The Emerald Grove

Deep in the grove, far away from the noise of humanity, when it's just you and the grove... I think only fairies could possibly have the words to describe it.

— Unknown Elven Adventurer

You know I wasn't always a ranger. I grew up in the city, planned to be becoming a merchant, like my father, and his father before him. The only plants I knew were either served on a plate or planted in a vase. One summer, I was sent to deliver goods across the country, My route passed through the Emerald Grove, one visit was all it took. I took the ranger vow less than a year later, it's been a great many years since then and my feelings have never wavered. I will protect her with the same devotion a royal guard protects his queen and I care for her with the same undying affection a loving family shares.

— Unknown Human Ranger

The Emerald Grove is a huge forest, often speculated to be the home of the first elves, it is host to a great many species, including some of the magical variety.

Geography

Contrary to what it's humble title of 'grove' would suggest the Emerald Grove is one of, if not the largest forest in all of Mythria, depending on the individual's tolerance on how close groups of trees need to be considered a single forest. The most common consensus amongst rangers and map makers estimates the grove to larger than even the biggest countries on Mythria.
Due to it's sheer size the forest covers all kinds of locations, from lakes and rivers to valleys and mountains.

Localized Phenomena

It is said that in the deepest parts of the grove the lines between Mythria and the realm of Fae melt away, this description could be flowery words but those who believe Fae to be real think that portals can open to the realm sporadically wherever nature thrives, these portals are seldom obvious to the naked eye and one can enter Fae and return to the grove again without ever realising they were gone, in part due to the grove's similarities to Fae as both locations possess a magical nature and a beautiful appearance.

Fauna & Flora

The forest consists of many, many varieties of tree, from species like birch and oak in the temperate regions to pine and spruce in the cold north. The forest is also host to nearly as much variety of fauna and flora as there are trees in the grove and while they are still rare, magical plants and animals seem almost drawn to the grove making it one of the best places on the planet for those seeking them out.
There are also many sapient species who make the grove their home. Its human inhabitants are few compared to the massive amount of land the grove covers, the vast majority of these humans are elves and the vast majority of these elves are wood elves. Other sapient species include fairies, although actually find them is no easy task due to their small size and shy or tricky nature. ents, another hard to find species as they are virtually indistinguishable from regular trees when they aren't moving and they seldom have motivation to do so and a surprising number of animals who for one magical reason or another have the ability to think and talk just like humans do.

History

It is believed that long, long ago, at the beginning of the Age of Humanity the first elves emerged from the emerald forest, there are many different tales of how they came to be, the three most common are as follows - one that suggests that elves were once humans who, after generations of living so close to the Fae were slowly transformed, another says that elves are the result of a human and a Fae native (or true elves as some legends call them) having a child and the third story says that elves are Fae spirits who created mortal forms for themselves so they could explore and live in Mythria, regardless of what is true, almost all the legends speak of the emerald grove as the elves origin on Mythria.

Credit goes to Andrea Stöckel for the cover image. https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=310266&picture=trees-autumn-forest-landscape

Alternative Name(s)

The Grove, the Emerald Forest, the Emerald Woods.

Type

Forest