Alphosia Berries

Alphosia Berries are a native, sweet fruit that grow all across the continental Khor'vana, and also on some of its closest outlying islands. They are known for their blissfully sweet taste, their unexpectedly ugly shell, and the risky, fatal allergens that dwell in their juice.

Description
Alphosia Berries grow on bushes that are found amongst the undergrowth of Khor'vanan jungles. The leaves of these bushes are long, thin and appear quite glossy to the eye. The berries themselves grow in clusters within thick, ugly shells of dark brown and grey. This unappealing exterior often turns away many animals from attempting to aquire the berries - it is expected that otherwise many creatures would have been extinct due to the berries' fatality rate.

Within the hardened shells are the berries, small droplets of dark red and blue. They are very soft, fleshy without a skin, and filled with a clear nectar. The berries are very sweet, one of the sweetest natural fruits known in Khor'vanan culture, and their juiciness gives them quite a refreshing, hydrating quality upon consumption.

With the berries comes an odd allergen which seems to affect quite a number of creatures; it is said one in one hundred men will taste the poison of an alphosia. This allergen is quick acting, found within the berries juice, and works about shutting down the bodies organs. Those who suffer this specific allergy will find the berries fatal within minutes of consumption.

Use
The potential deadliness of the alphosia berries makes them quite exotic, especially for youngsters. Some people go their lives without trying the berries or their juice, attaching a kind of social status in some parts of Khor'vana to those who do indulge in the fruits.

The berries, by those brave enough, by those who can purify them of their allergen, and by those who know they are safe, are used in many things. Baking, cooking, the flavouring of sweets and beverages. In some parts of Khor'vana, rare bottles of Alphosia Wine can be found.