Cthifvavum

==Summary==
The aptly named "Phoenix fire tree," these plants native to Khorrum remain barren for most of the year. In the summer months, they grow out their bluish leave and for only one night do they flower. The Cthifvavum are sacred to the Mhenuur and are a symbol of good luck.
==Physiology==
For most of the year these trees look barren and unremarkable, but during the summer months they grow their bluish leaves in great excess, littering the savanna with the fallen leaves. It is during these months that they flower once, during the night following the hottest day. Their flowers are bioluminescent and look like fire from afar. These flowers give off extreme heat, to the point that the leaves themselves ignite and the flowers float in the updraft of the warm air created by the flames, carrying it for miles. Where the flowers lands, it scorches the ground slightly and turns to ash, making way for its seeds to take root with fertile soil mixed with the ash. The roots, on the other hand, remain luminescent the entire year, it is unknown as to why, but it is believed that their distant relation with the Ver'Urum has the luminescence to attract underground worms and insects, dying in the heat, for fertilizer. The bark of the tree is heat resistant and keeps the trunk from bursting into flames most of the time.
==Habitat==
Cthifvavum only grow in the most brightly lit and hottest parts of the Khorrum savanna
==Use==
The Mhenuur view these trees as extensions of the Heart-fire spirit and consider them sacred and forbid them from being used for lumber; the wood itself is poor for building as they continue to give off heat and there have been reports of raider ships bursting into flames after using Cthifvavum wood to patch their ships. During the hottest night of the year, the Mhenuur have a festival called the "Night of Fire's Ascent " where they stay awake the entire night in hopes of catching a falling Cthifvavum flower. Capturing a flower before it hits the ground is considered good fortune and happiness; if one falls onto one's home, it is seen as a sign of power and prosperity. The flowers caught are often taken to a shaman to be frozen and kept for generations, often displayed in the village's communal gathering hall. Some larger cities have transplanted trees within their walls and their roots are cut sparingly to be used as natural sources of light in almost every Mhenuur home or building. The Shaman order's hall in Khor'Juhn-dro is topped with a millenia old tree, planted shortly after the first shaman defeated the Juhn-ro-Krim-da, as a symbol of their people's strength and is greatly loved by the Mhenuur. Given the name of Cthifyur, it stands at 30 feet tall and its roots sprout upward and out of the ground, creating a ring of red luminescence; like a crown a top the shaman building.
Category:Flora, Fauna