The White Tree
Disambiguation: A number of locations are or were referred to as "The White Tree" during the Five Empires Period. In the interests of clarity, the Amnapedia considers The City of the White Tree to refer to the extended conurbation that includes The City of Heaven, The City Beneath, and the central White Tree City. This article refers only to the physical area of The White Tree, The Plain of the White Tree and the Tree itself.
The White Tree grew on the delta of the River Takla, considered a "natural wonder" of the ancient Five Empires world. Its unusual size and position on neutral territory between the boundaries of three of the Five Empires made it an ideal location for peace talks at the conclusion of The Last War. Its origins and history are somewhat obscure, and it was destroyed during The Rending War, making a thorough archaeological investigation of the site difficult. The predominant theory surrounding its origin and extraordinary growth at present is that it may have been established at the time of the Ancient Anther and affected by the expansion of their Kata-based technology, prior to the development of the five empires and the Five Empires Period.
Geography
The tree grew along the estuary and delta of the River Takla. Its growth was responsible for the desertification of the surrounding area, which became a high cold desert as a result. Despite this destabilisation of the local environment, the tree never died. The area became legendary as a result, and many pilgrims travelled to visit the tree, believing that they would receive healing or shelter if they could touch it or eat its bark.
The ecological impact of this meant, over time, that the lower portion of the tree's main trunk and its root system became rather denuded. It is not known whether eating the bark had any particular impact on species who ingested it, but this is believed to have been behind the ceremonial meal eaten by the diplomats and leaders who arrived at the conclusion of the Last War in an attempt to broker a peace between the five empires.
Ecosystem
Despite the appearance of being dead for much of the year, the tree did bloom and had a short cycle of deciduation. It also supported a complex ecosystem of its own, providing the many species impacted by its initial growth with a habitat if they were able to adapt to living either under the roots or up in the branches. Documents surviving from The Council of the White Tree suggest that a great deal of effort was expended to attempt to preserve species impacted by the arrival and habitation by Humans.
History
The history of the White Tree is difficult to untangle, due to its long age and apparent presence prior to the foundation of even the earliest of the five empires. It was an established part of the delta ecosystem by the time of the start of the Last War, and survived until it was destroyed by the Empire of Basat at the end of The Rending War.
What is known is that there were settlements around the base of the White Tree long before the Last War, including temples and shrines serving both local and distant gods. This also led to the growth of workshops selling votives, bark curls (many of which may have been fake), and other religious paraphernalia. At the signing of the White Tree Accords, diplomats from the five empires took over the area and attempted to rationalise what was then a chaotic and impoverished development.
Funding from the richest empires, especially Turat and Basat, led to the establishment of a wealthy upper class that lived in the most auspicious areas closest to the tree, and eventually inside the tree itself. When it was discovered that building within the tree's trunk and branches did not have any immediate adverse effects, the trunk itself was used as the administrative centre of the Council of the White Tree, with buildings in the upper branches acting as peripheral bureaucratic offices.
The signing of the White Tree Accords made the Tree a sign of peace and refuge throughout the continent. It was intended that refugees could seek shelter and hope by travelling to the Tree, to be then rehoused elsewhere in one of the empires. This is believed to have been a largely ephemeral project (for more details, see The City of Heaven). Instead, asylum seekers and other new arrivals found themselves homeless and had to build their own shelters. This led to the development of a number of unofficial settlements in the area.
The Tree was eventually destroyed toward the end of the Rending War. It had already been damaged in violence against The One Hundred Thousand by Basati forces, but had so far destroyed. However, the destabilisation of The Rending itself appears to have had a knock-on effect on the Tree's ability to withstand harm. It is not known precisely what happened, but myths from the local area describe the Tree being symbolically consumed by fire to indicate the formal end of The Five Empires Period.
Type
Natural Wonder
Location under
Owning Organization
Related Tradition (Primary)
Inhabiting Species
Comments