Red Harvest

Category:Communal NPC
Category:Nature
Category:Communal Characters
"If you cut us down, count the rings, and see it's not a tree's nature to forget." 
Red Harvest is a bioweapons research sect operating out of The Rootbed.
All Flights have their secrets, and Red Harvest is one of the better-kept ones. Functionally outside of sight, mind, and time, they're thought to be nearly as old as the Flight itself. Despite their secrecy, most rootbed visitors will see their sigil at some point; resembling a cross between a black locust leaf and a stalk of wheat, it's used to indicate danger. While it's rare for the sigil or its flower language representation to actually indicate a Red Harvest site, visitors should still avoid approaching, and are strongly encouraged not to indicate any knowledge of the sect.
== History and Purpose ==
Established to counter Plague hostilities, Red Harvest claims to trace its roots back to the Wildclaw battledruids charged with maintaining the first defenses on the Labyrinth's southwestern edge. Members believe (or claim to believe) that, thanks to the Gladekeeper's superior judgement, anything developed by the sect will be used only in times of greatest need; as such, they're justified in pursuing designs that may otherwise be considered excessive. These include organ-piercing briars, self-propelled fruits that spew exothermic acid, parasitic plants that can be "activated" to break down victims in seconds, and nearly indestructible plant/corpse constructs. Like many things in Nature, Red Harvest grows according to its season; ages have passed with only a few dragons retaining the records, only for the faction to blossom into sites all across the rootbed. This waxing and waning has played a key role in their secrecy, as entire sites empty and vanish into the shifting maze of roots, reemerging later to continue their work.
== Site Structure and Function ==
Red Harvest sites are sealed containment zones with a single well guarded entrance. Within is a cluster of labs, holding gardens, workspace/offices, etc. surrounded by heavy shielding. The remainder is the live test area, a self-contained ecosystem populated with the site's active cultivars. Most cultivars are developed under Nature principles, here meaning that they're capable of coexisting with other elements of their ecosystem (namely researchers). Note that this protective conditioning works best for Nature dragons.
While mature, fully-staffed Red Harvest sites are secure, periods of abnormally rapid or slowed development present problems, as immature or understaffed sites are less able to counteract the shifting of the rootbed. The walls heal breaches over time, sprouting warning plants as they do, but this does little to stop motivated (or ignorant) dragons. Some trespassers escape to babble all sorts of things that locals carefully roll their eyes about. Most, perhaps, never leave the lethal garden; the presence of a dragon is far more noticeable than the presence of a small crevice in the wall, and "preventing theft of Flight secrets" may well fall under purview of Red Harvest's mission, risky enough to justify commanding the living machinery of the zone to full blossom.
Outward leaks are also possible. Moss Pods and their theorized occupants may have originated from an ancient Red Harvest site, but are so thoroughly naturalized that it's impossible to know. Modern sites dampen the reproductive abilities of test cultivars to reduce the potential for spread. Still, the sudden appearance of "exotic plant monsters" may indicate a breach of an inactive site and the resulting release of spores and seeds.
== Incidents ==
Red Harvest is haunted by its own plausibility. That Nature has some form of weapons research program is a given, and it's reasonable to expect they'd operate from a region that sees little out-of-Flight traffic. As such, there are incidents attributed vaguely to some shadowy weapons research organization in the rootbed, and while Red Harvest isn't the only group to fit that description, its researchers do enjoy swapping conspiracy stories. Misattributions are common; for example, Red Harvest has nothing to do with Sunken Aleph (though they're interested in accessing its lab). They're likewise not responsible for the First Seed, though the notion does tickle some fancies, being as it is a sort of benign blasphemy. Actual incidents are sporadic and well-concealed. Accusations of using captured enemy dragons and Beastclan as test targets are unverifiable, but not unimaginable, and again tend to follow a more "urban legend" structure.
Perhaps the more alarming rumors involve the spontaneous reawakening of sites. These stories take the form of some treasure hunter squeezing through a crevice just large enough to admit them, lured by smells, sounds, untraceable tips, or intuition. They find themselves in a stagnant and dimly-lit space filled with plants, but choose to push on through the overgrowth. The crevice seals behind them, and they're never seen again. Thankfully, common sense asks the question "Then who's telling the stories?", which helps suppress the rumors; deep dwellers know not to rule out transmission by plant. These reawakenings pose little threat to locals, though, as breaches are always marked with warning plants. Given the warnings, the lack of outward leaks, and the spontaneity of the awakening, some hypothesize that the site itself is acting as a sort of composite carnivorous plant preying on "invaders". Of course, the site is always back to normal by the time researchers arrive, give or take some bones.
== Notable Sites, Members, and Affiliates ==
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