Eilifur
New Member
Fear is a powerful thing, capable of driving men to great deeds, or exactly the opposite. It can save your life, or cripple you at the worst possible moment. Some fears might be irrational, to fear death - meaningless, to fear something that is most often harmless, an insect, these things are irrational. Fear of the dark festers in the hearts of most men, but are they not right to fear the dark? The dark is, after all, home to the things men should fear most, and some do indeed. But, men do not know of these things that lurk in the dark out of the corner of their eyes, prowling. The shadows in the treeline, the rustling of leaves on a calm evening. Certainly, these things could be no more harmful than a small spider, or the dreading feeling of inevitable death. Yet these are the moments where the frightened are safest, for they need never experience the true terror of the unknown, of what lingers in dark places where light does not reach. The moments you long for death more so than anything.
On the outskirts of Val Edri lay a town by the name of Caedmer, a town whose populace had grown quite familiar with fear. Fear appeared in their language as they spoke of happy things, it shone in their eyes even as they looked at what they loved most, fear was in their crops, houses and streets, it was in their very hearts. Fear was what they needed to survive, for they had knowledge of the unknown, of what lurked in the forest of Val Edri.
The forest itself, a beauteous thing of the most brilliant colours nature had to offer. An inviting facade. A place where birds could sing in peace, free from man-made arrows and interruption, safe to nest in any tree they might see fit without fear of the tree being felled for its lumber. If only that were so. Some birds, like some humans, were brave. Brave enough to nest near the outskirts of the forest, just close enough to observe human civilisation, and to reap the benefits in that of scraps of food, or even the generous passerby willing to offer crumbs. But these humans needed lumber, even if it was from Val Edri. Even if their fearful hearts told them to stay as far away from the forest as possible.
The naive, ignorant humans could not know what their disturbance caused, or what it awakened deep within the forest, but they would feel it. They would feel it as the roots of trees burst out of the earth, snatching lumberers as they worked and dragging them underneath the earth, as the beautiful colours of Val Edri grew muddled, faded and the songs of birds were silenced. Hunters found themselves needing to brave deeper and deeper into the forest to find wildlife until they returned with nothing but dead and wounded. They spoke of what they had seen, wolves with no fur, and sheer black eyes that flickered and swayed as if they were on fire, their size twice that of a normal wolf. The deer had grown a thick exoskeleton that resembled bark, impenetrable by any man-made arrows. Their eyes were the same as that of the wolves, but the sounds they made as soon as they spotted them as if a hundred souls screamed out in utter agony.
In the centre of the forest, something ancient stirred. A tree older than humanity, the mother of the forest. She felt the darkness in Her roots, creeping closer to Her core. A desperate act was the creation of the Shae. The children of the forest, Fae, but something more.
The Shae were most certainly humanoid, slightly taller than humans with a far more lithe, wiry frame. Within them flows the golden sap of the Mother Tree. Upon birth, they are assigned genders, fully capable of mating, but have no means of reproduction outside of the mother tree itself. They are plant-like in appearance, with different foliage on the outside of their bodies that serves a similar purpose as skin and underneath, a wooden endoskeleton. The Shae are naturally curious, especially so when it comes to humans.
On the outskirts of Val Edri lay a town by the name of Caedmer, a town whose populace had grown quite familiar with fear. Fear appeared in their language as they spoke of happy things, it shone in their eyes even as they looked at what they loved most, fear was in their crops, houses and streets, it was in their very hearts. Fear was what they needed to survive, for they had knowledge of the unknown, of what lurked in the forest of Val Edri.
The forest itself, a beauteous thing of the most brilliant colours nature had to offer. An inviting facade. A place where birds could sing in peace, free from man-made arrows and interruption, safe to nest in any tree they might see fit without fear of the tree being felled for its lumber. If only that were so. Some birds, like some humans, were brave. Brave enough to nest near the outskirts of the forest, just close enough to observe human civilisation, and to reap the benefits in that of scraps of food, or even the generous passerby willing to offer crumbs. But these humans needed lumber, even if it was from Val Edri. Even if their fearful hearts told them to stay as far away from the forest as possible.
The naive, ignorant humans could not know what their disturbance caused, or what it awakened deep within the forest, but they would feel it. They would feel it as the roots of trees burst out of the earth, snatching lumberers as they worked and dragging them underneath the earth, as the beautiful colours of Val Edri grew muddled, faded and the songs of birds were silenced. Hunters found themselves needing to brave deeper and deeper into the forest to find wildlife until they returned with nothing but dead and wounded. They spoke of what they had seen, wolves with no fur, and sheer black eyes that flickered and swayed as if they were on fire, their size twice that of a normal wolf. The deer had grown a thick exoskeleton that resembled bark, impenetrable by any man-made arrows. Their eyes were the same as that of the wolves, but the sounds they made as soon as they spotted them as if a hundred souls screamed out in utter agony.
In the centre of the forest, something ancient stirred. A tree older than humanity, the mother of the forest. She felt the darkness in Her roots, creeping closer to Her core. A desperate act was the creation of the Shae. The children of the forest, Fae, but something more.
The Shae were most certainly humanoid, slightly taller than humans with a far more lithe, wiry frame. Within them flows the golden sap of the Mother Tree. Upon birth, they are assigned genders, fully capable of mating, but have no means of reproduction outside of the mother tree itself. They are plant-like in appearance, with different foliage on the outside of their bodies that serves a similar purpose as skin and underneath, a wooden endoskeleton. The Shae are naturally curious, especially so when it comes to humans.
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Hey there! I'm just looking for someone interested in taking up this plot with me. Someone that loves character development and world-building and takes an interest in furthering the story. I'm open to pretty much any suggestions regarding this plot or anything else.
Hey there! I'm just looking for someone interested in taking up this plot with me. Someone that loves character development and world-building and takes an interest in furthering the story. I'm open to pretty much any suggestions regarding this plot or anything else.
