Ghyll:Wormwood

Though it is commonly believed that Wilhelmina Corinne Bardway discovered wormwood when she invented the ghoulwood viola, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, she got the idea for her most infamous invention while puffing away on her "modern" vlorm. As the smoke-induced visions began to unfold in her mind, she saw how Memories might be trapped in the ghoulwood and how they might be released through sound before mouldering and becoming trapped in wormwood. It is she who taught us that ghoulwood is only available from dead and neglected wood, that it can be harvested from dead trees or ghost buildings, and that it eventually devolves into wormwood.

The process for finding, harvesting and using wormwood for art and pleasure comes to us from the Journals of Alarius, who used wormwood in his fresco at the Palace of Lost Souls. Presumably, he learned these techniques from artisans in the Far Xurient. It is the psychoactive and theoalchemical properties of the wormwood that produces the now famous visions associated with his work. What else could have you believe you are standing at the point of creation looking down at the universe just created?

The Xurientals have long been aware of the peculiar properties of wormwood and items created with it. It is unknown who created the first device which caused visions, but we do know that wormwood was first imported circa -400 EC. It is believed that this is what drove the foundation of the "Old City" district of Iganefta, which has been long famed for Her exotic markets. It is possible that the first implement imported was, in fact, a vlorm, but this is only supposition. We do know that in -172 EC, the first wormwood was "grown" and harvested in the greater Folktown area.

Some of the best wormwood originates from the Pziqq trees on Kluvat Peak in the south-western edge of Jorvyll. Of course, this is due mainly to the superior quality of yesticale worms which like to nest in ghoulwood made from Pziqq tree armoires native to that area. It has been speculated that these worms were accidentally imported from the Xurient circa -400 EC, though how they made their way from Iganefta to Jorvyll is anyone's guess. It has been rumored in certain dark circles that Baron Smallwood has been attempting to breed a new and wonderous kind of worm specifically for creating a new variety of super wormwood to export back to the Xurient. That'd fix 'em!

Citiations : Ghoulwood viola, Jorvyll, Yesticale worms.

--Doctor Phineas Crank 00:04, 1 Apr 2005 (EST)