Glacial Fern

Genesis took much from our natural world, but it won't take this from us.

— Lessai Druid

  The glacial fern is a rare flowering fern found in the deepest reaches of Nimavi. It is sought after for many reasons, though most notably as an essential component of Lessai marriage proposals and ceremonies.

Arcane Fronds

The glacial fern is a modest-sized plant, rarely growing over two feet in any direction. A fern only in appearance, with leaves that grow in delicate, pale blue-green fronds, the glacial fern is a flowering plant which boasts a singular stunning white bloom. This funnel-form flower, white at its base, shifts at the tips of its petals to a glass-like translucency.   Glacial ferns in the Nimavi wilds will not produce any fruit, but can be coaxed to do so under the proper conditions when cultivated.

Reproduction and Cultivation

The method by which the glacial fern reproduces has been researched and observed by few, and is regarded as a mystery by most. Lessai druids are the most knowledgeable on the subject of the plant's reproduction and cultivation, a process they have described as "meticulous." Due to the plant's incredibly finicky nature, tending to more than one plant at a time often results in disastrous results for the entire collection.   Glacial ferns are inherently magical plants, growing from earth infused with the energy of the land's underlying leylines. It is theorized, however, that these plants are not new life brought by the leylines, but rather a native plant transformed by the surge of arcane energy throughout the forests. This is a theory supported by the Lessai practice of glacial fern cultivation and harvest, as the people draw traditionally-consumed pitted fruit from the ferns that they are no longer known to produce.   Cultivating the plant for the harvest of all of its parts requires the removal of the entire plant from the earth from which it sprouted. Caring for the plant from this point requires a powerful connection to the aspects of nature, making the task nearly impossible for all but the Lessai.