Chaos fruit
Overview
It's not clear who first coined the name "chaos fruit" but it seems to have stuck. It refers to a peculiar product recovered furing the grand adventure from the depths of Brocéliande. Each is infused with Spring magic as well as possibly the essence of the vallorn itself, and when consumed creates a somewhat unpredictable effect comparable to a powerful potion, but "naturally occurring." There are stories of fleshy flowers whose juice focuses the perception of Spring magic to allow a magician to wield powerful rituals, misshapen fruit whose rind grants anyone brave enough to eat it a burst of unparalleled endurance, glutinous juices a sap that provide miraculous healing, delicate berries that induce a narcotic stupor, and many more. Very quickly, those exploring the fruit determined that the physical appearance is no guide to the effects one will have; that texture, scent, and taste are more importance than colour or shape. OOC Note: Players can phys-rep their chaos fruit with whatever fruit or fruit-adjacent things they can lay their hands on rather than mandating (for example) that a fruit be yellow, or banana-shaped.
When the first fruit were uncovered, some were cultivated on forests across the Empire providing an erratic supply to certain citizens. As aberrant fruit, however, they require a certain level of magical energy to propagate, and it is not currently possible to establish new "colonies" of chaos fruit.
The existence of the fruit and their somewhat unpredictable results has also lead a small but vocal number of gourmands to demand that one of the Empire's magical colleges codify a ritual for divining "what will happen to me if I consume this?" Almost immediately rival groups shout them down, claiming that such a ritual would remove most of the fun that comes from putting unidentified food, drink, and other consumables in one's mouth.
Using a Chaos Fruit
The fruit can be consumed just like any other fruit. This unleashes their magic in just the same way that a potion provides its benefits to the one who eats it. OOC Note: All the normal rules for consuming a potion apply.
It was quickly ascertained that these are "simply" fruit - there are no extractable magical essences within them. Distillation of Diverse Parts simply destroys the fruit leaving only worthless mashed pulp behind.
Cultivation
Whilst some suggested farms or herb gardens might be the best option, after some limited testing it became clear that the fruits grew best amongst the forests of the Empire. Apparently their successful propagation requires a certain wildness to the trees that an orchard or well-tended vineyard simply does not possess. Whether it is due to the trees present in all forests, or that the magic of Spring that is infused in each of the fruits is so anathema to the order imposed on the land by farms and horticulture of herb gardens, or simply that it is the ritual Rampant Growth that is the necessary ingredient the end result is the same.
During the Winter Solstice 384YE and the Spring Equinox 385YE, it was possible to prepare a forest to produce chaos fruit. The ritual Rampant Growth needed to be cast, using five different chaos fruit as the focus. The fruit were consumed in the process. The enchantment had its normal effects, but in addition the forest was permanently transformed, producing 2 fewer measures of magical material, and instead producing one random chaos fruit each event. The fruit needed to be reasonably fresh, and must have been recently plucked directly from an area of vallorn. As such this method could only be employed during the Winter Solstice 384 and the Spring Equinox 385YE. During the Spring Equinox, thanks to the Hallow of the Green World created across the Empire, it was possible to further diversify a forest, allowing for up to two chaos fruit to be harvested each season (at the cost of 4 fewer measures of forest materials).
With the passing of the Hallow, and with so much time having passed since there were any fresh vallorn-infused chaos fruit, it does not seem possible to cultivate new harvests of chaos fruit any more.
Probably Not Vallorn
Though "vallorn seeds" are subject to a Declaration of Interdiction these fruit don't seem to be that. These appear to simply be fruit infused with a powerful resonance of chaotic Spring magic. However... while they are likely to be safe to eat it's not impossible that cultivating them might lead to some unforeseen side effects months, years, or even decades down the line. Cautious horticulturalists suggest it might be dangerous to cultivate their growth in a forest in Liathaven, Brocéliande, Hercynia or Therunin due to the presence of an active vallorn there. Other naysayers wonder if the wicked eternal Yaw'nagrah might be involved in their creation, meaning that in theory they should be interdicted. In practice there appears to be no immediate threat from cultivating these fruit, but the Conclave has the power to interdict the magical practice of cultivating chaos fruit should they choose to do so.
