"This is Attar. It grows from dream. When you see wonders in our cities, you will accrue it. The more you have, the more you'll see. When you have enough— Ah, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that Attar is prized above all else in Arbor."[1]
The Countess of Thorns, with attar in her eyes.
Attar is the primary commodity and currency of Arbor.
Dream-Dust[]
Attar is a red, perfumed powder that accumulates on a dreamer's eyelids when they witness the wonders of Arbor.[1] However, these wonders must be strictly "novel" in some way or another, such as a new sight, experience, or piece of information.[2] Attar is often used as a currency or commodity in Arbor,[1] but it can also be used to fuel and construct dreams, allowing a dreamer to bend and twist Arbor's features as they please.[3] It can also be used as a luxurious spice in alcoholic drinks, and consuming attar this way causes it to accumulate in the imbiber's eyelids.[4]
Attar giveth, and attar taketh away: accumulating enough of it allows an individual to glimpse or even visit Far Arbor,[5][6] but Far Arbor will quickly fade away if one loses their attar.[7] Thus, Far Arbori often have their eyes steeped in attar, granting the appearance of red-colored kohl or mascara and keeping their access to the city intact.[8]
When there is occasion for it to be removed, attar is usually extracted from a person's eyes using Huz bees from the Elder Continent. They drink the person's tears to allow the attar to gently fall out[9] - though tweezers can also accomplish this goal.[10] Criminals who violate Arbor's laws severely enough may have their attar and their eyes harshly extracted by the city's guards;[11] those who have been exiled from Far Arbor but have kept their eyes may sell whatever possessions they have just to taste the far side of dream again.[10]
Queenly Attar[]
"From the scarlet-ringed eyes of Her Roseate Splendour herself."[12]
A Vial of Queenly Attar.
Queenly Attar is a variation of attar possessed only by Arbor's Roseate Queen. Pouring from her eyes like a crimson stream of wonders, this attar is the reddest attar imaginable, though its exact relationship with the "common" attar beyond its deeper color and higher quality is unknown.[13]
In London, this substance usually takes the form of a fine red powder,[14] though it may turn violant or cosmogone when experimented on.[15] In Parabola, Queenly Attar becomes a strange, multicolored drug, tempting others deeper and deeper into dreams. It may have in fact been sculpted by a mysterious scarlet power that lurks beyond the mirrors...[16]
References[]
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