Luzia sat down in the library and perked her ears. The librarian was about to teach the kittoms that had gathered around about the fauna and flora of Silveil and she was very excited to learn. Finally, she thought to herself. The world around her was new and full of wonder and she was ready to fill her head with knowledge.
The room was illuminated by bioluminescent plants and different kinds of mushrooms, hanging from the ceiling in planters and lanterns. It was a safe choice and posed no fire hazard for the books. Outside the window, the Starlake could be seen, harboring the giant eldertree beneath its dark waters. Luzia could see the lake sparkle and glitter. She knew it was the glowing jellyfish that lived in the lake, and they were especially active today.
She slowly inched forward and got closer and closer until she could hear the adult elnin perfectly. The librarian just started. She held up a colorful picture of a flower and Luzias eyes widened - the flower was beautiful!
“This plant is called Umbralia. Please, take a good look everyone. This flower is very common here in our region, and there is a good chance you will spot it during your next playtime around the edges of the forest.
The Umbralia is a bioluminescent flower with delicate, translucent petals that emit a soft, ethereal glow in various shades of blue, violet, and silver. The petals are arranged in layers, resembling the wings of a celestial butterfly. If you look very closely, you can see the center of the flower is a radiant core, which is pulsating with a gentle luminosity that usually casts a soothing glow in the surrounding darkness. It is extremely helpful to help you guide your way, but please remember to always have your lantern with you if you go outside here. The darkness can be dangerous and there won’t always be a glowing flower to help you out.”
The green elnin put the first picture to the side and grabbed two others, which she held up as well so all the kittoms could see them.
“The stem is very slender, so please be careful, as this flower is delicate and can easily be destroyed. It is designed to gracefully sway with the slightest breeze. The leaves have a very dark shade of green with white and blue glowing dots around the edges. It is believed that these dots make it easy to mimic the night sky and the plant uses this to avert predators. The leaves also support the plants ability to capture the faintest traces of ambient light for photosynthesis. And now… some of you might have spotted it already… Look over there! We have a specimen of the Umbralia here in the library. Gather around, so we can take a closer look and I will tell you even more about the plant. There is so much more to know.”
