Reap-Ent

Names: The Curser Tree, The Noosebark

Appearance: At first glance, a Reap-Ent appears to be a gnarled and ancient tree, often found standing alone in fog-choked wetlands or sunken glades near Flaven. Its bark is covered in knot-like growths that some say resemble weeping faces. Dangling from its branches are what appear to be vines or moss. At least until one notices the bones tangled within them. When active, its bark peels and shifts like twisted muscle, and its roots writhe silently beneath the mud.

Ecology: Reap-Ents dwell only in the darkest, stillest regions of the wetlands surrounding Flaven. Though rare, they are most common near cursed groves, abandoned shrines, or forgotten battlefields. They never group in clusters and seem to actively destroy other plant life around them, perhaps to avoid competition or perhaps out of some deep spiritual rot.

Reap-Ents are ambush predators, using a unique form of whispering magical song to lure their prey. These deep, melodic chants can only be heard by living beings that have commit sin and the haunting, wordless chant draws these sins from the depths of the individual's mind. Each listener hears a different version with the song whispering to their deepest regrets, darkest sins, and hidden shames, dredging them up with uncanny specificity. Those who feel intense guilt or shame are most vulnerable.

Once entranced, victims are drawn toward the Reap-Ent, compelled by a mixture of remorse and compulsion. As they approach, the Reap-Ent lashes out with its vine-like limbs, seizing and hoisting them into the air. Victims are hung from the branches, still alive, while the tree continues to hum and murmur, drawing out confessions in a trance-like state.

Even in death, the voice of the victim often continues, like an echo wrung from the soul and fed into the tree's ever-humming body. Some say the Reap-Ent stores these confessions like fruit, ripe with psychic pain, waiting for the next listener to hear.

Cultural impact: There are conflicting legends as to how Reap-Ents came to be. Some claim they were created by a vengeful god, a twisted branch of Rae-Diant’s mercy or Carrijon’s judgment, given life to punish the wicked who escaped justice. Others believe they are the work of a forgotten, corrupted nature deity, or perhaps even on of the Serf Gods like Wattyler gone awry in purpose.

In Flaven, Reap-Ents are considered omens of cursed land. Locals tell stories of entire ferry crews lured ashore by song, never to return. Serfs and Commoners carry ear-stoppers of beeswax soaked in sage when traveling through the deepest bog routes. House Boarder patrols the region with trained boars that have been made deaf with magic specifically to root out Reap-Ent lairs.