The Navarr Enfys Larksong raised concerns about what might happen if a colony was exposed to large amounts of vallorn miasma. Their judgement called for “Imperial citizens who choose to cultivate this fruit to not keep such a decision a secret.” A number of other Navarr agreed, and pointed out that this is not the first time that plants originating from the vallorn had been cultivated in the Empire; in Summer 379YE for example. It might not be a bad idea to keep track of them as well. There are two straightforward ways a list of forests cultivating chaos fruit, and farms where plants touched by the vallorn are grown.
During the [[ |Spring Equinox 385YE, the Imperial Synod dispatched a trio of investigators to find out more. Two mandates were enacted; one raised by Vadrian Dace in the Highborn assembly, and one by Enfys Larksong in the Navarr assembly. Thanks to these mandates, Sister Julliette of Balthazars Vineyard and Enfys worked with Vigilant priests to compile a list of every Imperial citizen who had added chaos fruit to their forest in the last six months. Thanks to the concerted effort by the two assemblies, the reports have gone further and included the details of farms and forests where vis-producing vallorn vegetation had been harnessed following the peculiar events of 379YE. The lists were provided to the priests, and made public following the summit. The Cardinal of Vigilance, Gaelen Embercast, commissioned a personal report from the SIlent Bell; the details of that report are not commonly available.
| Citizen | Forest | Territory | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adeen Eternal | Beggar's Lye Forest | Brocéliande | Navarr |
| Akiir | Dragonbone Forest | Kallavesa | Wintermark |
| Alf boll tanner | Dragonbone Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| Ardyn Mors | Dragonbone Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Arianwen Silkensong | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Astolat | Dawn |
| Artorious Godfreyson | Dragonbone Forest | Therunin | Navarr |
| Baldric Altti | Dragonbone Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| Balenn Splitroot | Beggar's Lye Forest | Brocéliande | Navarr |
| Brangwy Broken-Bough | Dragonbone Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Brynell Thornweaver | Dragonbone Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Cadwell Flint | Dragonbone Forest | Hercynia | Navarr |
| Damrin Iron Hill | Dragonbone Forest | Hercynia | Navarr |
| Eleri Bronwen's Rest | Ambergelt Forest | Therunin | Navarr |
| Fallow | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Feran Ingason | Ambergelt Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| Fig Niblett | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Astolat | Dawn |
| Hazel Jackdaw | Dragonbone Forest | Upwold | The Marches |
| Ioric Milos Dvorsky | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Karsk | Varushka |
| Jamina Meridian | Dragonbone Forest | Segura | The Brass Coast |
| Lindir Thornheart | Dragonbone Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Mordecai | Ambergelt Forest | Reikos | Highguard |
| Morgan Greenwater | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Semmerholm | Dawn |
| Patches | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Mournwold | The Marches |
| Patches I Riquesa | Dragonbone Forest | Segura | The Brass Coast |
| Radha Autumngale | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Rowan | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Semmerholm | Dawn |
| Tom | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Miaren | Navarr |
| Torque Stormbroke | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Therunin | Navarr |
| Torunn | Dragonbone Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| William Birch | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Mournwold | The Marches |
The following citizen's forests are producing two chaos fruit each season.
| Citizen | Forest | Territory | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceri Splitroot | Dragonbone Forest | Brocéliande | Navarr |
| Culloch | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Weirwater | Dawn |
| Desilav Sergeyevich Jesen | Dragonbone Forest | Volodmartz | Varushka |
| Isador Bell | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Astolat | Dawn |
| Kal | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| Kamarra Dunn | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| Tuija Dunning | Iridescent Gloaming Forest | Hahnmark | Wintermark |
| William Yew | Dragonbone Forest | Mournwold | The Marches |
The following citizen's farm is producing one spring vis each season
| Citizen | Forest | Territory | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dobra | Black Unicorn Vinyard | Astolat | Dawn |
Further Reading
- Children in bloom - 384YE Spring Wind of Fortune about the effects of Hallow of the Green World
- Enahcnted - 385YE Winter Wind of Fortune about cultivating the peculiar fruit
- One last song - Winter 385YE Wind of War about the adventure into Brocéliande