Plants

**Plantfolk** are one of the major races on Mogar. The evolutionary path is **plants** -> **magical plants** (ingredients) -> **sentient plants** -> **Fae** (if Awakened), progressing through natural accumulation of world energy. They are currently represented in the Awakened Council by Lotho the Treant.

Plants can become **sentient plants** (equivalent of magical beasts), and Awaken to become **Fae** (equivalent to Emperor Beasts). Sentient plants are true mages, but not Awakened.

Fungi are as numerous as plants, but are as different from plants as plants are from humans.

Plants also have a Warp Gate network similar to the beasts' that allows travel throughout the Garlen Continent.

## Traits

### Personality

Plantfolk have an entirely different approach to life and morality. They have to fight among themselves for sunlight, water, and nutrients, not to mention parasites, fungi, and insects. Some are used to feeding on their own kin and their reproduction cycle doesn't involve parenting. Strength is all that matters to them, and city-state rulership is obtained by seizing power.

Despite their connection, plants do not become Guardians due to their innate sociopathy - they need love to not turn into predatory beings, which is unsuitable for Guardianhood, and are too detached. With their regenerative abilities, they have no fear of death, but the lack of social interaction makes them cold and cruel.

There are two kinds of plantfolk - those that love humans because they consider evolution a path that leads all races towards the same destination, and those that hate humans and beasts because they still hold a grudge for how their non-sentient brethren are treated. Plants hate both undead and Abominations as they consider them parasites and only wish for them to become extinct. Plantfolk and Fae resent the World Tree for not sharing their knowledge just as the offspring of the Guardians resent their parents.

### Prowess

Plantfolk are the most gifted creatures in rejuvenation, able to treat any injury in a matter of seconds, even an entire body with no burden to stamina by harnessing Mogar's life force. The longer they are in contact with the earth, the stronger they become. Unlike beasts and monsters, plantfolk do not evolve for the sake of power, and thus also have a greater affinity with Mogar.

## Abilities

Plants are naturally in tune with the water and earth elements, which allows them to use their true magic form. Yet they aren't Awakened - any spell that requires one of the other elements they have to learn it just as fake mages do. Plants are not weak to fire like most people think since they are not made of dried wood but from living tissues rich in water. They also have an outstanding ability in manipulating both their bodies and earth magic. Their real weaknesses are water and darkness magic - cold blocks their regenerative and shapeshifting abilities. Plants don't leave any corpse behind. The moment they die they also wither, reverting to their original form.

Plants' bond with life is so strong that they cannot become undead unless they choose to. For the same reason, those that choose to give up on life are scorned and expelled from their society. Due to their extraordinary regenerative abilities, plantfolk usually don't need Healers, so they know little about light magic.

Their regenerating abilities make light magic useless up to Tier 4 and plain torture at Tier 5. The only way to alter their life force is to do it all in one go. Unlike humans, plants can't be treated a little at a time. Any alteration of their life force is quickly corrected, just like what happens for their bodies. If even a small trace of their original essence remains, the entirety of the Tier 5 spell is nullified, but it takes time and involves a lot of pain.

Plants do not have internal organs, their bodies merely resembling humans. Unlike humans or beasts, every single part of a plantfolk shares a fragment of their sentience. If detached, they will attempt to reunite with the main body or to rebuild it from scratch. Plantfolk are capable of fusing together and with other forms of vegetation. Unlike the lesser races, plantfolk can take any shape they want.

Plant folk can move through the ground freely and even communicate with local vegetation.

## World Tree

The **World Tree**, also known as the Yggdrasill, is the first and most ancient among all plantfolk, with the first World Tree being the first Awakened on Mogar.

The World Tree stores countless information within its bark, including the secret of the white core, but refuses to use it since eternal life would allow its mind to age. Due to its inability to move, the Yggdrasill houses several tribes of elves inside its bark, on its branches, and even under its roots. The elves' songs and daily activities keeps the Tree's mind busy to relieve the stress from its inability to move for millennia while its guards protect against any threat and its Chroniclers serve as its eyes and ears on Mogar. It also knows the secret of tower crafting.

The longer a World Tree lives, the crazier they become. They see so many horrors that their mind becomes numb to them until the temptation to put the forbidden knowledge they have hoarded into practice becomes hard to resist. That is why they refuse immortality.

The Yggdrasill species' lifespan extends over 10,000 years.

