Wodefera
Wodefera is a plant with a twisted stem of mixed color of reds and black. First inhabitants to the area assumed that the Wodefera was a toxic and dangerous plant due to the coloration. It was not until local, presumably, lunatic shamans experimented with the plant and discovered Wode Spice. Wodefera was historically available in the region surrounding Luam Cathwa. Largely found growing in isolation, the Wodefera, when ground to a powder exhibited a richness that seemed to heighten the senses if only briefly. Often described as "A spice that tunes the heart to resonate with the world itself. For a moment, the chef provides the diner with an opportunity to feel the world as the gods must feel it. It is no wonder that the spice is reserved for those that would sell the world for naught more than a sampling spoon of powder."
The rarity of the spice itself is due to the competitive nature of the plant itself. Wodefera, true to the beliefs of settlers, exudes a toxic pollen that tends to attack other Wodefera plants in the area. This area has been observed to reach up to ten miles! This behavior was mistakenly believed to mean that the Wodefera was not able to be cultivated. Many attempts at cultivation failed as farmers and cultivators found that their crops would quickly die soon after the first sprouts arrived. The loss of high value seeds, which were also used to produce the spice, quickly meant that the farmers were priced out of attempting cultivation further. This led to the belief that the Wodefera was a purely wild plant. As foragers continued searching for the Wodefera, the prices continued to increase as the plant became increasingly rare. Foragers, reluctant to replant the seeds used to make the spice, led to the near extinction of the plant. Thus, finding a Wodefera was believed that the individual should "forget about the minutiae of civilized (cultivated) life and observe the grand scales of the world." Presumably, thus is believed to be from the high price that one would take from selling the spice or seeds.
Wodefera, the wild-ember, breathes new life into those that taste it. One moment of omniscience, feeling the rhythm of the world, can make one feel so small and insignificant to be driven to action. As if one were seeing with the eyes of the gods, one cannot partake and ignore the momentary feeling of godliness. I cannot fathom the ancient shamans that first partook of spice, uncontested for generations, in daily communion with visions and sensations that some will never experience. The Wodefera truly a stored memory of the world, captured for mortals to share in what has been and what will become.
The rarity of the spice itself is due to the competitive nature of the plant itself. Wodefera, true to the beliefs of settlers, exudes a toxic pollen that tends to attack other Wodefera plants in the area. This area has been observed to reach up to ten miles! This behavior was mistakenly believed to mean that the Wodefera was not able to be cultivated. Many attempts at cultivation failed as farmers and cultivators found that their crops would quickly die soon after the first sprouts arrived. The loss of high value seeds, which were also used to produce the spice, quickly meant that the farmers were priced out of attempting cultivation further. This led to the belief that the Wodefera was a purely wild plant. As foragers continued searching for the Wodefera, the prices continued to increase as the plant became increasingly rare. Foragers, reluctant to replant the seeds used to make the spice, led to the near extinction of the plant. Thus, finding a Wodefera was believed that the individual should "forget about the minutiae of civilized (cultivated) life and observe the grand scales of the world." Presumably, thus is believed to be from the high price that one would take from selling the spice or seeds.
Wodefera, the wild-ember, breathes new life into those that taste it. One moment of omniscience, feeling the rhythm of the world, can make one feel so small and insignificant to be driven to action. As if one were seeing with the eyes of the gods, one cannot partake and ignore the momentary feeling of godliness. I cannot fathom the ancient shamans that first partook of spice, uncontested for generations, in daily communion with visions and sensations that some will never experience. The Wodefera truly a stored memory of the world, captured for mortals to share in what has been and what will become.
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