Eldritch Forests

The Eldritch Forests are ancient magical forests shaped by Yaga Trees, whose mana transforms the surrounding environment. Their concentrated magical output makes the deep forests hostile to most outsiders and has long sheltered elven peoples from conquest.

Mana ecology¶

Yaga Trees secrete filtered mana into the woodland around them. Animals affected by this mana can become Fai, magical creatures that fade easily into shadow and attack intruders. The variety of animals exposed to the trees produces many kinds of Fai, with the strongest found in the deepest parts of the forests.

Humans who remain within that environment for decades may slowly become Wendaghan. The transformation is rare because human mana reserves are limited and the process may require roughly seventy years in a deep Eldritch Forest. Together, Fai and Wendaghan illustrate that these forests do not merely contain magic: their ecology actively remakes living beings.

Forests and peoples¶

The best-known Eldritch forest is the World’s Lungs Forest, also called the Primeval Woods, home to Waldonian Wood Elves. The Western World’s Lungs and Southern World’s Lungs form related elven refuges. The remoteness and magical hostility of these regions allowed forest communities to survive pressures that displaced or conquered peoples elsewhere.

Eldritch conditions can also be cultivated. In 694 LC, escaped elven slaves formed the Rishildiar Confederation in the secluded valleys of Vetalia and began planting Yaga Trees, transforming their refuge into another Eldritch forest.

The Great Collapse¶

The Great Collapse disrupted the planet’s climate and greatly weakened the mana output of Yaga Trees. As the forests became less hostile to non-elves, raiders and invaders entered the World’s Lungs, Western World’s Lungs, and Southern World’s Lungs forests on an unprecedented scale.

The climate began warming again and forest mana recovered after the worst effects of the Incident lessened. Raids declined, but the Yaga Trees never fully returned to their pre-Incident output. The modern Eldritch Forests are consequently still formidable magical refuges, though less absolute barriers than they had been before 670 LC.

See also: Fai, Wendaghan, Great Collapse, Forest Elves, and Magic.