Location
Mageroyal is an extremely funky little plant, and as I’ve found, it’s…not one you can really treat like any other herb in the old world. Unlike your standard bunches of Peacebloom, Silverleaf, and Earthroot, Mageroyal doesn’t give a hoot about climate, soil, or water - mageroyal depends on magic. Throughout Azeroth, I’ve been told, there is a network of what are called “ley lines”. Areas where magic just simply flows through Azeroth, a spiderweb that stretches under every nook and cranny of our world. There are, however, particularly stronger currents of mana - and these are where Mageroyal grows. Coincidentally, many cultures have settled on these centers of magical confluence, and as such you’ll find a great deal of Mageroyal around large population centers. It’s not guaranteed, of course - but likely.
Mageroyal is one of many plants that have taken on a dependence on magic to grow, and while yes soil and water are necessary for it to grow as with others, without magic being present…they will simply die. What is interesting though is that mageroyal will grow seemingly without any sunlight, surviving purely on latent magic flowing in the ground! I’ve found it best to travel with a mage, or other magic sensitive peoples, as they can inherently sense natural pockets of mana around - and where there’s mana, there’s Mageroyal!
**Identification **
Mageroyal grows in a large twisting bush, with thick gnarled branches at the base, near the roots, growing into slender curling stems with thick, spiking leaves that often have two or three fragile barbs growing off of them. At the heads of these stems are large, bulbous, delicate flowers similar to a rose, with a color ranging from bright pink to a deep burgundy red. Mageroyal flower will have five to six layers, with dark-colored stamen leading them to often look dusky. In terms of size, it really depends on where you are. In Elwynn and Westfall I would see Mageroyal that was about the width and height of a gnome, with flowers about as wide as a dwarf’s nose. In darkshore however, I was able to find bushes with much thicker stems that seemed almost woody, and would occasionally be even taller than me!
Something to note too about Mageroyal - the flowers will glow and sparkle in the light. The healthier the plant, the brighter the sparkle, and the more potent the plant.
Uses
It’s almost funny how drastic the uses for Mageroyal are on Azeroth - indeed coming here from Pandaria was quite a shock. It’s not native there, not to our cousins on the Wandering isle.
When I stopped by in Goldshire to inquire about it, I got mostly shrugs and odd looks, except from a very excited chef, who asked me if I wanted to try one of his famous “brownies”. What I got was a very rich, darkly sweet, creamy cake - and he told me that the key ingredient to both the color and flavor was…well, mageroyal. When ground into a fine powder and mixed with salt, milk and sugar, you can dry it into a very sweet bar of stuff they call “chocolate” - it’s delicious! That seems to be the common use for Mageroyal among the common citizens - it’s a wonderful spice that can add a lovely earthy sweetness to any dish - of course, if you went and told a mage or an alchemist what they do with it, they’d nearly lose their minds.
Mageroyal, due to its nature, is rare - and it’s effects when utilized in potion-making are extremely different. As with most herbs, these effects are brought about by slow-stewing them in a covered pot, straining, and then boiling down and repeating this process until you’ve extracted all you can.
Doing this with Silverleaf or Stranglekelp gives magic users easier access to their source of Mana - though i’m not sure how that works. I tried to get a gnome to tell me and I…got rather lost in the technicalities of “Ley Reservoirs” and “Manastorm Factors” - though from what I know about the first two herbs, they both have a fortifying effect, though Silverleaf reduces pain, and Stranglekelp increases overall oxygen flow and reduces the amount you need in order to function.
Mixing it with Peacebloom does some wonderful things - you’ll absolutely get some stronger healing effects. Potions and poultices made with Mageroyal will see wounds not only close faster, but often without scars! They also increase the severity of wounds that you can treat, and more than once it’s gotten me through a bear mauling. Once again, magic users have told me that it aids in their magic, but to what effect I…could not tell you.
When mixed with Briarthorn, which itself has a number of local legends associated with it, it creates a draught that allows the centering of self. While I would attribute this to Briathorn’s ability to aid with bloodflow and heart health, I cannot deny that there is some magical aspect to this that is evading me. Obviously this is useful for magic users, whose power is derived from their focus - but it’s also good if you just…need to calm down. Having one of these before a speech or a particularly high-stress situation is a good idea.
If you’re out on the road, and you don’t have an alchemical kit to do all that though, you can certainly just…eat it. The flowers are soft and have a very strange texture - similar to nougat or taffy in a way. You can chew on them and they’ll pull - and while you’ll get that chocolatey flavor, it’ll be deeper and more bitter. The stems have a similar flavor, but have a touch, crunchy exterior and a very chalky, crystalline interior. While the leaves ARE edible, I don’t recommend as the thorns do deliver a stinging ZAP if they come into contact with bare skin.
All in all, it’s the weirdest herb I’ve found in the old world. One that’ll go for a good price, if you’re selling it to the right person, and one that’s a neat snack if youre out there!
Just…don’t snack on the raw leaves in front of a mage if you don’t want to be turned into a sheep or a woodland toad.
Sincerely,
Herbalist Willow
