| The Tree of Jesse | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Jesse (Yishai) of Bethlehem |
|
Type |
Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus libani) |
|
Effects |
Life-force Interconnection; Various |
|
Downsides |
TBA |
|
Activation |
Life-force sacrifice; TBA |
|
Collected by |
Alexander the Great |
|
Section |
Krypti tou Protos (Crypt of the First) |
|
Date of Collection |
c. 332 BCE |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
The Tree of Jesse is a depiction in art of the ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David and is the original use of the family tree as a schematic representation of a genealogy. It originates in a passage in the biblical Book of Isaiah which describes metaphorically the descent of the Messiah, and is accepted by Christians as referring to Jesus. The various figures depicted in the lineage of Jesus are drawn from those names listed in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.
The most typical form which the Jesse Tree takes is to show the figure of Jesse, often larger than all the rest, reclining or sleeping (perhaps by analogy to Adam when his rib was taken) at the foot of the pictorial space. From his side or his navel springs the trunk of a tree or vine which ascends, branching to either side. On the branches, usually surrounded by formally scrolling tendrils of foliage, are figures representing the ancestors of Christ.
The Cedars of God is one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of the Lebanon cedar, that once thrived across Mount Lebanon in ancient times. Their timber was used by the Phoenicians, Israelites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, and Turks. The Egyptians used cedar resin for the mummification process and the cedar wood for some of “their first hieroglyph bearing rolls of papyrus”. In the Bible, Solomon procured cedar timber to build the Temple in Jerusalem.
Effects[]
Through (insert means here), the tree is able to connect the life-force of people to itself and, by extension, the Warehouse it has become intertwined with.
Although the people that have been connected to the Warehouse over the centuries, Caretakers, often display rare abilties of their own such as sensing temporal fluctuation and the presence and imminent birth of artifacts, among others on their own, becoming bonded with the tree and the Warehouse bestows many other abilities. These include, but are not limtied to: agelessness, remote viewing of the Warehouse's layout and inventory, and dream telepathy.
The tree requires the life-force of a person as a source of its power, to which everyone else that uses the tree will be connected. This need only be done once unless the body is removed or a new tree is planted. This is done by sacrificing one's own body into the roots of the tree, which will encase and merge with it to create an ultimate and perfectly organic bond.
History[]
Alexander the Great collected this artifact from Bethelehem around the time of his unopposed conquest of Jerusalem in 332 BCE.
In 328 BCE, a year after his Battle of Jaxartes and his subsequent conquest of Kazakhstan, Alexander discovered dwarf apple trees and immediately falls in love with their taste. He sends samples of trees to Athens.
Near the time of Alexander's death, his favorite seer Aristander fortells that the land in which Alexander's body is buried will become forever prosperous and unvanquishable.
Alexander, wanting to create a powerful bond between himself and the storage place of his artifacts, attempts to use the tree to connect them. However, the attempt does not work properly, and Alexander's life-force is slowly drained from him. During the last days of his life, he bids that his close friend Ptolemy I Soter take his body and bury it in the Warehouse once it reaches Egypt with the tree.
After taking Alexander's body from its funeral procession in Macedon, Ptolemy I Soter transported it to Warehouse 2, placing a replacement body in his sarcophagus and sending it to Memphis (where it would eventually be taken to Alexandria). There, he lays Alexander's body at the foot of the tree, where the roots miraculously pull in, incase, and ultimately fuse with his body, and the tree grows substantially larger. From this point on, Alexander's life-force lives on inside the tree.
Usage[]
The tree is used to connect chosen Caretakers to the Warehouse, forming a unique organic bond between them; so long as one lives, so to does the other.
While many people may have characteristics of good Caretakers, the tree/Alexander deems some more worthy than others. As a brutal conquerer of many lands and peoples, however, morals do not necessarily play a part in the selection process (as was the case with Paracelsus being allowed to become and remain Caretaker of Warehouse 9 ). However, it has shown to protect those it deems worthy of being Caretaker from (fatal) harm (as was the case when Claudia Donovan was protected from the destruction wreaked across Warehouse 13 when Paracelsus became Caretaker again).
Interestingly, all Caretakers chosen by the tree have had siblings that, although capable of being Caretakers by blood, are rarely also deemed worthy to do so (Irene Frederic, second Caretaker of Warehouse 13 and sister to its first, was one such rarity).
Those the tree/Warehouse/Alexander like are known to occasionally catch the scent of apples (or, in thanks for their devoted service to the Warehouse, as with Artie Nielsen, may be miraculously gifted an apple itself) - Alexander the Great's favorite fruit.
Storage[]
The tree is kept in a special location below even the "basement" area of the Warehouse, known as the Krypti tou Protos (or "Crypt of the First"), above the entrance of which is engraved the phrase Oi Rizes Mas (or "Our Roots"). Its roots have become interwoven with the Warehouse itself; has grown exponentially taller than the average Lebanon cedar; and it has also grown a great number of branches of various lengths over the centuries, each representing each and every Caretaker that has ever been, as well as thousands of leaves that represent its lesser (but no less appreciated) employees such as agents, Regents, doctors, Keepers, etc.
Extra Info[]
Paracelsus was a very strongly connected Caretaker during his time in Warehouse 9. Even after he was disconnected, once he was de-Bronzed in 2012, the tree still gravitated towards him even while a Caretaker, Irene Frederic, was currently active, and once his bond was increased exponentially by using the Philosopher's Stone in proximity to the Eldunari, the strained connection became actively volatile for her. In simple terms, when it comes to Caretakers, "the past takes precedence"; in arborial terms, the ends of a branch or stem can be cut off and the rest of the plant before that point can heal and regrow, but everything after what was cut off is lost forever.
(Insert the explanation for the strained sharing of Mrs. Frederic between Warehouses 2 and 3 here)