Flora and Fauna of Sitaar

There are many places in this world with a vast collection of plants and creatures, but few can match the beauty and danger of Sitaar. Numerous poisonous and venomous specimens inhabit this desert kingdom and one must be aware of what to look for.  

Flora

Twilight's Grace

This lovely bloom is associated with young love, as it is often included in bouquets gifted in courtship. The flowers are pale, arranged in tiers, and shaped like bells. Their perfume is considered one of the finest in Sitaar. If one were to pluck this flower during the day and grind it up with a fine dust of crystal it has the ability to grant humans low light vision. However, if the blooms are picked at night, the tincture would have the effect of blindness, even to those creatures that can naturally see at night. This plant can commonly be found in oases.  

The Prince's Kiss

A highly prized flower that can create cosmetics, perfumes, and incense often used by the rich and fashionable in Sitaar. This faint pink flower no bigger than a pea only blooms every ten years after the floods of the high desert. The bloom lasts only for two days often leading to a rush of those who wish to make use of this valuable plant. Aside from the cosmetic uses of the Prince's Kiss, this bloom can be purified and mixed with crystal to make a very strong paralysis toxin. There are rumors of certain female assassins making great use of lip rouge made this way.  

Lotus Mirage

This plant looks like it belongs in the lotus family though I have it on the best regards it is not. Instead, it is a unique specimen, commonly found growing in the deep cacti of the high desert. When it is harvested, it can be distilled into a concoction that renders the consumer as unto a mirage, as the spell Blur.  

Giyim Tree

This tree produces a fruit that is, in actual fact, an inverted carnivorous flower. These flowers must be harvested and prepared in a very particular way otherwise they are completely toxic. They are only pollinated by the Sundrop bird, a small bright yellow bird that is immune to the toxins of the Giyim fruit. However, the Sundrops are not entirely immune to the Giyim as the carnivorous fruits have the ability to open like a maw and trap those birds or insects not quick enough to escape. The fruits, when prepared correctly, are said to be one of the most delicious things anyone will have the chance to taste and the right to boast of having eaten one and surviving is an attractive thing to many travelers and nobility. One should only trust a Giyim dish from a veteran chef, or risk severe illness or death.  

Fool's Hope

This gourd-like plant is often mistaken for Pilgrim's Gift, a nearly identical plant that holds water that can be lifesaving in the deserts. However, the Fool's Hope holds a tainted liquid that looks and smells just like the real thing only it will cause further dehydration, hallucinations, paranoia, panic, and possibly death. The only way one can tell the difference between the helpful plant and the deadly one, for they both grow in similar places, is the subtle difference in leaf shape and texture. The leaves of the Fool's Hope have a slightly velvet-like feel to them, whereas the Pilgrim's Gift has smooth leaves.  

Devil Tail

Unlike the more mundane Cat Tail, this water grass hides a sticky, tar-like acid in its cotton. It burns very effectively, but the smoke is acrid and burns the lungs and eyes. It can also be used as a toxin that can cause internal bleeding.  

Widow's Wash

A beautiful water lily plant that moves with tainted waters, a harbinger of death and sickness brought by dirty waterways. This plant has tendrils that grow under the pad much like jellyfish tentacles, that shoot barbs that cause hallucinations. Creatures affected by these hallucinations will see and hear any number of things that will convince them to go deeper into the water. Once the creature is in range of the plant, the tendrils will trap and drown them, further poisoning the water and feeding the Wash. There are eels that also follow this plant, immune to its toxins, they actually make the plant stronger.  

Roc's Glory

This very rare and large flower is only found on the highest plateaus, usually near Roc nests. If harvested during the spring, and mixed with crystals, it causes the drinker to have the ability to float. If picked in summer, the petals become a light sky blue with gold lines and it no longer grants buoyancy but the user will gain resistance to the elements. In fall it turns into electric blue, if picked during this time it can be ground into a fine powder and used as an airborne toxin that causes blindness, sickness, and skin lesions.  