### Inheritance

When the original World Tree felt its end approaching, its only worry was that all the knowledge and secrets it had accumulated would be lost, so it found a way to preserve them. At the moment of its death, its consciousness travels through its roots to meet all of its offspring. Once the World Tree finds a worthy candidate, their consciousnesses merge and a new World Tree is born from the Awakening of a World Sapling.

It doesn't consume the Sapling's life force; rather, the World Tree gives what life force it has left to the Sapling, allowing the younger being to live longer and inherit all of the Tree's memories but none of its emotions. This way, only information is passed on, whereas all the traumas and the prejudices due to bad experiences die with the old Tree. The new Tree can look at its newly acquired knowledge as if it's just reading a book. Otherwise the emotional burden would drive each generation of World Trees insane with unpredictable consequences. This is one of the reasons why the Saplings are referred to as plant Liches - each one of them is like a living phylactery that will allow the Tree to live on.

Before dying, a Tree has all of their knowledge that they consider irrelevant written down by the elves and stored into mental libraries (akin to Soluspedia). After the old Tree's death, the elves deliver the records to the new Tree that in turn accepts them and becomes their new home. No matter how big and powerful a creature is, their mind can store only so much information. This way, the past generation of the World Tree can pass onto the next one only what they can't entrust to the elves.

Once the Chosen Sapling turns into the new Yggdrasill, the burden on their minds is minimum and this process keeps them untainted from the bias and traumas of their predecessor. Along with the old Tree's connection to the rest of Mogar's vegetation, the new Tree inherits only knowledge, not memories, so that the cycle can start anew. Chroniclers can continue their travels, acting as the eyes, ears, and arms of the Yggdrasill while normal elves preserve the irrelevant knowledge that the old Trees entrusted to them in the past ages.

### Chroniclers

**Chroniclers** are elves that travel Mogar and act as the World Tree's eyes and ears in places where the Tree's mystical sense can't reach, allowing it to explore the world without needing to move. In exchange for their services, the World Tree Awakens their loyal retainers to a violet core since elves are incapable of Awakening without external help, making their relationship with the Tree symbiotic. Probationary Chroniclers share with the Tree everything about the distant past and the old magical theories whereas recent history is sealed to them until they prove their loyalty.

However, becoming a Chronicler means a lifetime of servitude. Even if a Chronicler achieves the white core on their own and outlives the Tree, they would just be passed onto the next along with their knowledge. The Chroniclers don't even know how to shapeshift their own ears, as the Tree always does it for them.

### World Saplings

**World Saplings** (referred to non-plantfolk as **plant Liches**) are the offspring of the World Tree, but are not Awakened, and also live around 1000 years. They are alive, and are the only reason the plantfolk kingdom has peacefully existed for centuries. They supply each city-state with enough magical power to allow everyday life and protect against intruders. World Saplings are the true rulers of the plant kingdom since each city is just a manifestation of their power.

World Saplings choose a place abundant in world energy as their home and then focus entirely on the search for knowledge. Like Liches, they become so engrossed in their magical research and their attempts to reach the next step of evolution that they forget about everything else, but unlike the undead, they are alive and benevolent. In exchange for knowledge and resources (all their spells, magical research, literature, arts, etc.), they grant plantfolk their protection and bestow the elected ruler of each state-city a fraction of their power.

The Sapling keeps the city hidden, granting the plantfolk a safe haven where their powers are multiplied and those of their enemies are locked. However, it is far from being a benevolent ruler - it is simply a dying creature that has chosen its final resting place. A Sapling slows down its metabolism and enters into a deep slumber, using the knowledge it has accumulated during its millennia-long life and the magical research the plantfolk share with it to try and prolong its existence. It's because of the pact between the Sapling and the plantfolk that a ruler is needed.

The **Sovereign** acts as its consciousness and makes sure that the community thrives so that the mind of the Sapling is constantly fed by new knowledge. All the treehouses are grown from the seeds of the Sapling, allowing it to reach and control them even in its dormant state, akin to an automatic reflex. Whenever a treehouse has to be grown or repaired, the Sapling simply wills it to happen, turning it into reality.

The existence of World Saplings is supposed to be kept a secret from outsiders. Their emissaries, the city-state rulers, have runes engraved on their body that allow them to draw the Sapling's consciousness and call upon its power.

Due to their mystical connection, World Saplings can open Warp Gates almost anywhere as long as there is plenty of vegetation and no defensive array.

