Thornveil Forest

The Thornveil Forest lies at the dark heart of the Thornshroud Dominion, a vast and oppressive expanse within the Withered Wilds. It is a place of twisted beauty and lethal stillness, where every branch bears silent witness and every root seems to thirst for warmth. Controlled and cultivated by King Daerion Blackthorn and his court of necrotic druids, the forest is less a wilderness and more a breathing extension of the Dominion’s will.

Thornveil is both kingdom and weapon, temple and tomb. It reflects King Daerion Blackthorn’s vision: a dominion where decay is strength, and where life and death are one continuous cycle of control and rebirth through rot.
None enter without purpose. Fewer leave unchanged.

Geography

• The forest is cloaked in perpetual twilight, the thick canopy of blackened, iron-bark trees blocking out most sunlight.
• The ground is layered with crumbling mulch, ashen moss, and bone-white fungi, dotted with hollowed trunks that echo faint whispers.
• Gnarled thorn-vines, some sentient and slowly shifting, form natural barriers and living traps for the unwary.
• Natural paths are rare; most trails are either grown intentionally by the necrotic druids or formed by the dead dragging themselves through the brush.

Notable Locations Within Thornveil:

• Blackthorn Keep: The capital of the Thornshroud Dominion, a twisted fortress grown and built from the forest’s heart.
• The Rotheart Grove: A sacred circle where the necrotic druids gather in ritual to feed the forest and commune with its ancient spirits.
• The Thornsunk Barrows: Shallow graves and vine-choked catacombs where warriors and sacrifices are buried—and sometimes reborn.

Fauna & Flora

• Hollow Elders and Corpse Blossoms thrive here, feeding on the latent necrotic energy.
• Mawroot Vines twist through the undergrowth, occasionally coiling around animals or travelers that linger too long.
• Lichbloom petals can sometimes be seen glowing faintly where the forest is most saturated with death magic.
• Icebrush Shrubs and Frostmoss have crept into the northern edges of the forest, signaling the creeping influence of the Iceshard Dominion.
• Withered Elves and Thornshroud sentinels patrol the deeper groves.
• Rotborn beasts, bone-crows, and moss-covered horrors serve as both fauna and guardians.
• Spirits of the dead, bound to trees or vines, are often seen drifting silently through the deeper woods, whispering in ancient tongues.

History

• The Thornveil is steeped in druidic necromancy, with ley lines twisted and bound into a web of cursed life and undeath.
• The forest itself remembers intrusions, and those who offend it often find themselves stalked by nature’s vengeful remnants.
• Whispers are common. Some say the forest speaks in the voice of former sacrifices. Others believe the trees carry the soul of the Dominion itself.

Type

Forest

Location under

Withered Wilds

Included Locations

• Blackthorn Keep
• Rotheart Grove
• Thornsunk Barrows

Owner/Ruler

Daerion Blackthorn

Owning Organization

Thornshroud Dominion

Inhabiting Species

• Blightbeast
• Corpse Blossom
• Witherwood