Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil is a magical plant that began growing after the Transcendence. It can be burned to create an incense that has no effect on humans but causes preters to lose all inhibitions.

Description

Yggdrasil is an herb that sprung up after the Transcendence partially merged the real world and the Mindscape.

It does not grow like a normal plant, does not require sunlight, and all traditional methods to cultivate it have failed. It instead crops up in locations with high concentrations of magical energy. Because of this, it was originally scarce and could sell for over a hundred dollars an ounce. After an incident where the herb overran David Keeler and Sarah Pines's house, Meera Khatri published a paper on how to grow it in a laboratory and it became much less valuable.

One of the theories regarding the true nature of Yggdrasil is that there is a tree-shaped magical superorganism linking every dimension of the universe, and that growths of Yggdrasil are the leaves of the tree poking through into reality in places of high magical concentration.

The plant itself looks unlike most plants. It shimmers in light like a diamond. It has leaves like a clover, but it twists in on its own stem in a way that is confusing to look at. To an onlooker, it appears to grow and to recede and to do nothing all at once.

Effects

Preternatural creatures, when exposed to Yggdrasil root, lose the ability for rational thought for a while, and essentially go on a rampage. While uncommon, it is sometimes used recreationally for this effect.

Demons can be extremely dangerous when exposed to Yggdrasil, as they generally have significantly more magical ability than other creatures. However, if the demon is not on the physical plane, it would only be able to cause damage in the Mindscape.

Yggdrasil usually has no effect on humans. Humans with exceptionally strong supernatural powers, like espers and magicians, may be potentially be affected. However, humans affected in this way are subdued rather than aggravated. Additionally, Tobias Pines is horribly allergic to Yggdrasil, because his soul originally belonged to the demon Bill Cipher.

Alcor the Dreambender has a unique reaction to Yggdrasil because he was originally human. He still loses most rational thought, but does not necessarily become aggressive. When around people he trusts, he tends to act like an affectionate house cat. Because of this, Mabel refers to Yggdrasil herb as 'dipnip'. When he consents to it, he enjoys how the drug makes him feel, although he is often embarrassed by his actions afterward. If he is drugged without consent, as is sometimes done by cults in order to attempt to tranquilize him, he often struggles to fight off the effects and then enacts revenge on his summoner.