Wraith Wood Trents

If you think all the trees chose the side of Grandfather bear than you'd be very wrong. Grandmother knows how to sour even the urges of branch-kin.

— Frostmerite Gothi explaining the nature of Wraith Wood

Trents are exceptionally rare creatures and incredibly old. They have always been intrinsically linked to the Totem Spirits of Tairos and almost always with the spirits of balance. They acted as the hand of the forest where all of the totems' living servants made their homes. They also were said to carry the seeds of the oldest trees within their trunks and they would shepherd that precious cargo to new lands to help spread the forest domain.

However; even these venerable servants of balance are not immortal. Those that succumb to age or some other natural death try to reach the deepest reaches of the forest they protect. From there, spores filled with totemic energy will leave their corpse and take root, giving birth to new trees and possibly new trents as well. This is their cycle and they are proud to be part of it. Yet, not all trents meet such dignified ends. As civilization spread across Tairos the need for lumber rose with it. Humans, Elves, Halflings and later the Gnomes as well... all of them hungered for wood to build their empires and fuel their furnaces. Forest fires, deforestation, deadly pollution and other unnatural deaths are the kindling that can give rise to a Wraith Wood Trent.

Wraith Woods are trents whose final moments were filled with bitterness, resentment and hatred toward the civilizations that killed them. Their spirits writhe in the ether, churning and boiling as they lament their sacred duty being cut short by gluttonous vermin. Those that cannot cast off this rage find it impossible to seek out Grandfather Bear's light and begin the cycle anew. They relive their death over and over, each time the torturous demise incinerates a little more of the good creature that was and replaces it piece by piece with seething scorn. This becomes a very different kind of beacon in the murky of the ether. One that Grandmother Hydra is exceptionally adept at seeking out.

Grandmother herself or one of her kin will eventually reach out to this inferno adrift in the dark of the ether and they will make it an offer. They will help it return to its body (or another suitable one if there's is entirely gone) and give it the strength to tear asunder those that killed it. In exchange, the trent will serve the Grandmother's pantheon, the spirits of oblivion. The broken souls of these trents find such an offer impossible to refuse and after a short time in service to such dark beings all that's left of thing they once were is embers. In its place, a monster with but one master. Hydra.

Dark Trent by Steve Bellshaw

Basic Information

Anatomy

Varies. Though for all intent and purpose the Wraith Wood is an undead creature and all traits common to such beings generally apply here as well

Genetics and Reproduction

Wraith Woods do not reproduce naturally, they instead are born through a form of pacts with dark totem spirits. The most common death that can cause a Wraith Wood to be born is when a trent is killed by fire

Dietary Needs and Habits

These creatures hunger for blood. They prefer to devour humanoid victims alive if possible and feed off of them as they slowly rot within their vermin-infested trunks

Biological Cycle

Wraith Wood are undead and have no natural cycle

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Their wood is often sought after by wicked magicians who are able to use it in the creation of powerful arcane items

Average Intelligence

Generally dull and preoccupied with feeding and killing intelligent humanoids who do not serve the totems of oblivion

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Blood Sense- Wraith Wood have the ability to smell blood, even small traces. They use this skill when hunting humanoids

Forest Speech- They have the ability to telepathically speak with any plant or animal

Dark Sight- They prefer to hunt at night and have perfect sight in lightless environments

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Undead

Origin/Ancestry

Totem Spirits of Tairos

Lifespan

Indefinite as long as the pact between them and the dark totems remains intact