Bridges That Remember Life
Living-Wood is one of Silverwick's greatest mysteries—a material that appears to be petrified willow roots but retains properties no ordinary fossilized wood should possess. It's warm to the touch, flexible like living wood yet strong as stone, and completely immune to rot, decay, or weather damage. The four bridges connecting The Hearthstone to the surrounding districts are constructed entirely from Living-Wood, grown rather than built, using a process lost to time.
No one alive knows how to create Living-Wood. The bridges are irreplaceable relics—priceless, mysterious, and absolutely essential to Silverwick's daily function.
Appearance and Properties
Living-Wood looks like pale, weathered willow wood that has undergone partial petrification. The grain is visible, the texture organic, but the density suggests stone rather than wood.
Color: Pale cream to light gray, similar to aged driftwood. The surface has subtle variations—darker grain lines, lighter patches, natural wood patterns preserved.
Texture: Smooth but not polished. Running your hand along Living-Wood feels like touching well-worn wood—no splinters, no roughness. The grain is slightly raised, creating subtle ridges.
Temperature: Living-Wood is always warm. Not hot, just less cold than everything else. In winter, when metal freezes and stone becomes painfully cold, Living-Wood remains merely cool. Stand on a bridge during a storm and you can feel the warmth through your boots.
Structural Properties:
Strength: As strong as stone—capable of bearing enormous weight without cracking or sagging. The bridges have supported centuries of foot traffic and wagon loads without showing stress.
Flexibility: Unlike stone, Living-Wood retains slight flexibility. During high winds, the bridges sway almost imperceptibly—distributing force rather than resisting rigidly.
Durability: Living-Wood never rots. Water doesn't damage it. Ice can't crack it. Fire scorches the surface but doesn't penetrate. Essentially indestructible through normal wear.
The Grain Pattern: The wood grain flows in organized patterns suggesting deliberate growth direction. Grain patterns spiral, interweave, and reinforce each other—executed by the wood itself rather than craftspeople. Evidence that Living-Wood was shaped during growth.
The Frost-Moss Connection
Frost-Moss loves to grow on Living-Wood. The bridges are draped with it—long silvery-blue strands hanging from railings, wrapping around support structures, creating luminous curtains that sway in the wind. The moss grows more abundantly on Living-Wood than almost anywhere except the Thornheart Grove.
During the day, the bridges appear decorated with silvery-blue organic lace. At night, they glow—the Frost-Moss creating ethereal illumination that makes crossing feel like walking through dreamlight.
The Mystery: No one knows why Frost-Moss thrives on Living-Wood. The material is warmer than surroundings, yet the moss flourishes. Something about Living-Wood attracts or nourishes Frost-Moss.
The Prohibition: Harvesting Frost-Moss from the bridges is forbidden—not by law, but by practicality. If you remove Frost-Moss from Living-Wood, the moss rapidly turns black and brittle within minutes. It dies completely, losing all luminescence, becoming worthless.
The moss must remain connected to Living-Wood to stay alive. Disconnect it, and it degrades instantly.
This creates frustration—abundant, high-quality Frost-Moss grows right in town, easily accessible, and it's completely unharvestable. People tried for years before accepting reality: bridge moss cannot be used.
Evidence of Connection: The relationship suggests both materials share some quality. The Ice-Singers teach that Living-Wood and Frost-Moss are "cousins"—different manifestations of the same underlying principles. Both provide warmth (Frost-Moss provides light; Living-Wood provides physical warmth). Both defy normal natural rules. Both are mysterious, ancient, irreplaceable.
The Four Bridges
Construction Method (Historical): According to fragmentary records, the founders planted specific willows at the river's edge. Through methods now lost, they guided the trees' roots to grow across the riverbed, interweaving into cable-like structures.
Over decades—possibly generations—the roots were trained, braided, directed to form bridge structures. Then, through unknown process, the roots were petrified while retaining warmth and flexibility.
The method is completely lost. Attempts to replicate it have universally failed.
The North Bridge: Widest bridge—allowing wagon traffic to the Guild Hall and Chapel. Roughly thirty feet wide, one hundred fifty feet long. Optimized for heavy loads and constant traffic.
The East Bridge: Connects to the Frost-Locked District. Slightly narrower. Often slippery from the district's perpetual ice extending onto the bridge surface.
The South Bridge: Connects to The Hearthways residential area. Most decorated—families have hung tokens, carved blessings (carefully), painted symbols. The "people's bridge."
The West Bridge: Connects to The Iron Gate district and southern entrance. Heavily guarded—all traffic entering Silverwick crosses this bridge.