The Botanist
| “ | What a tense situation! It was nearly as bad as the one time I went into battle with nothing but my armor and a sharpened mango. | ” |
| — Phlegma [src] | ||
Phlegma the Fierce, a.k.a. The Botanist, is one of the professors at the School of Dragons. Her first appearance is as a background character in the first HTTYD movie, with some appearance in following movies and series.
Description
Phlegma is a strong built adult woman of average height. She has brown long hair, braided in a thick braid that stick out on the back of her head, with tuffs on the forehead on the ears; rounded face and nose, big round blue-green eyes, smiling mouth with full lips.
Just like Heather, her outfit is modified from the original Botanist instead of being based on the movie. She wears a short sleeved brown shirt, tied at the neck with a thin string; a brown leather vest with a short mantle draped over the shoulders and round metallic breast plates; a light brown knee-length skirt over white pants or socks; reddish brown boots with a grey fur rim. She also wears brown leather bracers tied with grey-brown strings, a narrow brown belt with simple metallic studs and buckle, from which leather and metallic strips are hung and a metal helmet with a couple of narrow and short horns.
Personality
Phlegma is said to have a "warm personality [that] brings a comforting presence to the school" [src]. But apparently when she was young she was boisterous [src].
She not only has a green thumb, even creating new varieties of roses [src], but is also skilled in other crafts, like woodworking [src][src][src], wool felting [src] or weaving fishing nets [src]. Sometimes she also cooks for The Headmaster [src].
To tend to crops successfully, she has also knowledge of weather forecasting [src][src][src], and she knows natural remedies for both dragons [src] and humans [src][src][src][src] (and sheep [src]).
History
Due to her minor role in the movies and series, not much is known about Phlegma. She participated in the raids to find the dragons' nest under Stoick's command, and she seems to have adapted well to the new Berk's life with dragons, cheering on dragon's races and fighting against Drago. For more information about Phlegma from the franchise, visit here.
According to the SoD's website, Phlegma always had a green thumb and when the School of Dragons opened its doors, she jumped at the chance to teach there. She hopes to raise a new generation of students who respect and understand nature. Also, her farm helps with providing food for the increasing number of students.
Locations
The Botanist can be found:
- at The Lookout
- inside The Great Hall
- Impossible Island (post expansion)
In The Game
She has a very important role in the game by running the greenhouse and providing food for the students and their dragons (School Lessons, Dangerous Drought). She also make sure everyone has a balanced diet (Prepare for the Big One!). However, her farm isn't enough, and she teaches the player to take care of their own farm in the game (Learn to Farm).
As a professor, she's usually present in quests about the environment and ecology, like Fishing for the Ages, Carpet Seeding, The Wolves Are Coming!, Case of the Lost Sheep, The Great 'nut Debate, Invasive Species? etc.
Secret of the Leviathan
This is the first expansion where Phlegma has a mayor role, joining the player in their adventures. She offers her help in The Birth of a Leviathan, together with Skulder, and the trio will explore Impossible Island together. She is wounded in Approaching the Ruins, but she will soon be back into action.
Relationships
Skulder the Archaeologist
Phlegma i the first one to mention Skulder by his first name, and she remembers him even if she was just a young girl when he left Berk [src].
In Secret of the Leviathan, they work together a lot. Skulder is honored to be offered her dragon to ride. Also, he is embarrassed when he accidentally refers to her as ‘dear’ and overreacts greatly. He says Phlegma is always right.src
Tuffnut
The combined mischiefs of Tuffnut and his chicken are too much for Phlegma, that in The Mysterious Chicken Caper seems to lose her staffs and uses a more rough language toward the twin.
Trivia
- Funnily enough, Phlegma is a background character that made a few appearances in both the Series and in the movies;
- In HTTYD2, after Drago's Bewilderbeast got defeated, we can see Phlegma hugging her Gronckle.
- In the quest Impossible Island? of Secret of the Leviathan expansion pack, Phlegma rides a Snapptrapper she calls "Snappy". It's the first time we see she owns a dragon in the game
Gallery
- Phlegmasod.jpg
Plegma the Fierce as the new Botanist
Flora May
The Botanist used to be an original SoD's character Flora May until 20th of September, 2013, when it was changed to Phlegma as a part of the v5.4.
From Flora's profile on SoD's website:
"Flora May, the school botanist, was born with flowers in her hair and a warm, comforting smile on her face. She approached everything with unending optimism and didn’t let the harshness of traditional Viking life define her character. This attitude, of course, was no help to her during combat. While she knew how to swing her axe to fend off the dragons from the village, she never could muster up the same enthusiasm as the other Viking warriors. “The dragons steal all our sheep, Flora May,” everyone would say to her. “We must fight them off!”.
“We should protect our village,” she would always reply. “But there’s no reason to get worked up about it, love. They’re animals. You can’t get angry at an animal for following its instincts.”
In fact, the Vikings of Berk have only seen her get angry once. A stray Gronckle wormed its way into her family during a raid and trampled over a vase of rare flowers. At that moment, it was as if every Viking on the island heard the echoes of her deep and furious roar. Flora May quickly grabbed for a frying pan and leapt at the dragon. Needless to say, the winged creature fled, lumpier than it had ever been before.
Her true talents came with her green thumbs. She understood how plants thrived from a very early age, and her skills only seemed to blossom further over time. As a little girl, she tended to a small plot in her mother’s garden, where vibrant flowers bloomed in the yard after several days. She quickly took charge of the entire garden, and before she knew it she was not only managing her mother’s farm, but eventually those of her neighbors as well. With her natural abilities, she could coax healthy crops from the most stubborn plots of land. Her reputation grew rapidly, making her widely respected as the best farmer in all of Berk.
When peace was finally made between the Vikings and dragons, Flora May was the only choice for the position of Botanist at the new School of Dragons. Today, she runs the green house and the school farm. With new students arriving each day, the Vikings need more food than ever before to feed their dragons. Her farm helps ease that demand. Her warm personality brings a comforting presence to the school, and her farm can be the perfect sanctuary of tranquility after a long day of dragon training. Students seem to find a certain sense of solace in helping her tend to the crops.
As a recent addition to the teaching staff at School of Dragons, Flora May is excited for the opportunity to teach more young Vikings about the living world. Her ultimate goal is to raise a new generation of Vikings who respect and understand nature."
- 9F.jpg
Flora May the Botanist before an unknown update
- Flora-May.png
Flora's original illustration from SoD's website
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- Characters
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