Mrathaera

Mrathaera, also known as Thaira, were lip gloss designed to dye, flavor or scent the lips. On occasion, mrathaera were created which could grant grant beneficial effects to their wearer, or impart drug effects to a target upon kissing.

Description
Any gloss designed to last more 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
 * cinammon was wildly 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 helping effects such as protecting the lips of the wearer against heat and bitterness, making a kissed creature very excited, or heightening their 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 built 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 mrathaera recipes in their family in the same fashion as cooking, physics or herb-lore was taught.

Historically mrathaera knowledge was particularly spread during wars, by the the healers and ladies of coin following the armies.