Mrathaera

Mrathaera, also known as thaira ("mrathaera" was originally an elven word, and "thaira" was an abbreviation used by humans) were lip glosses designed to dye, flavor, or scent the lips. On occasion, mrathaera were created that could grant beneficial effects to their wearer, or impart drug effects to a target upon kissing.

Description
Any gloss designed to last one hour or more was made of a waxy "base" substance, and one or more active ingredients. The base was made from evergreens, berries, or crushed insects such as layedur. Active ingredients were boiled mixtures of herbs and plant saps.

Flavored or scented glosses were especially popular in certain situations:
 * Mint was mostly used among lovers desiring to please their partners.
 * Cinnamon was widely used by ladies of the night.
 * Parsley and similar herbs were used to make the breath sweeter without leaving a strong impression.

Powers
Some mrathaera were known to have helpful effects such as protecting the lips of the wearer against heat and bitterness, making a kissed creature very excited, or heightening the senses. Such balms were used before going into battle or conducting stealthy missions.

Other balms could create debilitating effects on a kissed creature, such as making them sleepy or dizzy, causing hallucinations, or even actual physical harm. Those products affected the wearer as well as their victims&mdash;to prevent this, assassins and courtesans would build up a tolerance beforehand.

History
While the principles of mrathaera were known by humans, most were only able to create very basic concoctions. Only in Rashemen, in the Tashalar, and in Var were more complex recipes well-known. Among humans and half-elves, balms were almost exclusively created by herbalists, apothecaries, or clergies&mdash;especially druids.

Among elves, recipes were usually passed by female family elders to younger members in a rather secretive fashion.

Many woodland folks such as pixies, as well as gnomes and halflings, passed down mrathaera recipes in their family in the same fashion as cooking, physics (that is, medicine), or herb-lore was taught.

Historically, knowledge of mrathaera tended to spread during wars, being of interest to both healers and ladies of coin following the armies.