The **Elderwood** is a primeval forest older than recorded history, sprawling across the northern wilds beyond the Wall. It is a place where the wild itself is alive, where shadows move with intent and trees whisper in forgotten tongues. At its center stands the **Verdant Heart**, a mountain-sized tree spirit worshipped by the wood elves as a god. The Heart despises humanity, whispering through dreams to unite elves, beasts, and spirits in defense of its domain.
- **Nature** – A colossal tree spirit whose roots spread for miles, branches scraping the heavens. It is both tree and deity, its eyes burning green fire.
- **Role** – Source of Elderwood’s magic and vitality. The Heart sustains elves, spawns fey, and binds beasts and plants into its will.
- **Hatred of Humanity** – Dreams and whispers rally the forest against human intrusion, branding mankind as parasites.
- **Divinity** – Worshipped by the wood elves as the embodiment of natural order unbroken since the fall of the Dragon Lords.
- **Wood Elves** –
- Tall, green-skinned, steeped in magic, living in canopy strongholds.
- Guided by the Heart, they vow to kill any human who dares enter the forest.
- **Feral Beasts** –
- Wolves, stags, manticores, and bears twisted by magic into monstrous predators.
- Some fight alone, others bound in service to elven warbands.
- **Cursed Flora** –
- Trees with strangling roots, flowers that exhale maddening spores, vines that drink blood.
- The deeper one goes, the more plants act with cunning malice.
- **The Old Men of the Forest** –
- Towering 20-foot guardians resembling ancient, horned men of bark and moss.
- Act as the Verdant Heart’s sentinels and executioners.
- **Feyborn of Elderwood** –
- Spirits and fae-like creatures spawned by the Heart’s dense magical aura.
- Tricksters, predators, and alien beings that reflect the will of the Heart:
- **Fairy** – Tiny fey that lure mortals astray, leading them into traps or cursed groves.
- **Briarmaids** – Beautiful, vine-wreathed spirits who charm intruders before feeding on their life force.
- **Hollow Knights** – Fey-possessed suits of bark and vine armor, remnants of ancient warriors animated by the forest.
- **Willow Wraiths** – Spirits bound to trees, manifesting as pale figures weeping sap like blood, driving mortals to madness with their cries.
- **Barrier Against Humanity** – The Elderwood blocks expansion, slaughtering Crimson Standard expeditions.
- **Font of Magic** – Its aura is so dense that it births fey creatures spontaneously. The Mage Guild covets this power but cannot breach it.
- **Elven Sanctuary** – For wood elves, Elderwood is not only homeland but holy temple.
- **Humans of Thalossa** – Declared enemies; intrusions are met with immediate slaughter.
- **Crimson Standard** – Their roads and camps near Elderwood are often destroyed overnight.
- **Order of Last Light** – Avoid Elderwood entirely, fearing its soul-hunger.
- **Mage Guild** – Fascinated by Elderwood’s fey phenomena, but all expeditions vanish.
- **Twilight Elves** – Regarded warily but not attacked outright, for their ancient bond to the last Dragon Lord marks them as kin.
- **Fey Spawning Grounds** – Some claim the Verdant Heart dreams new creatures into existence, each one an embodiment of its will.
- **The Root Network** – Elves whisper the Heart’s roots run beneath half the continent, and that it can whisper through them to distant woods.
- **The Heart’s Wrath** – Legends say if the Verdant Heart is ever harmed, the entire forest — elves, beasts, and fey alike — will rise as one.