* Laruel World Sapling

## Sentient Plants

### Dryad

**Dryads** are born from flowers that gain sentience, have extremely beautiful human forms and are distinguishable only by their light green skin. They are deeply linked to all forms of life on a spiritual level. They are also very assertive and swing both ways. A Dryad's only vital organ is the flower they have instead of a heart. As long as it is intact, their bodies can endlessly regenerate just by absorbing nutrients from the soil. Dryads are also capable of bringing out part of their flower willingly as an act of submission, allowing anyone who has it control over the dryad's life and will, and halving their their power. Two dryads can perform a spell on a person that shows visions of keystone events in the person's life.

Despite the fact that all Dryads have a stunning appearance, it isn't a matter of them being vain, nor an attempt to please the humans' eye. Just like what happens for the first form Emperor Beasts learned to shapeshift into, when a flower evolves into a Dryad, they simply take the physical appearance they envision themselves with.

A Dryad's **betrothal gift** consists of many natural treasures.

* Lyta
* Ryssa
* Gremlik (formerly)

### Thorn

*Elements: Darkness*

**Thorns** are bushes that gain sentience. Some have a human appearance, like the trimmed garden vegetation, while others look more like beasts. Their shape, size, and even color varies greatly from an individual to another, as their form is merely dependant on their choice. Thorns have no definite form and can assume any appearance they want, as long as the final mass doesn't exceed their own. They can grow as big as they want and obtain a greater strength, but doing so requires them to spend huge amounts of stamina and mana.

Thorns can also be born from moss in underground environments. Moss Thorns' bodies are short, barely reaching 1 meter (3'3") in height They look like octopuses made of mold, with glowing yellow eyes and odd protuberances on their backs that almost resemble wings.

* Klodran

### Treantling

**Treantlings** are trees that gain sentience after living in world energy-rich zones for centuries and are the plant equivalent of a magic beast. They are humanoids that look like trees with bark instead of skin and leaves instead of hair on their head, both with different shades of colors just like humans. Their height varies, but none of them are shorter than 2 meters (6'7"). Each one of them exhibits a different build and numbers of limbs. Some Treantlings are thin, with arms not thicker than a human's, while others are big enough that it is easy to mistake them for a real tree if they stay still with their eyes closed. Most of them walk on two legs, but they are able to grow extra limbs whenever they need, just to reabsorb them once they are no longer necessary.

Treantlings evolve into Treants. Treatlings' only vital organs are their feet, where their roots once were, and is the only way for them to absorb their nourishment.

* Illum (formerly)
* Kiro

## Fae

The process of evolution is difficult as sentient plants can spend decades without evolving into **Fae**.

### Dream Lotus

A humanoid Fae that looks like a brown-skinned youth with petals for hair.

### Morrigan

* Maeve (Plant representative of the Jiera Awakened Council)

### Redcap

The top the vegetation composing their hair is deep red due to the blood of the enemies they feast upon. It allows a Redcap to use the skills and spells of their fallen enemies, but each use consumes some of the stored blood, and such abilities can't be studied nor learned. Redcaps are among the easiest opponents that a dimensional mage can face, as the abilities they use are stolen and so is the energy empowering them.

* Erwal (Sovereign)
* Tyria (formerly)
* Pyra

### Sprite

**Sprites** look like a thin birch three turned into a human with butterfly wings coming from their back.

### Titania

**Titania** look like a giantess that has been fused with several kinds of different plants. They stand over 3 meters (10 feet) tall with slightly pointed ears and pearly pink skin. Several branches come out from the back of their head. Titania's bodies are the result of compressing their mass to the utmost limit. They can become much bigger, but that would mean spreading their life force and offering a bigger target. Their line of evolution progressed by favoring quality rather than quantity.

* Leannan (Sovereign)
* Tessa

### Treant

**Treants** are the evolution of Treantlings. Their mastery over water and earth allow them to manipulate wood at will, even their own bodies.

* Lotho (Plant representative of the Garlen Awakened Council)
* Erlik (formerly)
* Estor

## City-States

The plant kingdom is located in various city-states scattered around Mogar, though most are hidden.

To challenge a ruler, after defeating his/her constable, a pretender only has two possible choices of duel:

1. Challenge the current Sovereign one-on-one, without the aid of any external means. For the pretender, it means that they can't rely on artifacts, while for the Sovereign it includes even the possibility to call upon the Sapling's power. Such a rule is meant to put to the test the abilities of both contestants instead of showing who simply has more resources.
2. A army versus army battle, which usually requires the contender to be a citizen of a city-state and to have grown their forces over time. Both the current Sovereign and the challenger are entitled to have their own courts, which allows them to employ their most loyal followers even if they are citizens of a different city-state, though the custom is very strict about their numbers.

