The Greatwood
"For a week, we heard nothing but the screeches of beasts. Those colossal trees made us feel like insects, and the villages were as hospitable as an orc matron in heat. Why the Empire hasn't burned the bloody forest down, I know not."
Albert of Deuromar, merchant
The Greatwood (Graahtwood in older texts) is an expansive and forbidding forest between Middenheim, the Westmark, the river Meve, and the Irontooth mountains. Though nominally a part of the Empire, Holmgardian authority extends only to the dour city of Grinstead and it's surrounding homesteads, along with the insular villages scattered along the Imperial highway and Nithling road. The true lords of the Graahtwood are the vicious Rhynari elves and the ungodly Beastmen , who rule the Southern and Northern reaches of the forest respectively. Aside from its storied history, the Graahtwood is known for its truly gargantuan pine trees: some specimens reach over 300 feet tall.
Prior to the rise of the Holmgardian Empire , the Graahtwood was a thriving forest home to nymphs, treants, and a strong Elven kingdom. This all changed when Holmgard carved a swathe of destruction through the wood. Out of desperation the Rhynari elves forged a pact with a Dark Power, and turned many of the human invaders into slathering beasts. Though this ensured that their realm would not be conquered, it also created a second enemy within the forest, and tainted the region forevermore. For the last 300 years, the remaining Rhynari have engaged in guerilla war with both the Beastmen and the Empire, forging occasional truces and tenuous alliances with each: alliances that inevitably end in betrayal. The Holmgardians, meanwhile, soon lost interest in conquering such unproductive territory, and focused only on protecting the critical highway that led to the Barrowmark and beyond.
Thus, the Graahtwood is a harsh area contested by three powers, where the isolated human settlers look to the forest with dread, and always keep their weapons close...
The Greatwood (Graahtwood in older texts) is an expansive and forbidding forest between Middenheim, the Westmark, the river Meve, and the Irontooth mountains. Though nominally a part of the Empire, Holmgardian authority extends only to the dour city of Grinstead and it's surrounding homesteads, along with the insular villages scattered along the Imperial highway and Nithling road. The true lords of the Graahtwood are the vicious Rhynari elves and the ungodly Beastmen , who rule the Southern and Northern reaches of the forest respectively. Aside from its storied history, the Graahtwood is known for its truly gargantuan pine trees: some specimens reach over 300 feet tall.
Prior to the rise of the Holmgardian Empire , the Graahtwood was a thriving forest home to nymphs, treants, and a strong Elven kingdom. This all changed when Holmgard carved a swathe of destruction through the wood. Out of desperation the Rhynari elves forged a pact with a Dark Power, and turned many of the human invaders into slathering beasts. Though this ensured that their realm would not be conquered, it also created a second enemy within the forest, and tainted the region forevermore. For the last 300 years, the remaining Rhynari have engaged in guerilla war with both the Beastmen and the Empire, forging occasional truces and tenuous alliances with each: alliances that inevitably end in betrayal. The Holmgardians, meanwhile, soon lost interest in conquering such unproductive territory, and focused only on protecting the critical highway that led to the Barrowmark and beyond.
Thus, the Graahtwood is a harsh area contested by three powers, where the isolated human settlers look to the forest with dread, and always keep their weapons close...
Type
Forest
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