Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Penumbra

Immediately across the Gauntlet from reality is a domain that mirrors reality closely, called the Penumbra. It is possible to "see" physical reality from the Penumbra with some effort--Garou in particular possess the ability to do so naturally (an ability called "peeking"). Major landmarks such as large buildings, old trees, or topographic features have visible variants in the Penumbra. Each videre has its own version of the Penumbra, but these versions have some passing interaction due to their proximity to one another. Wraiths and Demons call the Penumbra the Shadowlands, while Kuei-jin call it the Mirror Lands. These Penumbrae are the starting points of the Four Worlds, the four aspects of the terrestrial Umbra.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Papaya

The papaya is a fruit of the tree. It is a small tree, the single stem growing from 5 to 10 m tall, with spirally set leaves confined to the top of the trunk, the lower trunk is obviously scarred where leaves and fruit were borne. The leaves are large, 50-70 cm width, deeply palmately lobed with 7 lobes. The tree is typically unbranched if unlopped. The flowers are similar in shape to the flowers of the Plumeria but are much slighter and wax like. They appear on the axils of the leaves, maturing into the large 15-45 cm long and 10-30 cm diameter fruit. The fruit is ripe when it feels soft and its skin has attained amber to orange hue. The fruit's taste is vaguely similar to pineapple and peach, although much milder without the tartness, creamier, and more fragrant, with a texture of a little over-ripened cantaloupe.

The primary use of the papaya is as an safe to eat fruit. The ripe fruit is generally eaten raw, without the skin or seeds. The unripe green fruit of papaya can be eaten ripe, usually in curries, salads and stews.