The Spreading Gloom
During the Great Strife the forests and farmlands north of the Feywood were attacked by clerics of the The Orokar god, Ghaa’raagh the Render. They inflicted upon the land a blighting curse thaat became known as the Wasting. All life in afflicted areas perished, and for over a thousand years, the affected land would not support any life at all.
Unfortunately, the taint in the soil was not fully removed. The trees grew, but they did not become the stately tall great oaks they were intended to be. Instead, their trunks and limbs grew gnarled, branches twisted, leaves were diseased. Some of the trees seemed to gain a sentience; others a gift of mobility from the magical energy still coursing through the ground. None of these mutant trees were benificent.
As the trees grew, wildlife attempted to return to the forest as well, but it, too, was subject to the taint still within the ground. The growing forest seemed to attract an inordinate number of gremlins, many of whom fled the untainted Feywood to the south.
The dark, twisted forest seemed to also atttract a significant number of giant spider species. Some common wildlife, squirrels, deer, and the like, also ventured into the evil forest from the woodlands near the foothills, but over time, these were mutated into deadly, evil caricatures of their prior forms.
Region
Oakwood Forest
Parent Region
Frontier Lands
Flora
Decidous Forest, primarly Oak trees, but many are stunted, gnarled, and unhealthy looking. Many have been altered by the curse upon the land to bring about malicious mutations in the trees
Fauna
Home to countless gremlinfolk, several species of giant arachnids, and evil mutant variations of common forest wildlife. Very few "normal" woodland creatures live in the Oakwood
About aa year ago, however, observant Elvish druids, perhaps alerted by the limoniad nymphs of the grasslands to the south, have begun to notice that the borders of the Oakwood are moving - and to their dismay, it appears the forest is expanding. Furthermore they have detected that the soils near the border seem to be showing signs similar to that of Wasted lands - though not quite the same. Conjecture is that the Oakwood itself has figured out how to propagate its life-corrupting soil properties into surrounding lands, allowing the forest itself to grow.
Attempts are ongoing to curb the growth of this malicious forest, though so far these have been in vain. Even controlled burns of new growth have had little effect. Many portend this as a terrible omen -- one of many signs around the world that another great war is imminent... another conflict that will see the gods battle across the world as they did two thousand years ago. But this time, many fear, the world will not survive.
History of the Region
For many years, nothing would grow in the lands affected by the Wasting. Many efforts by Alchemists, Druids, and Priests to restore fertility to the lands failed miserably. Some three hundred years after the end of the Great Strife, though, the repeated attempts seemed to finally have an effect. Tree saplings planted in the soil took root, and the folk were pleased.Unfortunately, the taint in the soil was not fully removed. The trees grew, but they did not become the stately tall great oaks they were intended to be. Instead, their trunks and limbs grew gnarled, branches twisted, leaves were diseased. Some of the trees seemed to gain a sentience; others a gift of mobility from the magical energy still coursing through the ground. None of these mutant trees were benificent.
As the trees grew, wildlife attempted to return to the forest as well, but it, too, was subject to the taint still within the ground. The growing forest seemed to attract an inordinate number of gremlins, many of whom fled the untainted Feywood to the south.
The dark, twisted forest seemed to also atttract a significant number of giant spider species. Some common wildlife, squirrels, deer, and the like, also ventured into the evil forest from the woodlands near the foothills, but over time, these were mutated into deadly, evil caricatures of their prior forms.
Stability
For four hundred years, the Oakwood grew, forming a band stretching from the Iron Hills in the west to the Teeth of the Sea in the east. This band of evil forest, cut off the Cold Sea coast and the Free Cities in the north from the Feywood in the south. But once this hundred-mile wide barrier formed, the forest stopped expanding its reach. And for the past thirteen hundred years, the Oakwood has existed within the boundaries it made for itself. Roads were cut through the forest by pioneers seeking out new lands in the grassy plains that finally grew out of the blight to the south. Towns were established on the outskirts of the forest along these roads. But none of the Folk have dared to try making homes within the bounds of the forest.Recent Changes
For many years, it was hoped that, over time, the remainining poisons introduced by the Wasting would fade from the ground beneath the Oakwood, But even the long-lived Elves bega to lose hope over this some centuries ago. They accustomed themselves to a reality with the dark, twisted Oakwood existing within its self-determined borders.About aa year ago, however, observant Elvish druids, perhaps alerted by the limoniad nymphs of the grasslands to the south, have begun to notice that the borders of the Oakwood are moving - and to their dismay, it appears the forest is expanding. Furthermore they have detected that the soils near the border seem to be showing signs similar to that of Wasted lands - though not quite the same. Conjecture is that the Oakwood itself has figured out how to propagate its life-corrupting soil properties into surrounding lands, allowing the forest itself to grow.
Attempts are ongoing to curb the growth of this malicious forest, though so far these have been in vain. Even controlled burns of new growth have had little effect. Many portend this as a terrible omen -- one of many signs around the world that another great war is imminent... another conflict that will see the gods battle across the world as they did two thousand years ago. But this time, many fear, the world will not survive.
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