FrivYeti/LanykEternalForest
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The Eternal Forest
On the northern shore of the Inner Sea, ten miles from the bustling city of Lanyk, there lies a forest of beech and cedar trees. It is twenty miles across, surrounded by ocean, farmland, and rolling hills, and its boundaries are as perfectly marked by a rigid treeline as though it had been drawn on a map, rather than existing in the true world. Though the trees within are ancient and strong, none venture into the woods to cut lumber, for it is rumoured that a terrible fate awaits those foolish enough to bring harm there.
According to an ancient local legend, the Eternal Forest was once a resting place for the great Sextes Jylis, when he was travelling the world repairing the harm caused by the Anathema. Jylis saw that the once-great forest that spanned the region had been torn asunder, and he cast open his hand, returning it to life. The area of the woods where he rested that night became a sacred place, and those who defy the ancient ban against gathering wood from the forest are cursed by the Dragons to join it.
The truth, as is so often the case, is more sinister. The woods belong not to an Immaculate Dragon, but to an Elemental one. Rajasu, a Lesser Elemental Dragon of Wood, names the Eternal Forest his home, and woe to any who think the only myth merely that.
History of the Eternal Forest
In the First Age, Rajasu's forest was a wonder to behold. Worked by some of the greatest Solar and Lunar bio-artificers of the age, it contained a hundred varieties of plant and animal life that had never been seen elsewhere. The roots of the trees melted snow, warming the air and allowing flowers to bloom even in the coldest winter days, and Rajasu found solace in that place, building his sanctum deep in the heart of the woods with the blessing of the Exalts who had made it. In return, he promised them that he would watch over and protect it from any danger that might befall it.
Rajasu's promise, unfortunately, was undone by the horrors of the Usurpation. The original designer of the Forest fled there following the disaster at Meru, and a thousand Dragon-Blooded followed on his heels, bringing Essence weapons and devastation in their wake. It was in the Crystal Glade that he made his stand, and he slew hundreds before being himself brought down, but his actions, and those of the Terrestrials that hunted him, destroyed almost every tree and animal present, and blasted the very soil of the forest. Rajasu, despite his best efforts to intervene, was blasted into fragments of Essence, and when he finally regathered himself, the Forest was dead.
The Dragon was furious at the combatants for having brought their dispute to such a sacred place, and he swore that he would rebuild and protect the forest. The Solar's mortal servants were being held under guard by a handful of Terrestrials and their own mortal soldiers, and Rajasu appeared before them in the guise of one of their fellows, claiming to have found a cache of dangerous weapons. Bit by bit, he drew the Dragon-Blooded and their guards to the ruined forest, and one by one he transformed them, turning them into trees and trapping their souls within the wood. He then offered sanctuary to the servants of the Solar within this new wood, and, once they had been drawn in, he turned them, too, into trees for his forest. He then began to cultivate it, encouraging new growth until a perfect new forest was in the place of the one he had lost. While few of the magical plants survived, the forest’s growth endured. Even during the Contagion, Rajasu was able to shield the forest, protecting it from the Wyld, and discouraging Fair Folk from rampaging through it in favour of easier nearby targets. Some mortals came into the forest for shelter from the Wyld, and Rajasu granted their wishes, turning them into trees as well and guarding them as well as all his children.
The Forest Today
The Eternal Forest now has a strong enough legend attached to it that few are foolish enough to venture within it. Rajasu is aware of those who do, and keeps an eye on them. As long as they do not harm any of the trees of the forest, he is content to let them remain, and he tends not to be strongly concerned about easily regrowable damage to bushes and low foliage, but anyone who attempts to so much as cut a branch from a tree is immediately taken, along with all their companions, and transformed into new trees for the forest. The bulk of the forest’s trees are natural, grown from others, but trees are extremely long-lived, and there are a number of mortal souls still trapped within the woods. There are no Exalts at this time, but only because no one is aware of anything of value in the forest (certainly not the Crystal Grove, which Rajasu still guards viciously.)
The Crystal Grove
At the centre of the forest is the Crystal Grove. Once, every plant and tree in the forest was clear and pure, with sap running clearly underneath their crystalline bark. Now, however, the Grove is a mixture. Amongst the few remaining crystal trees are those that Rajasu created from the initial Dragon-Bloods of the Usurpation and their servants, each tinted the colours of their original hosts. Newer trees are scattered through the grove, reflecting off their crystal counterparts, and the sound of rustling leaves and chimes fills the air.
In the centre of the grove is Rajasu’s Sanctum, a powerful Manse that was constructed by the Lunar that first designed the grove. Rajasu repaired the damage to the Sanctum, applying his own alterations, and spends much of his time within it. The Grove itself is warded against mortal trespassers, and any that find their way past these wards are quickly transformed into new trees for the Grove. Rajasu does not allow any of the grove’s trees to die, using his magic to keep them eternally healthy, and they still hold the souls of any unfortunate enough to find their way here.
The Crystal Manse takes the shape of four trees intertwined, stretching up thirty feet to a broad canopy that filters light into the Grove in a dazzling display of colours when the sun shines. The inside of the Manse has only two levels; an upper level that contains the amber-wrapped and perfectly preserved equipment of those who fought in the Grove, which Rajasu is holding in case it becomes useful to him some day, and the lower level, in which roots wrap around the base of the manse and spread outwards throughout the Grove, keeping it intact. There are two Hearthstone chambers; at the very top of the manse sits a silvery set of leaves, with a flower on the top in which the Manse’s Lunar Hearthstone is grown, and another at the exact centre of where the roots gather, which wrap around the Manse’s Wood Hearthstone.
Rajasu wears the Manse’s two Hearthstones on his tiara at all times. For full details, refer to his profile.
