Kingdom of the Wood

The Kingdom of the Wood, or Faewood as it is also known, is a realm that time forgot, and is still imbued with much of the manifestation of the Gods and Goddesses. Rich with mega flora and fauna, the waters teem with life, and the soils are abundant and fertile.

The faerie-folk and ents were the first to inhabit this region, but after the expulsion from the torrential Deluge, many new refugees have come seeking shelter under the great tree, Drasilissigeaunt. This tree, which was a gift to the faerie-demigod, King of the Wood, when he was young, as a wedding gift from his mother, Nemistri, one of the great goddesses of old. The rich spring in which he planted the sapling, caused it to grow high and strong over the eons. The faerie-folk and ents built their civilization in the branches of this ancient Sylvan Oak.

The blessing of Nemistri have kept this realm sacred and protected for so long, that the citizens feel safe and are unaware of the Rotwood Blight creeping out of the Corrupted Wraithwood, their close neighbor to the north and cannot comprehend the necrotic march that desires to devour their fecund land.

Most of the Faewood is wild. Their existence is bounded by the wilderness, by the unyielding darkness of ancient woods. Most of the Wood is the place where most beings are not supposed to be, and is dangerous to most. It is natural and it is free. The forest hid all manner of danger, but it is where the mortals had to roam. The trees can hide more than deadly creatures and lawless beings however, magic and madness can lie in wait, shall we ever stray too far from the path.

The Map

The map of The Faewood is desired greatly by explorers, as no cartographer has explored and drawn up an accurate version. In fact many maps out there are fakes and purposely intend to lead visiting mortals on a wild goose chase. That being said, much is still known about the area. It is known that there is the capital city of Gweltshire, in the Great Tree, where any well-minded being is welcome. This is in The Valley of the Moon, a special depression in the land where the rivers flow; and is watched over by the goddesses Nemistri and Meena. The Treefolk call this place Mynith Vale.

History

It is known that Nemestri the goddess took this land when her three sisters divided realms for themselves. Her siblings and cousins are the first half-mortals to rule in Deluvia. Nemestri was blessed by Meena, the goddess of the moon. Meena populated the whole realm with Faendrasi to care for all the life on this large land. Faendrasi translates into the “The Children of the Wood”, and they are the Faefolk

They all lived in harmony for eons. The three key aspects of Faekunda became Balance, Purity and Transformation. In Faekunda, the inhabitants desire to stay in touch with Asil, the spiritual energy of a particular place or member of nature. Asil can be translated to Nature Spririts.

Time here is different. Mortals come, bringing iron weapons, and are not accustomed to the time scale; their iron weapons rust and corrode; and they leave much older than they expect.

King of the Wood

Nemistri has given the day-to-day ruling of The Wood, particularly the center region, called Faekundia, to her son, Urd Drasil so that she can go about keeping magic intact in her realm while magic is under threat.

Nemistri planted a magical sapling for her son near the center of Mynith Vale and the Spring of Faenkra, a spring giving long lasting life, and a source of fertility and power for the land. This tree grew faster than most and was Urd Rasil’s to rule over.

Urd Drasil’s father, Rattelhob, another demigod, gifted a pet to Urd Drasil, The Therion Stag, which became a large megolosaurus giganteus, that is one of the mega fauna that gives Faekundia its power of growth and fertility. Therion roams the forests and fen of the land surrounding the tree. When he was a boy, Urd Rasil, whose nickname is Puck, rode on the back of his stag and was well known and well liked by all inhabitants of The Faewood back then.

Puck fell in love with a mortal woman from the village named Yore.

Because Yore drank from Faenkra, she outlived all of her mortal family and counterparts, and Drasilissigeaunt grew to be hundreds of feet tall and the home to The King of the Wood and his court. The nearby mortal town of Rivenward regarded Yore very highly, since she was born there and each januul had a festival called Yore’s Festival, in which she always tried to attend. Urd Drasil was jealous of the affection the town gave her and kept her locked in the top of the Great Tree Drasilissigeaunt, the God Tree. He expected all of the praise from the mortals in Faekundia for himself.

