Lockbox Forest
Lockbox is a large forest situated West of Thousand, on the other side of The Torn Veil. It is semi-sentient, comprised mostly of awakened trees and patrolled by large forest guardians. It is possible to speak with the forest through said guardians, but the forest appears to be quite simplistic-thinking and difficult to bargain with - more like an animal intelligence than a sapient one.
The forest has a tentative acceptance of the wood elves in that it does not attack them constantly, but dislikes if they remain in one spot for too long or start ‘putting down roots’, making a permanent home. For that reason, all wood elf tribes are nomadic and move every so often. Howeverm, the forest has also been known to protect the wood elves from outside attacks by orcs, fiends who attack from the neighbouring area the Torn Veil, etc.
Lockbox does not like outsiders and will attempt to force them back out of the forest. It seems to prefer this to outright killing intruders. It grows more and more aggressive the closer one gets to the centre of the forest. No-one has ever made it to the heart of Lockbox and lived to tell the tale - not even the native wood elves.
If deeply angered the forest will go berserk and attack everything in sight, including any wood elf camps. Shinzu has seen Lockbox go berserk a few times throughout her life, and it is always terrifying. If this happens, the only thing to do is keep running until the source of the upset is dealt with.
Elven history states that Lockbox was once part of Orchestra Forest. Almost a millennium ago, half of the forest abruptly ‘woke up’, picked itself up and began walking westwards to where it now sits. There’s not a lot of documentation about this period of history in general, so it’s unknown how or why it happened.
Half of the elves remained with the original forest, becoming the high elves. The other half of the elves believed the forest that walked away was the true will of the forest and had good reasons for leaving, even if they weren’t sure what those reasons were; they followed it and became the wood elves. Being so far from any other civilisation they are often considered hostile by outside forces, but are to some degree misunderstood. They emphasise a bond with nature, survival and toughness. Being nomadic, they have little place in their society for anything impractical that can’t be carried, or takes up too much space.
This dispute divided the elven people, and a degree of bad blood exists to this day - neither is especially welcome on the others' territory.
Khanzi: Elder of the Tora clan and an accomplished druid. Khanzi is old, wise and just, and has much respect from his peers.
Lauka: A young Tora druid in training, and granddaughter of Khanzi. Aside from being related to the clan elder, Lauka is thought by many (most notably, by the forest itself) to be a reincarnation of Llostrian, one of the original Lockbox druids who advocated moving with the forest. This makes her something akin to a princess, though Lauka herself seems wearied with the special treatment.
Shinzu's mother: a General of the Tora-Gun, the closest thing the wood elves have to a militia. At first glance she seems graceful and aloof, but is quickly revealed to have a mischievous side.
The forest has a tentative acceptance of the wood elves in that it does not attack them constantly, but dislikes if they remain in one spot for too long or start ‘putting down roots’, making a permanent home. For that reason, all wood elf tribes are nomadic and move every so often. Howeverm, the forest has also been known to protect the wood elves from outside attacks by orcs, fiends who attack from the neighbouring area the Torn Veil, etc.
Lockbox does not like outsiders and will attempt to force them back out of the forest. It seems to prefer this to outright killing intruders. It grows more and more aggressive the closer one gets to the centre of the forest. No-one has ever made it to the heart of Lockbox and lived to tell the tale - not even the native wood elves.
If deeply angered the forest will go berserk and attack everything in sight, including any wood elf camps. Shinzu has seen Lockbox go berserk a few times throughout her life, and it is always terrifying. If this happens, the only thing to do is keep running until the source of the upset is dealt with.
Elven history states that Lockbox was once part of Orchestra Forest. Almost a millennium ago, half of the forest abruptly ‘woke up’, picked itself up and began walking westwards to where it now sits. There’s not a lot of documentation about this period of history in general, so it’s unknown how or why it happened.
Half of the elves remained with the original forest, becoming the high elves. The other half of the elves believed the forest that walked away was the true will of the forest and had good reasons for leaving, even if they weren’t sure what those reasons were; they followed it and became the wood elves. Being so far from any other civilisation they are often considered hostile by outside forces, but are to some degree misunderstood. They emphasise a bond with nature, survival and toughness. Being nomadic, they have little place in their society for anything impractical that can’t be carried, or takes up too much space.
This dispute divided the elven people, and a degree of bad blood exists to this day - neither is especially welcome on the others' territory.
Notable NPCs:
Several nomadic wood elf clans reside in Lockbox. Shinzu hails from the Tora (tiger) clan, the largest and most organised of wood elf clans. The other notable clans are Rasa (serpent), Gostra (bird), Olu (frog) and Xumo (boar).Khanzi: Elder of the Tora clan and an accomplished druid. Khanzi is old, wise and just, and has much respect from his peers.
Lauka: A young Tora druid in training, and granddaughter of Khanzi. Aside from being related to the clan elder, Lauka is thought by many (most notably, by the forest itself) to be a reincarnation of Llostrian, one of the original Lockbox druids who advocated moving with the forest. This makes her something akin to a princess, though Lauka herself seems wearied with the special treatment.
Shinzu's mother: a General of the Tora-Gun, the closest thing the wood elves have to a militia. At first glance she seems graceful and aloof, but is quickly revealed to have a mischievous side.
A wood elf settlement
Tora elder Khanzi
Tora druid Lauka
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