Whisperwood Lumberyard

Where the Forest Was Taught to Bleed Quietly

“It does not scream when cut.
That is why it is dangerous.”

Overview

The Whisperwood Lumberyard is a Surface-Kin–operated extraction and processing site established at the edge of a rare Whisperwood grove—a species of bioluminescent tree whose grain retains resonant memory long after felling.

Whisperwood does not resist harvest violently.
It accommodates.

This trait made it invaluable to artificers and enchanters—and catastrophic to underestimate.

The Nature of Whisperwood

Whisperwood trees grow slowly and deliberately, their fibers layered with crystalline channels that hum faintly in the presence of magic, emotion, or psychic intent.

Key properties include:

• Resonant Grain: Stores and amplifies aetheric frequencies

• Adaptive Density: Hardens or softens depending on treatment

• Memory Retention: Echoes of nearby actions persist within the wood

Surface-Kin researchers initially classified these traits as passive enchantment effects.

They were wrong.

Whisperwood responds not to force—but to how it is treated.

The Lumberyard Itself

The Lumberyard is a sprawling complex of sawmills, resonance stabilizers, drying frames, and artificer workshops, all built atop reinforced platforms to prevent root interference.

Appearance

• Stacks of softly glowing logs arranged in precise grids

• Sawmills humming with harmonic dampeners

• Fine, luminous sawdust drifting constantly through the air

• Lanterns tuned to neutral frequencies to avoid “exciting” the wood

At night, the entire yard glows faintly—beautiful, orderly, and wrong.

The air smells of sap, mineral dust, and something like old rain.

Surface-Kin Doctrine of Harvest

Surface doctrine dictates:

• Clean cuts reduce resonance bleed

• Speed prevents feedback buildup

• Silence minimizes environmental response

Under this doctrine, Whisperwood is harvested efficiently, processed rapidly, and shipped off-world before deeper reactions can occur.

Loss is measured only in material yield.

Early Successes

Initially, the Lumberyard was a triumph:

• Whisperwood exports surged

• Magical failures decreased

• Profits exceeded projections

Surface command cited the site as proof that Rootworld resources could be domesticated.

Extraction quotas were raised.

Subtle Degradation

The forest did not retaliate.

Instead:

• Regrowth patterns shifted unpredictably

• Bioluminescence dimmed near cut lines

• Resonance in shipped lumber began activating after arrival

• Tools malfunctioned only days later, far from the source

Surface analysts labeled these “delayed anomalies.”

Rootworld logged them as responses.

Local Resistance

Fauns and Rootbound caretakers began quietly intervening:

• Marking trees that should not be cut

• Rearranging logs to disrupt resonance patterns

• Leaving Verdant Cant bouquets as warnings

Most were ignored.

Some disappeared.

The Director’s Era

Under administrators like Alistair Venn, efficiency was refined further.

• Deeper cuts authorized

• Rest cycles shortened

• Environmental warnings reclassified as “cost noise”

Venn did not deny the forest’s reactions.

He simply believed they could be managed.

Current Status

The Whisperwood Lumberyard remains operational—but unstable.

Indicators include:

• Increased corrective fauna activity

• Root incursions beneath processing platforms

• Workers reporting disorientation and memory bleed

• Logs occasionally resonating with events they never witnessed

Surface command has not reduced quotas.

They have increased security.