World: Alfheim
Diet: Blood
Height: 3’2″ (arms can reach dozens of feet)
Lifespan: 10 years
Habitat: Meadows
Activity Cycle: Diurnal
The rare marble rose is a plant that only grows under the jurisdiction of fae powerful enough to shape the landscape around them. Those who desire a garden will form one filled with plants that brim with even more magic than average. Among these are the marble roses, oversized flowers with pure-white petals that can be painted any desired color by the local royalty. Their only flaw is that if sprinkled with non-fae blood, they spring to life as a redcap.
Unlike a flower, a redcap is a fully aware being that knows it must continue to keep its petals slick and red with mortal blood to remain as such. Its body changes, twisting and branching vines extending outwards through the garden to ensnare prey. Anything caught on the thorns is drawn back to the main body and wrung dry to paint its petals. These tentacles have enough strength to pin down targets many times their size, and the thorns can puncture steel with enough constrictive pressure. While they have legs under their leafy skirt, they can only slowly shuffle, meaning they tend to be stationary and only move by dragging themselves with their arms. Wild and hungry redcaps are a terrible threat to those who have just entered Alfheim, being most common near portals of entry.
Despite their universally bloodthirsty natures, redcaps can be reasoned with. Many of their kind set themselves up near portals not to feed on those who pass through them but to offer them safe passage and guidance through the garden, taking a tithe of blood both ways.
