The Crowmont Rose

The old story of the Crowmont Rose seems to follow with the widespread idea that the Crowmont family bears daughters that are the most radiantly beautiful in all of Heron. Even in modern times, this is a common conception - it isn't unusual to find the odd scoundrel in a tavern bragging about how he once bedded a Crowmont girl, or to see young women trying to emulate the style or appearance of the Crowmont daughters. 

In the legend, the Lord Crowmont’s seven daughters are known far and wide for their beauty and grace. They draw hundreds of suitors to the Estate from all across Heron, who all beg the Lord for the hand of the daughter of their choice. The Lord was exceedingly picky, believing his daughters deserved nothing less than perfection when it came to a potential husband, and believed almost every suitor he encountered to be entirely unworthy. He quickly grew tired of these suitors coming to his door to beg at his feet, reciting poetry beneath his balconies, and sending minstrels to serenade his daughters as they strolled through his garden. He had gone to great lengths to make sure that the estate was heavily guarded, but the suitors always found some way to slip past, and more importantly, the increased security had created a prison-like atmosphere that his daughters greatly disapproved of.

The Lord Crowmont knew that he had to do something to keep the unsuitable suitors away from the castle, while still keeping his daughters as happy as possible. The Lord, who prided himself on his beautiful garden, had an idea. He bred what would become known as the Crowmont Rose, a flower with thorns that were long, sharp, and covered in an oil that would leave anyone stung by it with a painful, itchy rash that would last for weeks, and blooms that were large and of the most brilliant scarlet that were beautiful enough, he hoped, to appease his daughters. He planted several bushes of the flower in a massive hedge that bordered the island that the castle rested upon, so that only suitors who met the Lord’s approval would be able to enter. 

Though the story is largely unverified, and nobody can say which past Lord Crowmont the story refers to, the Crowmont Rose hedge still stands today, bordering the small island that the main estate sits atop. The Crowmont Rose is the sigil of the Crowmont house, and is frequently used in the decor of the estate. Despite their beauty, these flowers are not generally given as gifts due to the nasty effect of their sting, as well as the hefty price one would need to pay to obtain them. One usage of these flowers that isn't commonly referred to outside of the Crowmont family is as an ingredient in some particularly deadly poisons.