[OOC]This is a raw version of the book my character Thyrion Alzhaman has been writing. It\'s a bit incomplete, but since I have to go to the army next Monday, I decided to post this. I\'ll propably make some more entries to it as I find the time. Feel free to comment. [/OOC]
The Herbalist?s Handbook
by Thyrion Alzhaman
Index:
1.1 A word from the writer
1.2 How to use this book
2.1 Healing
2.2 Enhancing
2.3 Other beneficial recipes
2.4 Poisons
1.1 A word from the writer
For years I have travelled the wilderness. An essential part of wilderness survival is the knowledge of how you can benefit from the resources of nature. This book contains a collection of my favourite recipes that I have gathered during my travels. There are also some recipes that are the results of my own experiments, and can be found nowhere else but in this book. One recipe usually has one single effect, but one can always combine different herbs for multiple effects (although extreme care should be taken when using the more powerful herbs like kkhara). I hope these will prove as useful to you, as they proved to me.
1.2 How to use this book
Example:
Herb: Uhun ? the name of the herb
Description: A small flower with dark green leaves and white petals ? a quick description of the herb?s appearance
Parts: Stem, leaves ? the parts of the plant that can be used
Where to find: Almost everywhere except extremely hot, cold or dry areas ? where the herb usually grows
Effects: Gives nice taste when applied to red meat ? what effects the herb has
Method: Crush the parts into tiny pieces and apply to food ? how the herb should be used to achieve the desired effect
Other: May cause indigestion if used in large quantities ? possible side-effects, alternate uses and such
2.1 Healing
These are healing recipes for general purposes. In case of a serious disease, one should consult a healing expert personally.
Herb: Althenm?
Description: A thick, thorny bush, 1.2 meters tall at max. Black stalks, small, reddish green leaves and red, round berries
Parts: Berries
Where to find: Dry, rocky areas, for example the lower parts of mountain ranges and such
Effects: Disinfects small wounds and quickens blood clotting. Not very effective on larger wounds
Method: Boil the berries a bit to soften them. Then crush the berries in a bowl and apply directly to the wound
Other:
Herb: Eehran
Description: A small, stick-like plant without any leaves. Consists of a hard, brown stalk and roots. 80 cm high at max.
Parts: All
Where to find: Moist, dark areas, for example swamps
Effects: An effective painkiller. Cures cold as well.
Method: Can be consumed instantly
Other: A plant called umei is often mistaken as eehran for their quite similar appearances. Umei, however, has no particular effect.
Herb: Drastz? (commonly called bloodleaf)
Description: A quite small tree, often no taller than 2,5 meters. Thick, charcoal coloured trunk with many branches from halfway to top. The common name bloodleaf comes from it?s crimson, drop shaped leaves.
Parts: Leaves
Where to find: Rare. Found in deep, thick forests in colder parts of the world.
Effects: An effective poison neutralizer. Works on almost every natural poison (not artificial)
Method: The leaves are to be dried and then boiled like tea. In case of a serious and lethal poisoning the leaves can be smoked with common tobacco in a 1:1 mix. Smoking causes the neutralizing substances to enter the bloodstream more effectively, which results in faster and more effective poison neutralizing than consuming bloodleaf tea
Other: Smoking bloodleaf usually results in very bad nausea, so care should be taken when determining the state of the poisoning
2.2 Enhancing
These are recipes for enhancing effects.
Herb: Mmasora
Description: A weed that spirals at it?s top. 10-20 cm long, green. Smells faintly of fish
Parts: Stem
Where to find: Edges of fields, roads, walls etc. Very common.
Effects: No effect if used by itself, but if mixed with catnip, mmasora enhances darkvision.
Method: Boil mmasora stems with catnip in water. Then remove all solid material from the water and let it cool down. When the water cooled, pour directly into eyes.
Other:
Herb: Hunter?s Aid (real name unknown)
Description: A parasitic flower that grows on the trunks of large trees. Small, red, circular flowers visible, other parts are often under the bark of the host tree.
Parts: Petals
Where to find: Large, ancient forests with old trees.
Effects: Augments senses
Method: Smoke with ordinary tobacco
Other: One should be careful when determining the right amount of the herb. For a medium sized person, 7-9 petals is enough for one dose. Overdose results in too enhanced senses, and the sudden change in the amount of audiovisual information one is subjected to after overdose can lead to temporary insanity. This usually goes by after the effects wear off, but those with weak minds are endangered to permanent mental disorders
Herb: Kagashroom
Description: A small green mushroom that grows in large numbers.
Parts: All
Where to find: Usually found in moist, warm caves, but sometimes in very dark rainforests.
Effects: Aids in concentration. Tastes good.
Method: Use only small, younger kagashrooms. Boil the kagashrooms before eating them.
Other: Using older kagashrooms results in sleepiness.
2.3 Other beneficial recipes
Herb: Kkhara
Description: A common tree that grows very tall. Very usual looking, but can be identified by it?s large heart-shaped leaves.
Parts: Bark
Where to find: Almost everywhere, except for the most extreme territories
Effects: Relaxes body and soul, prevents insomnia
Method: Boil pieces of the bark in water. Instead of drinking, inhale the vapours that are released during the boiling
Other: Drinking the boiling water results in a deep sleep that last for 2-4 days. Although very refreshing, it is not commonly recommended.
2.4 Poisons
NOTE! This chapter is not for learning how to make poisons. It is for identifying common poisons and poisonous plants and trees and such by smell and look. There is also information about antidotes to them. The part ?where to find? is dropped out for a reason.
Herb: Yba?n (commonly called ?Widow?s Tear?)
Description: An ordinary looking bush with blue, tear-shaped berries. Almost every other part is edible and harmless, but the black seeds that are contained in the berries are lethal. Yba?n seeds can be identified by their bitter, salty odour, and if a seed is dropped in water, the seed releases black colour into the water.
Parts: Seeds
Effects: Yba?n poisoning can be identified by sweating, extreme weakness and red eyes. Yba?n poison causes a violent rise in body temperature, and the victim usually dies of fever in few days.
Antidote: Yba?n poisoning can be cured with bloodleaf (see above).
Herb: Cingawari
Description: A 50 cm high plant with large, pointy leaves. Thick, white roots are the poisonous part. Cingawari is easy to identify in nature, but if refined to poison, it is hard to notice by smell.
Parts: Roots
Effects: If consumed, cingawari toxins are destroyed by stomach acids before they can enter the bloodstream, causing only mild nausea. But if cingawari poison is released to the bloodstream directly, for example from a poisoned arrowhead, it causes the victim?s lungs to swell until he chokes to death (in most cases, this takes only several minutes).
Antidote: regular poison neutralizers work on pure cingawari extract, but more skilled poisoners use a specific chemical in addition that renders natural healing useless
Herb: Abendel
Description: A rather large mushroom. It is mostly white, but larger ones develop bluish stripes. A young abendel can be often mistaken as some other mushroom, as it is very common looking, but can be identified by it?s strong odour, that resembles sulphur.
Parts: All
Effects: The strong toxins of abendel paralyze neural systems, and when ignited, dried abendels burn long and emit very much smoke, that causes unconsciousness when inhaled. If consumed, the toxins cause almost immediate death.
Antidote: A cure for abendel poisoning is yet to be found. If abendel smoke has been inhaled, the unconsciousness wears off in two hours. Consuming abendel leads to death in half an hour.
