The Darkgrove Demons

In the unforgiving realms of Karelon, the nine Dragon Lords relentlessly vie for control of each other’s domains, pitting their demon thralls against each other to wrestle territory from their rivals.   For much of Karelon, this means an unending cycle of conflict and transformation, each Dragon eager to re-forge any territory won into something that befits its likeness and nature. This is the cycle that many demons seek to flee, looking covetously at the stability that Faelon seems to offer them.
There are other demons, however, which seek to find those small areas that avoid the gaze of the Dragons, where they can settle and build their empires. Among these are the Ethba, or Matrons, powerful Karyad Venkhai that plant and nurture the overgrown realms known as darkgroves.
Darkgroves are a twisted nightmare of sprawling, animated vegetation designed to keep other demons out and act as a nursery to the Ethbas’ creations: ‘i vukuma’aw ‘yst ‘i tymkalto, The Children of the Darkgrove.
The overgrown thickets of the darkgrove writhe with life and are every bit as sentient as the demons that the Ethbas grow there. They are impenetrable masses of thorny vines, razor-sharp brambles, and trees whose massive fleshy leaves can enfold, smother, and digest a trespasser if the Ethba wishes it.
An Ethba will begin her darkgrove by growing Karyad, beings powerful in the sorcery of the darkgrove and able to help the Ethba construct her nursery. Together the Ethba and these first Karyad form a Matron’s Coven, the Ethbak Luzuj. This powerful circle of Karyad use their sorcerous energies to construct the darkgrove and begin to grow lesser demons within it.
Each of these lesser demons has tasks within the darkgrove, both to nurture and to protect. The more of these demons are birthed into the morass of the darkgrove, the larger and more powerful a darkgrove can become.
Some Ethba strike deals with powerful Venkhai to establish their tymkalto, their dargrove, within the Venkhai’s protectorate in exchange for some of her children to serve when the Venkhai calls. These Ethba declare allegiance to a Venkhai but are allowed to go about their mission of establishing a darkgrove.
Other Ethba, flaunting their power and independence, dare to carve out their own domains. These Matrons become influential Venkhai, defending their Darkgroves ferociously and expanding them to establish even larger domains from which to propagate their children.
Those Ethba who stay in Karelon take incredible risks for their children, what the people of Faelon call Darkgrove Demons. The warring factions of Karelon and its ever-changing nature can destroy a Darkgrove if it is not defended vigorously and continuously.
This leads many Matrons to seek a gate to Faelon. There they search for a place where they can establish a new darkgrove far away from those that would harm her garden. Magic works differently in Faelon, and it is only through much searching, patience, and practice that a darkgrove can be established outside of Karelon.
After gaining a foothold in Faelon, The Matron and her attending coven work tirelessly to establish a darkgrove, usually deep within a forested region to keep it from the prying eyes of those who would hunt them and their fledgling garden.
A witchgate must be at the heart of such a displaced darkgrove, as the Ethbas and her Karyads can pull the magical energies through it needed to establish their plot and feed it. If the darkgrove is left unmolested for long enough it will become a place where the Ethbas’ demon spawn can be grown and nurtured.
Few reach this place of maturity as the energies of the witchgate often attract zealous demon hunters who stop at nothing to close the gates and rid the world of the demons who have come through it. Those groves that do reach maturity are far from civilization and therefore safer; or located in areas where the boundary between Faelon and Karelon are thin, allowing more of Karelons’ energies to seep through and hasten the maturation of the darkgrove.
Throughout the history of Faelon, very few have borne witness to a Darkgrove and lived to share their tale. Many are those that have come upon fledgling gardens, immature darkgroves that were still being lovingly nurtured by their Ethbas. Even if they manage to close the gate and destroy the Ethbas and her garden, what they see there produces nightmares for the rest of their mercifully short lives.