Fauna

Golden Belly Husk Maker

This serpent can be found all over the high deserts of Sitaar. Its skin is prized for fine leather pieces due to its lovely golden color and smooth texture. But it is also prized for its venom. It is known that after a creature is bitten, the creature will dehydrate and begin rapid mummification. The serpents are known to make dens of the dried corpses of their victims.  

Gemhide lizards

Found in many regions across the world, the species in Sitaar is unique to its cousins. On average, they take on the color of the sands in their area and can change the color of their rock-like scales to more closely match. They grow to the size of an ox, though some reports say they can get much larger than that. They are harvested for everything from their gem-incrusted hides to their crystal-coated brains. The ones in Sitaar are also hyper-aggressive, hunt in swarms, and have an excellent memory for those who wrong them.  

Obokohcs also known as Bok Walkers

Found all over the world, some members of the species can grow up to 18 hands tall. Some of the largest in the world can weigh as much as 1500 pounds. They are omnivores with massive talons on their feet, and large, sharp beaks. These creatures are used as mounts and beasts of burden. Some people even train them to be guard animals. They come in a variety of colors, their tail feathers are often used in ornamentation. The ones in the wilds of Sitaar tend more towards muted colors of gold, tan, brown, and occasionally white.  

Sundrops

Tiny golden birds no larger than an acorn, often mistaken for bumblebees, these birds were kept by nobility as a sign of status. They are rare to find in the wild these days and there are rewards to those who can find their nests. They pollinate the Giyim tree and other flowers. Because they eat the giyim fruit, were one to eat them (though that would be silly due to their size) it would be like eating several toxic fruits at once and is almost always fatal.  

Storm Rocs

These enormous birds are much like the more common Roc, except for one small detail. They electrify the air and create storms with their wings. If enough of them get together, they create deadly tornados and intense thunderstorms. They roost on the high plateaus and their feathers are prized by elementalists for their electric properties. They are the second largest Roc species, only slightly smaller than the Imperial Roc. Very occasionally, the ultra-rich will keep a Storm Roc in their menagerie, though the cost of simply feeding them is exceptionally high. They are just too smart to ever be fully tamed.  

Akrep

Strange intelligent insectoid species found in the deepest deserts and other remote areas. They have a hunter variant, a worker, a soldier, and a Queen. They have characteristics of mantis, scorpions, and ants. They are believed to be a remnant from the age of high sorcery. Not much is known about them, but their presence is a well-known threat to travelers. The existence of a Queen is assumed but none have ever been actually found, no specimen exists. Their hides can be used to make armor and their ichor is an excellent chemical for tanning, perfumery, and fuel. The rare soldier variants produce a bonding agent.  

Mirage hunters

A large cat species that hunt at high noon in the desert, they hide in the mirage and their pelts enhance the effects of the mirage. Their pelts are highly prized and possess some magical properties. It is not known exactly how many live in the wild. They can get up to 175 to 210 pounds, 125 inches long. They hunt in small packs of family groups. Some royals and rich merchants have been known to keep these cats as pets, though they are never really tame and are unpredictable.  

Nehir Kazani - (river cauldron)

Six-legged reptilian creature that lives in the water. Can either be docile or attack without provocation, depending on when they last ate. The smallest of their kind at adulthood is about 8 feet long and 3000 pounds. They continue to grow throughout their lifespan. They are assumed functionally immortal, they do not die of old age but of illness or injury. One in captivity was rumored to live for thousands of years, captured by the ancient kings, its head is kept in the palace. It only died due to disease. They breathe boiling mud; mud they consume is held in the cauldron gland and superheated and they can shoot it out of their mouths. They have a bestial intelligence comparable to wolves. Their only predators when they are adolescents are hippos, as hatchlings they are preyed upon by many birds and fish. But in adulthood, not many things can threaten them besides dragons. They can burrow into mud very quickly. Everything on their bodies can be harvested, their skin can be used for high-grade armor, their mud sacs can be used in alchemy and cosmetics, and their bones and teeth are like ivory. There are many places in this world with a vast collection of plants and creatures, but few can match the beauty and danger of Sitaar. Numerous poisonous and venomous specimens inhabit this desert kingdom and one must be aware of what to look for.