers, or in some cases enemies, killed in the same spot. Some Alraune are capable of creating a second pistil from a captured host, although this is exceptionally rare.

Ecology and Diet

Alraune most commonly form at the sites of executions, but have also manifested on battlefields and sites of violent murders, requiring the twin sources of the spilled lifeblood and the manifestation of Hengoad Bleed. As a result, they are most commonly found in remote areas, long neglected as a result of their dark histories and unstable magical reality. Unlike mundane plants, Alraune do not require sunlight, instead drawing on Foyson, resulting in their rare appearances in underground or interior spaces.

Alraune draw their sustenance from Foyson in the ground and the air, through their roots and the hairlike tendrils that grow from their heads, which glow when the substance is ingested. Typically found in areas of largescale slaughter, Alraune primarily ingest the nutrients of the dead and the soil, as well as creatures they can capture or lure with their vines and enticing nectar. Alraune sap, while sustaining the creature, can be adjusted to dissolve prey, such as birds, rabbits or mice, into consumable foyson. Alraune do not mind luring in creatures like Bediz and draining small amounts of foyson, such as glamour over a period of time, but most will not continue to the point of permanent harm or death.

Courtship Ideals

Alraune crave contact, both for the social interactions and they passive foyson of living creatures, and will lure visitors into their blossoms for more intimate meetings. Alraune are tactile creatures, and prefer physical contact where possible. Those who meet with them may find themselves wandering out of the forest in a daze, unware of how much time has passed and with only vague, narcotic-hazed memories of their time within.

Alraune often will hold their "lovers" for longer periods, becoming possessive of them and keeping them in a drug-filled daze. In some cases, however, a true relationship will bloom with full consent of both parties, with the pair living together in the Alraune's grove. With enough time, these often, but not always, results in the non-alraune partner becoming alraune themselves.

Exploitation

Alraune nectar is one of the most potent alchemical substances in Alvez, with high amounts of foyson concentrated in tangible form, and is used as a powerful narcotic and painkiller, and is prized by midwives, especially Fae, to assist in childbirth. Doctors and barbers also use it for surgeries and recoveries, but its potency and rarity often requires it be significantly diluted.   When this dilution occurs with salt water, the resulting mixture is Alraune's Tears, a potent recreational narcotic that is used by the wealthy throughout Alvez.   Despite no evidence proving this, there are numerous legends associating parts of the Alraune, most commonly the roots, with aphrodisiac effects, creating a black market exchange for real and imitation parts. As damaging the roots, hair, or crown of the Alraune is damaging, or potentially fatal, they will often react with hostility against potential hunters.

Marie's Personal Notes

I have never personally met an Alraune, and had to rely on secondary sources, including a Windship navigator coming from Arle, where these creatures are considerably more plentiful.  I've been told stories of whole towns of Alraune in the Forest of the Erlking, but the source of this information is prone to exaggeration and explosions, so I have declined printing it until further verification by more reputable sources can come to light.  Given the state of the Dark Kingdom and the mysterious past its Eastern border, I doubt such verification will be arriving anytime soon.

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Val's Notes: The Alraune, or Mandrake, is a creature from Medieval German folklore, an explanation for the unique, humanoid shape of the Mandragora officinarum.  The Alraune has seen something of a resurgence in Japan as a fantasy plant-creature, appearing everywhere from Final Fantasy to the monster-girl genre.  For Kroashent, the Alraune seemed like an interesting challenge to adapt to the setting and add some variety in the denizens of Faerie.

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Learn more about Kroashent on the wiki: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/alvez-kroashent

Read the full article on the Alraune here: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/alvez-kroashent/a/alraune-species?preview=true

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