The Blood Fruits

My children beware. The Aviguar Forest might be a safe place to travel by day, but the night is another story. Whatever you do, keep an eye on the trees. Make marks. And more importantly...If you see a tree making fruit in that forest, by day or by night. Do not ever pick up its fruits. Even the ones on the ground, do not touch it.
See, this forest used to be much bigger. When civilizations arrived, they pushed the forest more and more to get space and ressources. But the trees stayed as spirits, empty husks of the night crawling around, shifting the forest. Losing everyone inside even the beasts.
The ones who die in there, they become ressources for those plant spirits to become anew. They make those fruits out of the meat they gather at night. To plant their seeds and be born again.
So my children, if you ever eat a fruit coming from the Aviguar Forest, even the simplest bite, the spiritual seeds passes on to you. Your blood shall become sap. Skin, bark. And in the end, you too will become a wandering tree of the Aviguar Forest, the last drop of your blood joining your own fruits.

Historical Basis

After the first Dwarf-Human city settled near the forest for its many ressources, young explorators grew curious of this forest. Many went deep inside, few came back, with shiny red fruits, big and round like oranges but sweet like raspberrys. They look exhausted, explaining the forest seemed way bigger once inside.
It seems most of the people ho ate that fruit became extremely sick, and in their last moments those affected experienced a delirium where they said they could feel their skin harden or their feets turning to roots, etc. The cemetery was not ready for such event on those times, and so they got burried near the Aviguar Forest. The fruits got called Blood Fruits because of their dangerosity and their color.

Spread

Every city and village near the Aviguarforest know about the Blood Fruits.

Variations & Mutation

Some variations have not many tree spirits, but one Tree King in the middle of the forest able to eat meat. The fruits are tribute his subjects make for him in replacement of meat, and whoever dares steal his tribute must become a new fruit tree to feed him.

Cultural Reception

Dwarves seems to be the one more shaken by this story, as many of their kind got victims of the Blood fruits. People more attuned to nature like to tease about it, when they know the true nature of those fruits. Especially the Reptilefolk living in the nearby Scaleys Swamp and seem to collect those fruits safely...But for what purpose ?

In Literature

There is some children book about the Tree who Eats Meat, to prevent children from going in the forest alone but also to explain who is supposed to eat what.

Date of First Recording

about two century and half ago