Sunstalk

The elder spoke to the students. "Seek the sunstalk. Even the tiniest brown bud leads to water deep underground. Dig where you see them, but do not uproot them. Leave them stand as guides to all those who come after you. When the stalk shrivels and curls on itself, it is time to move on." Like youths, they were flippant in their reception. But like survivors, the message had been taken to heart.

—From Traversing the Kukle-arlenge, by Darcy Marshall

The sunstalk is found only in Kukle-arlenge. A thin, woody reed that grows one green bloom at the height of its maturity, it is vital to the survival of the Kukarenye. The seed germinates deep within the dusty earth, far away from the scorching sun. It grows a single, long root that travels downward, seeking aquifers and underground wells. Once the root touches water, it begins to grow upward. The bloom unfurls the moment it feels sunlight on its tough skin, and quickly changes from a pale, sickly brown to a green so deep as to be almost black. The stalk, however, grows paler as it ages, bleached by the brutal sun.