The Eldergrove was once the heart of elven civilization in the Mist Woods, a grand city where stone and living trees interwove in perfect harmony. Its towers rose above the canopy, and its druids were revered as stewards of both knowledge and nature. But as centuries passed, complacency and hubris set in. The elves of Eldergrove sought to extend their reach beyond the forest, turning their focus outward instead of inward. Their defenses faltered, their rituals waned in power, and when calamity struck — whether famine, foreign threat, or some darker fate — the city could not endure.
The survivors abandoned the shattered halls of Eldergrove, dispersing into the deeper mists of the forest. Out of loss came humility. From these remnants, Lelone was founded, high among the treetops and protected by wards of concealment. The new city was a deliberate rejection of Eldergrove’s openness and ambition: Lelone would remain unseen, its people devoted to the forest itself rather than to glory. The ruins of Eldergrove stand as a somber reminder of what happens when vigilance fades.
Deep within the Mist Woods juts the Obsidian Thorn, a black spire of jagged stone, humming with latent power. Ancient songs speak of a battle waged long ago, when druids and rangers of the forest stood against a nameless darkness that sought to devour the heart of the woods. In their desperate struggle, they summoned nature’s fury to bind the entity, leaving behind the petrified scar known as the Thorn.
Though its origins remain clouded in myth, the Thorn is regarded as both warning and vigil. To the elves of Lelone, it is a sacred boundary, a place of training and remembrance. It represents the price of defending the forest—one not paid by folly, but by sacrifice. The Thorn reminds the elves of their strength and their eternal duty as guardians of the Mist Woods.
The pairing of Archdruid and High Ranger arose after the founding of Lelone, when the elves learned from both the hubris of Eldergrove and the sacrifice that birthed the Obsidian Thorn. No single voice could safeguard the forest: it required both wisdom and vigilance, both nurture and defense. Together, the Archdruid and High Ranger stand as twin guardians — one guiding the spirit of the forest, the other guarding its borders — ensuring Lelone never falters as Eldergrove once did.
The Archdruid is the spiritual heart of Lelone, guardian of the sacred groves and keeper of the forest’s ancient rhythms. Their role is not simply to wield power, but to embody harmony with the Mist Woods. Every hundred years, the city calls forth a promising druid to walk the Path of Verdant Ascent, a sacred journey that takes them beyond the concealed borders of the forest. This rite is a trial of wisdom, empathy, and resilience, meant to teach the druid that balance cannot be found in isolation alone. Many set out upon this path, but few ever return, and fewer still emerge transformed. Those who complete the Ascent become candidates to one day inherit the mantle of Archdruid.
Where the Archdruid tends the soul of the forest, the High Ranger is its shield and bowstring. This position is reserved for the most skilled ranger of Lelone, one whose mastery of the hunt, the trail, and the silent arrow is unquestioned. Unlike the Archdruid’s path of long ritual, the High Ranger’s ascension is earned in the proving grounds of the Mist Woods. Through decades of patrols, hunts, and battles against encroaching threats, a ranger’s deeds mark them as a contender. When the position falls vacant, the rangers convene in solemn council, and the most proven among them is chosen by oath and by arrow to lead.