The Dark Forest - Twisted and Evil
Every world has its darker and more sinister territories. On the eastern side of the continent, the Dark Forest is one of these.
Fauna & Flora
The Dark Forest is primarily a coniferous forest, but the darkness that infects it twists much of its flora and fauna into more sinister shapes. The fallen Soul Oaks that stand in the Dark Forest's rotten heart beget the Rotted, vile cousins to the Treefolk of Veltingard. Werewolves and other skinchangers dwell within the Shadow Wood's darkened vales. Tribes of orcs and solitary troll families are known to reside there as well. There is even talk that a dragon makes its lair in the dark recesses of a swampy part of the Forest.
Undead are also known to be found within the Dark Forest - zombies, skeletons and even ghouls and phantoms are believed to haunt the abandoned villages within. While the first vampire was once a lord of the Shadow Woods, there have been no reliable reports of other vampires lurking within the Forest.
Of all monsters that can be found in the Dark Forest, it is the dun-sidhe, the dark faeries, that are unique to the Dark Forest. Violent Red Caps, sly boggarts, and hungry Green Hags can be found within the forest's borders, along with the darkest of the dun-sidhe: the Dun-Fey, or dark elves. With skin white as chalk, with white hair or hairless, with wide thin-lipped mouths and eyes that are simply black orbs, dark elves are a sight out of a nightmare.
History
According to legend, during the Second Age, there was a civil war fought in the Faerie world of the Twilight Country. Ultimately, the forces of High Queen Maeve and her consort Obrey Amadan are victorious and they cast out Morgiana, the self-styled "Queen of Air and Darkness." She and her followers, called the dun-sidhe or "dark faeries" slipped across the veil of worlds into the Lands of Legend.
Once there, Morgiana and her dark cohorts begin to tempt the elves and others who had settled there to join forces with her. Chiefest among her conquests were the mighty Soul Oaks. While many resisted, some fell under Morgiana's sway and became twisted and filled with bile and evil, rotten in their core wood. Around them the forest began to darken. Pools that were once as clear as crystal became dark and murky, the waters that had once been fresh and sweet now tasted stagnant.
The transformation did not stop with the trees and grasses, pools and brooks. Animals began to take on a more feral disposition. Violent creatures, like werewolves and other beastmen, began to migrate to these darker woods.
Then came Mailindar, the first vampire. Stories say Mailindar was an elvish bard that had pined for Maeve Li, but failed to win her heart. In his bitterness and jealousy, he accepted a bargain with Morgiana and crafted a song so evilly seductive that many elves and others fell under its sway, transformed to evil. It took the combined energy of one elven village, its name lost to time, to finally defeat Mailindar and drive him back into the Dark Forest.
Ultimately, Leskoyr Moonwood, Treefolk champion of Clea, destroyed Mailindar and drove Morgiana out of the twisted woods but the damage had been done. From that moment until present day, the Dark Forest has been home to evil and dangerous monsters, and a place for Veltingarders to fear.
Alternative Name(s)
The Shadow Woods
Type
Forest
Owning Organization
Inhabiting Species
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