### Ritual of the Chosen

An ancient ritual that can be invoked between a ruler and the challenger. Both are covered in runes and surrounded by a vortex of vines like a living array, suppressing all artifacts within its premises and leaving the Sovereigns nothing but their skill.

### Laruel

Located in the free country of Xarion nearby the Griffon Kingdom and currently ruled by Leannan the Titania. Laruel is a big city, taking an area of 1,285 km2 (496.3 sq mi). Tall trees cover the sky above like a ceiling, preventing the city from being spotted by any flying onlooker. The dew reflects the sunlight so that even though the thick foliage makes it impossible to look at the sky, the city is perfectly lit. Its buildings aren't carved or built so much as grown, making each city block no different from a patch of trees. Some houses are close to each other while others are afar.

The streets are perfectly lit, the stone pavement realized with earth magic. There are no bricks or stones, as if like it has been carved out of a single massive piece of rock. Light comes from thin but tall trees that grow on the sides of the road, whose branches bear fruits glowing like torches. Every house is actually a very large tree, some of them even several stories tall with many floors and windows. Laruel's arrays prevent any form of communication with the outside to prevent the city from being discovered, and also blocks all forms of dimensional magic, including amulets.

However, guests have special privileges and can use dimensional magic by channeling their mana through special **acorns** that are living pieces of World Saplings and has its own life force and mana flow.

The Laruel World Sapling had been in a deep slumber, trying to prolong its existence and find a way to escape its inevitable death. It is a sequoia that has reached over 200 meters of height (657 feet) with a tree trunk larger than the whole village of Lutia. After it betrays Leannan in favor of the invading Jiera undead in hopes of gaining the method to Awakening, Leannan severs her link with the Sapling, ending the city of Laruel.

## References

1. ↑ Legion on Discord
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chapter 613: Travels (Part 1)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chapter 818: Utopia (Part 2)
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chapter 798: The Root of the Problem (Part 2)
5. ↑ Chapter 791: Ill Omen (Part 1)
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chapter 615: Hybrid (Part 1)
7. ↑ Legion on Discord
8. ↑ Chapter 1140: Odd Neighbors (Part 2)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Chapter 807: Laruel (Part 1)
10. ↑ Chapter 993: Dragon Bloodline (Part 1)
11. ↑ Chapter 1508: Odd Companions (Part 2)
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 101: Enlightenment
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chapter 834: Traitor (Part 2)
14. ↑ Chapter 790: Weeds (Part 2)
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chapter 801: A New Field (Part 1)
16. ↑ Chapter 831: Opening Move (Part 1)
17. ↑ Chapter 1517: Final Test (Part 1)
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Chapter 826: World Tree (Part 2)
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Chapter 1492: Changes and Moving (Part 2)
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chapter 1507: Odd Companions (Part 1)
21. ↑ Chapter 1513: Trees and Fallen (Part 1)
22. ↑ Legion on Discord
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Chapter 1514: Trees and Fallen (Part 2)
24. ↑ Chapter 1531: Unveiling the Truth (Part 1)
25. ↑ Legion on Discord
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Chapter 812: Laruel's Secret (Part 2)
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Chapter 820: Erlik's Plan (Part 2)
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Chapter 819: Erlik's Plan (Part 1)
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 Chapter 824: Battle of Wits (Part 2)
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Chapter 614: Travels (Part 2)
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Chapter 797: The Root of the Problem (Part 1)
32. ↑ Chapter 1533: Two Sides of the Same Pain (Part 1)
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Chapter 808: Laruel (Part 2)
34. ↑ Chapter 689: Conflicts (Part 1)
35. ↑ Chapter 802: A New Field (Part 2)
36. ↑ Chapter 792: Ill Omen (Part 2)
37. ↑ Chapter 799: Manohar's Wife (Part 1)
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Chapter 832: Opening Move (Part 2)
39. ↑ Chapter 1510: Learning from the Past (Part 2)
40. ↑ Chapter 1495: In the Deep (Part 1)
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Chapter 840: Clash of Titans (Part 2)
42. ↑ Chapter 839: Clash of Titans (Part 1)
43. ↑ Chapter 800: Manohar's Wife (Part 2)
44. ↑ Chapter 813: Laruel's Secret (Part 3)
45. ↑ Chapter 846: Hard Times (Part 2)