Perrenial leather & fire plants

[JC Lamont]

Hi, I am nearing the end (hopefully) of getting the first book of my Christian fantasy series published. I have an agent, but before we submitt to a major publishing house I want to finalize some world-building stuff.

I've done alot of reaserach, but two things I would love advice on:

Is there such thing (in fantasy/fiction/mythology) as perrinial leather or any leather that comes from anything but dead animal?

Is there any plant that gives off fire (i'm trying not to kill trees either, lol).

No, I am not a liberal, a tree-hugger, or a green person -- I really do have a good reason for this, I swear.

[J Jack]

There are fibers that can be used, flax and the like, that can be made into a leathery like material. If that helps, the plant thing is more difficult. All I know about fire and plants is that some trees lose seeds that are opened by extreme heat in BC and California. It allows them to regrow after forest fires, that's the closest I can think of.

[Divides the Waters]

The closest fictional counterpart I can think of is the old Journey to the Center of the Earth, where Pat Boone's character suggests making new soles for their shoes out of mushroom hide.

I don't know about a plant that gives off fire, but there are phosphorescent insects, carnivorous plants, and beetles that blast boiling chemical fire. I imagine it would be within the realm of possibility.

P.S. Totally dig your avatar.

[JC Lamont]

I figured out the fire plant thing at work today, so that's ok.

As for the mushroom hide -- very cool. I had thought up the idea of a tree that I would call the Ether tree that had shingle-barked trunk. After the shingle is pried from the tree the underside is perrenial leather. But when I mentioned to someone that I would call it the hide of the Ether tree I was told that didn't make sense, that hide is always animal skin.

So if mushroom hide works, do you think tree hide could too? Or do I need a mushroom farm in my fantasy world?

Thanks about the avatar comment! All I need is some armor.

[torainfor]

Ooo! You already figured out the fire-plant thing, so that's cool, but what if there was a flower with petals like glass and, when they opened, the sunlight was, you know, condensed like light through a magnifying glass. It would be annoying to the plant to continually light itself on fire, but there's probably a work-around for that.

[torainfor]

And for some reason, whenever I see the title of your post, I read it as "Perrenial Leather & Fire Pants."

Maybe I should put on my glasses.

[Divides the Waters]

Would something mined from an Ether Tree be Ether Ore?

[Teskas]

Perennial leather might be substituted with tree bark. Dutch clogs are carved from wood. Several Asian societies make shoes and armor from bamboo.

As for plants that make fire, a couple of middle eastern and African plants are highly combustible because of the resins in them. I'm sorry I can't be more specific.

As an aside, there is a deconstructive (which means faith plays no part in the exegesis) analysis of Scripture which suggests that the Burning Bush which Moses encountered was one of these plants.

Hope this helps.

[myrthman]

Aug 1, 2008 2:20:06 GMT -5 Divides the Waters said:

Would something mined from an Ether Tree be Ether Ore?

Very punny, Divides. Nice.

[myrthman]

This thread was in my thinker while I was driving a nearly empty bus around campus today. I thought of Super Mario's fire flower that gives characters fireballs or some other, graphically superior fire-based power. Flames make a natural flower shape; it doesn't seem too much of a stretch to invent such a plant for your world.

Perennial leather stumped me. I'm not really sure what your goal is except to keep cows from being butchered in your story. What about a special breed that doesn't have to die to give up its hide? Like shearing a sheep for its wool. The cattle would be a bit vulnerable to sunburn and other things for a while without their skin. Perhaps it would introduce some interesting plot points. For example, a farmer has to keep his cattle inside a barn for a week or so until the skin has grown back sufficiently enough to prevent his herd becoming a walking steak house, cooked to order.

I'm sure you could come up with any number of ideas for your world. That's one of the joys of fantasy: it doesn't necessarily have to be believable in the real world, just in yours.

[torainfor]

Oh, of course! A cow that sheds like a snake or some earth-bound crustacean that periodically loses its shell!

[JC Lamont]

Everyone here in agreement that Perrenial leather doesn't work?

That stinks.

If mushroom hide words, why can't tree hide?

Sorry, don't mean to be whiny. It was already suggested to me to have animals that shed thier skin, but I don't like that idea.

Grrr.

Back to the drawing board. Or the empty screen.

[myrthman]

What about some sort of leather-producing animal? Like silkworm but on a larger scale. There are some bagworms in this area whose nest (what is that anyway??) is nearly opaque. It might not stop an arrow directly but what about its tackiness? Arrows and swords get stuck in the goop before they penetrate to the person wearing the armor. Some critter would have to be able to handle it without getting stuck to fashion it into armor. Maybe the silkworm itself? An intelligent, money-grubbing purveyor of its own secretions.

By the way, I offer my ideas without any sarcasm. Thinking outside the box, that's all. Just hard to convey sincerity with text only.

[Divides the Waters]

Without asking for spoilers, are we talking about Earth or something within this universe?

[knightofhyn]

I see a leaf. The whole section of "hide" is a leaf, tough, fibrous material. Not exactly leather to a trained eye, but with a smooth feel on all sides. The entire leaf would be cut and either cut into strips to be woven or sewn whole into things.

I do origami as a stress reliever (and believe me, Helpdesk Administrator brings stress). I just could see an elephant ear folded and stitched for reinforcement into a shoe. Call it crazy, but the idea sounds neat to me. If you don't use it, I probably will.