Liberty Caps
| Oelwy | |
|---|---|
| English gloss | Liberty Caps (translation, not identification) |
| Type | Fungi |
| Where grown / found | Wild, in every corner of the world; most abundant in Eldershore's heat and damp. Cannot be cultivated |
| Used for | Language for arrivals; a recreational hallucinogen; ritual in Eldershore and Stormharbor; a debated medicine |
| Lexicon | Oelwy |
Oelwy, in full Oelwy Moek — the Liberty Caps — are small wild mushrooms found in every corner of the Known World and most abundantly in Eldershore. Almost every city and waystation has tried to cultivate them, and all have failed; that a wild plant will not grow in a field is not thought strange.
What it does
In the early years its use was nearly constant: people brought to the world could not speak the tongue, so they were fed Oelwy to learn it. That is no longer the case, since nearly everyone alive is native and learned the language from birth. For the handful of arrivals who still appear — the Aesloes — it remains a lifeline. No one knows why it works.
For natives it is a hallucinogen taken recreationally and tolerated in most cities; Eldershore and Stormharbor have ancient rituals built around it. Its medical uses are few and what one would expect — it is given for certain mental disorders, and physicians argue about whether it helps.
The trade is small, seasonal, gathered rather than grown, and entirely legitimate.
The word
Livrtei, the word for mushrooms of any kind, descends from Oelwy's own name, though no one realizes it. A farmer calls Moeka and Kelrei alike Livrtei and never makes the connection.