The Blackwater Hag
Much of the Oakwood grows along a ridge of high land running east to west from the Iron Mountains to the Teeth of the Sea, but near the western end of the forest, one river rising in the mountains has cut its way northward through the trees to eventually empty into Clearwater Bay near the city of Endmere. That river is known to the Folk today as the Blackwater, and though its course is safe enough to travel in the lands north of the forest, few dare ply its upstream waters as they traverse through the foreboding woods.
For this reason, despite there being a fairly well-traveled trade road that departs Endmere and follows the Blackwater until it reaches the northern edge of the Oakwood, the trails leave the river course and veer into the forest itself despite the fact that this leads through rougher terrain and denser, more treacherous forest land. The threats within the forest itself are deemed less terrifying than the sure death that awaits any who insist on lingering too near the Blackwater once the canopy of the Oakwood closes above it.
Before the Great Strife, the river then known as the Clearwater was home to one of Berdea's major guardians of nature: a Greater Naiad named Safinea. When the ravaged of the war reached the shores of her river, Safinea refused to abandon her home. As the god-war raged around her, and despite her best efforts to maintain the beauty of her home, the poisons of the Wasting took their toll. By the time the war ended, she was no longer Safinea, Guardian of the Clearwater River. She was someone - and something - else. Corrupted by foul magic that turned her home into the dark, polluted stream that was now called the Blackwater, she became known as the Blackwater Hag.
Sages debate whether the term "Hag" is appropriate, for Safinea is not the result of the corrupting influence of the Alevar Corizzea, but rather of poisons introduced by Orokar deities during the war. According to the tales told by the very few who have survived encounters with her, she has maintained most of her original Naiadabilities, now wielded to maintain the corruption of the dark forest around her.
It is said that any creature not tainted by the evil magic that permeates the Oakwood that dares to approach the banks of the Blackwater risks being snatched by Safnea's clutching claw-like hands, dragged into the waters, and held beneath them until they drown
Name
Safinea
Alternate Name/Nickname
The Blackwater Hag, the Drowning Hag
Type
(Greater) Gremlin (corrupted Fey)
Size
Medium
Speed
30ft (60ft swimming)
Habitat
Unique: Blackwater River in the Oakwood Forest
Sages debate whether the term "Hag" is appropriate, for Safinea is not the result of the corrupting influence of the Alevar Corizzea, but rather of poisons introduced by Orokar deities during the war. According to the tales told by the very few who have survived encounters with her, she has maintained most of her original Naiadabilities, now wielded to maintain the corruption of the dark forest around her.
It is said that any creature not tainted by the evil magic that permeates the Oakwood that dares to approach the banks of the Blackwater risks being snatched by Safnea's clutching claw-like hands, dragged into the waters, and held beneath them until they drown
For this reason, despite there being a fairly well-traveled trade road that departs Endmere and follows the Blackwater until it reaches the northern edge of the Oakwood, the trails leave the river course and veer into the forest itself despite the fact that this leads through rougher terrain and denser, more treacherous forest land. The threats within the forest itself are deemed less terrifying than the sure death that awaits any who insist on lingering too near the Blackwater once the canopy of the Oakwood closes above it.
Comments