The Verdant Heart is the colossal, ancient tree-spirit at the center of the Elderwood and the divine patron of the Wood Elves. It is not merely a tree, nor solely a god, but a living convergence of primal nature, and the source of Fey essence. Its trunk rises wider than a mountain, its canopy eclipses entire groves, and its roots thread deep beneath the forest and into stone.
To the Wood Elves, it is guardian, judge, and origin.
To trespassers, it is hunger wearing bark.
The Verdant Heart is a sentient root-mind—vast, slow, and patient. It does not think as mortals do. It does not speak in words. Its will manifests through:
Shifting forest paths
Sudden growth of bramble and thorn
Beasts moved to coordinated aggression
Dreams impressed upon elven minds
Its presence permeates the Elderwood. The deeper one travels, the more pressure one feels in their mind.
It is sustained by devotion, sacrifice, and the life cycle of the forest itself.
At the forest’s core stands the Verdant Heart’s visible trunk—bark thick as castle walls, rising into a canopy that dims the sky to perpetual twilight green. The bark is ridged and ancient, layered like overlapping armor plates.
Roots thicker than towers vanish into the earth in all directions, forming a subterranean network that spans miles. Sap that seeps from wounded bark glows faintly emerald in darkness.
The air near the trunk is heavy, damp, and charged with subtle pressure. Many report the sensation of being observed without seeing eyes.
Beneath the tree lies a sacred cavern where the Heart’s deeper aspect—known to the elves as The Dreaming One—rests in root-formed silhouette. This curled, god-shaped mass of living wood pulses faintly, as though suspended between sleep and awakening.
Ritual sacrifices offered upon the basalt altar are drawn into the roots. After each offering, the emerald aura deepens and the cavern hum intensifies briefly, as if something vast stirs.
The Wood Elves are bound to the Verdant Heart through a blood pact made generations ago. Over generations, their forms have adapted—green skin, heightened resilience, and innate attunement to the forest.
They act as its wardens and executioners.
Any human or outsider entering Elderwood without sanction is treated as a threat to the Heart’s equilibrium. Trespassers are executed.
The elves do not view this as murder.
They view it as nourishment.
The Verdant Heart’s power is immense but geographically anchored. Its direct influence weakens beyond the Elderwood’s borders. However, its roots extend farther than most maps acknowledge.
It does not act quickly. It reacts in seasons, not seconds—unless threatened directly.
If ever fully awakened, scholars speculate the forest would destroy mankind.