Ginseng (GS) is a medicinal plant which is used frequently as a reagent in traditional Britannian and Serpent Islander magical practices. Its purpose in casting spells is to give strength and restoration to the subject.
History and Uses[edit]
Britannia[edit]
The medical practitioners of Britannia have long commended the healthful and restorative powers of the ginseng root, and it has a history of use by warriors and laymen alike as an adaptogen – giving those who ingest it increased stamina for labor or for battle. Among magicians, ginseng requires special preparation before it can be employed in the mystic arts, and the root of the plant must be boiled no less than forty times in successive changes of fresh water, such as that it is reduced to a strong-smelling syrup which may be used to power spells of a medicinal or narcotic nature.
Originally native only to the slopes of Britannia's northern mountains, ginseng was later cultivated in greenhouses across the realm to keep up with the demand for the reagent, and it could frequently be purchased from mages and herbalists.
Serpent Isle[edit]
Curiously, despite being an often-used reagent, ginseng was not available for purchase in Moonshade, only on the mainland. This could be chalked up to the fact that ginseng is solely used in healing spells, and, as Erstam himself admits, the mages of Moonshade have great difficulties with spells of healing.
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inseng — Long praised for its strength-giving and medicinal properties, the root of the Ginseng plant is immediately recognizable for its forked shape, and to those initiated in the mystic ways, by its overpowering rose-coloured aura. It has been used for centuries by peasants who chew it or brew tea from a powdered preparation of the root in order to gain strength and stamina as they toil in the fields. While commonly found throughout Britannia, the Ginseng used as a component in the casting of spells is generally black in colour and found only on the slopes of the northern mountains. It may be purchased in virtually any shop that sells magical goods, and most useful spells of a healing or narcotic nature, such as Cure or Sleep enchantments.
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Ancient reagent used extensively in healing.
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The wizened physicians of ancient Sosaria wrote often of the curative powers of this bitter root. Prepare a syrupy, pure extract by reboiling forty times with clear mountain water, letting the mixture develop a strong, acrid odor.
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The healers of our fair land have known of the healthful and restorative powers of this bitter root for hundreds of years. But to the mage it requires special preparation. It must be boiled and reboiled in the freshest of water no less than forty times! This reduces it to a strong-smelling syrup that makes a very potent reagent.
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Another reagent found in Fawn, this root must be boiled in stream water 40 times until it becomes a syrup. Known for its curative properties, ginseng is generally prepared in greenhouses, where it can be treated immediately after it is collected.
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In ancient eras, ginseng was crushed into a fine powder and added to the ale of warriors on the eve of battle. Many awoke dead in the following morning, and much good ginseng was wasted. While you may choose to use ginseng as a primitive invigorator, such a preparation releases a sliver of its restorative powers. In magical application, ginseng binds curative spells and in the glimmer after the binding surrounds your person in a pleasant scent.
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- The panax (from the same root as the Greek panacea) genus of plants has a long historical reputation in herbal medicinal traditions as an aphrodisiac, adaptogen, muscle relaxant and nourishing stimulant, and has long proved a profitable herb to market to those seeking its alleged rejuvenatory properties. It often bifurcated tap-root is said to resemble a human figure (much like mandrake), and it is from the Chinese term renshen (人蔘) or "man root" that its English name derives. Although its cure-all repute is not backed by many modern scientific studies, these plants often have a solid association with curative and stimulating effects in consciousness.[1][2]
References[edit]
