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I spent my youth growing on heaven
and may travel the world as an adult,
even a king doesn't know how.

I'm the only one of my kind,
yet I'm not in danger to get extinct
and yet lie about my origin.

The true children of my family are sometimes poison,
whereas I prefer to use brute force,
killing the innocent who seek my shadow.

Hint 1

My body is a treasure, monsters feast on my flesh,
my blood gets drunken, my essence refined,
my skin offers protection and even my hair gets processed.

I will provide a hint every time all lines are explained without getting the correct word; each line can be explained separately (title included).

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  • $\begingroup$ Is "on heaven", instead of "in heaven", a typo or on purpose? $\endgroup$
    – Guntram Blohm
    May 10, 2016 at 19:58
  • $\begingroup$ On heaven is correct $\endgroup$
    – Zibelas
    May 10, 2016 at 20:03

3 Answers 3

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Could you be a

Coconut


I spent my youth growing on heaven

Coconuts grow on palm trees which have been called the tree of heaven

may travel the world as an adult

Coconuts may travel long distances carried by sea currents

even a king doesn't know how

King Arthur from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' used half coconuts for his horses sounds and he couldn't explain where they came from - 'Do coconuts migrate' - thanks Zibelius for providing the explanation

I'm the only one of my kind

Coconut is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos

yet I'm not in danger to get extinct

Coconuts are prevalent across much of the tropics

yet lie about my origin

Coconuts are botanically drupes not nuts ...
... although ...
mathematically every nut is a coconut: https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/900390/joke-explanation-a-comathematician-is-a-device-for-turning-cotheorems-into-ffe

true children of my family are sometimes poison

Real nuts are a common cause of a dangerous allergy

I prefer to use brute force, killing the innocent who seek my shadow

Sitting under a coconut tree can be dangerous if they fall on you

Hint 1: My body is a treasure, monsters feast on my flesh, my blood gets drunken, my essence refined, my skin offers protection and even my hair gets processed.

Coconuts are very useful. Monsters may refer to coca monster. Coconut flesh is eaten, coconut water is hydrating and nutritious, coconut oil is refined from the flesh/skin and coconut hair fibre produces coir which is used for door mats.

The title can refer to

King Creole and the Coconuts also King coconut is a variety of Coconut native to Sri Lanka

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  • $\begingroup$ you may want to adjust the missing/ wrong references 1) a palm is also referenced as “tree of heaven” 2) that or sold and shipped to the world 3) reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail 7) true children references to nuts -> nut allergy $\endgroup$
    – Zibelas
    May 12, 2016 at 10:54
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks Zibelas for helping me with a better answer. I had seen coconuts referred to as ' the tree of heaven', but wouldn't have got the Monty Python scene and also was on a different track for 7. $\endgroup$
    – Tom
    May 12, 2016 at 11:09
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Is it:

The Sun?

I spent my youth growing on heaven

The sun is in the sky, and grew in space.

and may travel the world as an adult,

The sun shines over all of the planet in turn.

even a king doesn't know how.

Celestial mechanisms aren't the forte of kings.

I'm the only one of my kind,

There's only a single sun in the solar system.

yet I'm not in danger to get extinct

The sun won't go extinct for millions of years

and yet lie about my origin.

Details of how the sun was exactly created and when are not fully understood.

The true children of my family are sometimes poison,

Venus' atmosphere is poison, and Mercury literally is poison.

whereas I prefer to use brute force,

The sun is the strongest force of gravity in the solar system.

killing the innocent who seek my shadow.

Sunstroke. It doesn't hit in shadow.

My brother is the king (second)

Jupiter, a king and another planet.

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  • $\begingroup$ Always the sun is included in the answers^^ It's not the sun, but since you found a valid explanation for every line, I will add tomorrow the first hint; giving it a few more hours for other guesses $\endgroup$
    – Zibelas
    May 10, 2016 at 23:09
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A wild guess. I’m pretty sure the actual answer is a lot simpler. Are you

Yggdrasil, the world-tree from Norse mythology?

Note:

Any info I glanced on the topic I have gathered from the net. Some are bound to be quite stupid. At the very best.

My brother is the King

Odin, who rules over Valhalla, has several ties with the Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil means “Ygg’s Horse” and Ygg is one of Odin’s names; Odin hanged himself from the tree to gain understanding of runes.

I spent my youth growing on heaven

It’s kind of a divinity. (some doubts here)

and may travel the world as an adult,

Its root run all over the nine worlds.

even a king doesn't know how.

While Odin certainly traveled between worlds, Yggdrasil is on all of them at any time.

I'm the only one of my kind,

There is of course only one Yggdrasil.

yet I'm not in danger to get extinct

And, thank Odin, it shows no sign of dying.

and yet lie about my origin.

As a tree, he still lies about its origin. I doubt it’ll ever move.

The true children of my family are sometimes poison,

Some plants are poisonous.

whereas I prefer to use brute force,

But Yggdrasil is not; it’s just as large as the world.

killing the innocent who seek my shadow.

Among the worlds Yggdrasil roots go through, there is Svartalfheim, land of the Dark Elves, who are practice the cult of the dead. (Very far fetched.)

Bonus:

OdinThe Pain comics, Science vs Religion http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly041229a.htm

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  • $\begingroup$ Hmmm, no sadly not correct $\endgroup$
    – Zibelas
    May 10, 2016 at 23:10

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