It was one januul during Yore’s Festival that Yore had hanged herself from her neck from the highest branch of Drasilissigeaunt because of the sorrow of being separated from her people, and the petty jealousy of her husband. When the people of Rivenward found about this they started to hate Urd Drasil and a dark cloud hung over Rivenward and much of Faekundia. People referred to the Great Tree Drasil as (Yorishwood) Yore’s Gallow from then on.

Drasilissigeaunt and Gwelftshire

When Drasilissigeaunt grew so large, the Fae began to make the interior and branches their home. They had the protection of the moon, the spring, and Therion and Puck. They named their town Gwelftshire or the “Shire of Good Cheer”.

To them the fox is the messenger spirit of Nemistri. Purification is a prime aspect of all rituals in Faendrasi religion. It exists to find balance between nature and the races and the gods. This counteracts the effects of pollution, which is considered an obstruction to the flow of life and the blessing from the Asil.

The Asil also love music and to be entertained. The bard class has many songspells that work to bring favor from the Asil. Music can be used to speak to the spirits of the forest.

To find Gwelftshire, a path leads down into the valley on it’s north side from other small towns and winds through the heath and approaching Drasillissigeaunt from the north, crossing the River Sylvene and up to the Elden Gate.

Once one enters the Elden Gate, they enter the many towns of the Drasil. The core of the civilization of the Faefolk. The moons give power from above, and the Faenkra fountain gives power from below. All of the Fae in Drasil live in harmony and with and among each other, but there are certain Districts and some have different percentage of habitants.

The first level or Thenchrios is a market district. The path from the Elden gate goes south and is flanked by shops of magic trinkets, bakeries, flower shops. Metal objects, are forbidden in The Faewood, and they corrode and rust almost immediately. Wood armor and weapons are fine. The Faefolk are powerful magic wielders, so conventional weapons are not that common, but a few shops of weapons and armor might be found, as some Anthorans have found their home in Drasil and deal in such goods.

After going south for a bit, the path goes left and right. The leftward way leads to Underthenchrios, and the Fabbersgrin Alley to the east and Morelinn Lanes, down paths to the west. This beginning area of Thenchrios, though cute and wonderful, is more practical. Though the Faefolk are wary of other races encroaching on their lands, they still see the value of not scaring off Anthoran and other races as allies, and therefore try to keep the entrance welcoming.

The original path curves west and leads into the main atrium of the Central Hall of Cooriechrios (Referred to as The Coorie). There is the crest of Drasil on the floor which is recessed leading down to the main fountain of Faenkra, which pilgrim pay tribute. Many lanterns hang from inside the chamber. A large Thimberbough spirals up inside of the Central Hall to lead to upper levels. On the eastern side of the Central Hall is Ticker of Tuuneth the gift of Boonstone the Gnome crafter to Drasil. Boonstone is one of the great holographic tinkers in Faewood and now resides in his own workshop out in the wild.

Recent Threats

Faewood is not as peaceful as they might seem. Though they feel they are safe, many impending threats close in. It is true, the Outland Barbarians, or a tribe of River Trolls offer no harm to them anymore, ancient and new destructive forces come. For time immemorial, Hythlodaeus has had a feud with his granddaughters, and their mother for their betrayal against him. He wishes to destroy all the western lands with fire and claim them for his own nether domain of Duhmkazm.

Another ancient god, Necromensus, has gained power in northern Faekundia and has crafted special spells of death called the Rotwood blight. He wishes to make the life giving Asil into his undead slaves and is slowly taking over lands as his forces march south and corrupting it into his realm of Wraithwood and the 5 undead kings.

The Druvvenrog Empire, a new upstart commercial ports seeks to colonize Faekundia, from the rumors they hear of unending forests to fuel their furnaces. They are far to the northeast, but are searching for new was to find this land and reap its riches.