Hollowheart Wood
Nearly weightless, unnaturally durable wood used in ritual implements, necromantic staves, or reliquaries.
Hollowheart Wood is incredibly rare, and its acquisition is often fraught with danger. Only the most daring—sometimes reckless—adventurers or necromancers are willing to venture into the territories of the Hollow Elders to harvest it. Because of its necromantic ties, acquiring and possessing Hollowheart Wood can be seen as taboo or sacrilegious in many cultures.
Properties
Material Characteristics
The wood has a pale, almost translucent hue, with veins of deep violet or black running through its grain. When light passes through Hollowheart Wood, it seems to shimmer with faint, ghostly energy, and the faintest whisper can be heard if one listens closely, though it is unclear whether these whispers are the memories of the Hollow Elders or the wood itself.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Hollowheart Wood is an extraordinary and unique material harvested from the remains of Hollow Elders, ancient beings whose life forces have decayed but left behind an eerie essence of their former strength. The wood is nearly weightless, as though it has lost much of its natural mass, and yet it is unnaturally durable—far stronger than most woods, including oak or ironwood.
History & Usage
Everyday use
- Necromantic Implements: Hollowheart Wood is highly sought after by necromancers and death priests for crafting ritual implements, staves, and relics. Its natural affinity for the energies of death and decay allows it to channel necromantic powers with ease, enhancing dark spells or rituals performed with it.
- Reliquaries: The wood’s unique ability to resonate with the cycle of life and death makes it perfect for crafting reliquaries—containers designed to house the remains or souls of the deceased. These artifacts can store and even enhance the spirits or power of the entombed.
- Cursed or Blessed Weapons: Due to its strength and eerie resonance, Hollowheart Wood is sometimes used to forge weapons, particularly those that are meant to harm or control the undead. Conversely, some weapons made from this wood are used to bless and protect those who seek to maintain the balance of life and death, though such items are exceedingly rare.
Hazards
The material is both dangerous to harvest and to work with. It can drive those who spend too much time around it to madness or obsession, and working with Hollowheart Wood in crafting requires extreme caution, as it tends to attract or channel the spirits of the deceased or lingering echoes of the Hollow Elder. Weapons or artifacts made from this material often carry a curse of decay or slow erosion, even when used by the most skilled hands.
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