Eldwood

Mythical Forest
Ancient woods, rife with ruins and secrets of a Lost Era and riddled with deadly flora and fauna.

Inhabitants

The Beastsworn humans forming the tribes of Eldwood generally have tall, agile builds. Their skin is pale, lacking pigmentation nearly completely, thin enough to see the veins beneath it. Their birth season determines not only their eyes, as with other humans, but also the color of their hair, which is often straight and tufted.

Society

Five tribes roam the jungles of the South. They are just as likely to raid each other as they are to trade and cooperate in times of duress. Alliances between them are ever-shifting and unreliable. Each tribe venerates a single Divine Beast, and slay or outcast any children which are not born in their deity's season.
The Fi tribe are fierce migratory hunters who revere Fastid. They live in a vibrant community with a strict hierarchy, and keep three generations of wolves as companions: breeders, hunters, and pups. When a wolf ages past its time, it is taken to one of the Sacred Lakes, and its pelt is kept by its master to keep them warm in the coming winter, its bones forming new tools. Trophies from hunts decorate their bodies, the size and quantity lending to their status in society.
The Eld tribe are calm but fierce when provoked, masters of navigating the bramble thickets surrounding Eldnyng's lake. They generally stick to the territory on which Eldnyng is bound, guarding her from those who would disturb her peace. Their rites of passage revolve around finding and raising a rare medicinal flower to its first, second, and third blooms, a task which requires extraordinary patience and care.
The Vs tribe are vain and ceremonial, delighting in conquest and amassing wealth through raids. They are storied performers who gather every night to share their talents to the Flockmother . They relish in the arts and any trinkets they can claim from those they defeat, particularly the Akagawans with whom they contest the border with. Despite this, they are not devaluing life; rather, they appreciate the vibrancy of each story, and carry each fallen foe and ally with them in their colorful markings and tattoos.
The Mu tribe are experts at navigating the labyrinth of caverns and ravines beneath Eldwood, seeing clearly into the dark and surprising their foes through unexpected barrows. They value patience and cunning much like Metus, utilizing poisons and the shadows to slay their enemies before they realize they're in danger, and hunting through an ambush method, waiting for the perfect time to strike. No outsider is allowed to come close to their true underground settlement; tunnels leading outside are purposefully labyrinthine, and easy to collapse on foolish strangers. There is only one place where others are allowed to contact them, a shrine at which the high priest is always stationed, waited upon hand and foot by the others.
The Ir tribe reside within Irev's Fall at the central point of Aypavoc and its maelstrom, a damp sea-cavern system. They revere and guard his recovering body, and many of them have developed amphibious or aquatic features as part of their Confliction. Separated by the raging torrents from the rest of Eldwood, they rarely ever make contact with the outside world, instead tending to their intricate rituals and struggling to fend off the corruption flowing through the waters.
Though children of Consecra are supposed to be executed upon birth, there are those few who still walk the wilds, raised by the spirits of the wild and stranger to society.

Power & Leadership

The tribes form a loose confederation in the times where other kingdoms attempt to cross their border or plunder their resources and ancient ruins, which they recognize as a threat to the sanctity of Eldwood and the Ancients (Ildsif). They are generally a tribalistic kraterocracy.

Economy

Denizens of Eldwood follow a bartering system. The Fi specialize in offering meats and leather; the Eld, herbs and medicine; the Vs, beads and trinkets; the Mu, metals and mushrooms; the Ir, fish and shells.

Culture

Language and Names
Their language is known as Koraa, and is full of sharp k's, t's, and q's with common double vowels. Given names are short and typically one or two syllables; surnames denote their tribe and caste, as follows:

• Fi
• Eld
• Vs
• Mu
• Ir

• 'qir - Divine
• 'uus - Chief
• 'aat - Priest / Hierophant / Shaman
• 'tal - Elder
• 'soo - High Guard
• 'bos - Warrior / Hunter
• 'sa - Commoner / Crafter
• 'tek - Exile / Betrayer / Worthless

Examples - Selkt Ir'qir, Hiita Vs'qir, Thek Ir'aat, Taiys Ir'tek, Aavarq Ir'uus.

Religion and Beliefs

The tribes are devout zealots of their Divine Beast's supremacy and aspire to be recreated in their image, embracing the process of Confliction instead of regarding it as a sign of corruption, as opposed to Akagawa. The descendants of the Ildsif, they're genetically predisposed to Conflicting at a faster rate than other humans.
They are less wary of Conflicted beasts compared to humans of other regions, instead holding a near-reverence for them; rather than believing them to be warped monstrosities, they see them as beings with divine grace, closer in shape to their gods.
They respect their place in the cycle of life, as the threads woven in between, to hunt and to die and to be reborn. The strong and wise are respected above all others. Children are typically raised communally, and each tribe has their own traditions for rites of passage from child to adult, from rank to rank in society.
Compared to other regions, a larger number of Skyrealm structures have survived the collapse of the world pillar, though most are difficult to access, riddled with traps, or buried in rubble. With true history and their original intent being forgotten, many people of the Eldwood view them with fear and reverence as shrines and temples to an ancient, powerful civilization which they call the 'Ancients'. Within, there are many relics and secrets of innate magic to be found, and just as many time-lost horrors...

Notable Locations

There are three sacred lakes in Eldwood. One is the resting place of Eldnyng, one is the home of the Vs, and the last is a religious site used by the Fi.

Aypavoc (Post-Reckoning)

Open full size

Aypavoc is a large island that sits in the middle of the Endless Expanse, a great body of water with no other coast in sight. Aypavoc and its surrounding waters have been enclosed in a barrier erected by Metus to the North, Varys to the East, Eldnyng to the South, and Fastid to the West; these Divine Beasts are trapped within their domains, as too much distance from them would cause the barrier to falter. Most believers preach that the purpose of the barrier is to keep the unspeakable dangers of the open waters away from their island home, but its hidden true purpose is to contain the impure spiritual energy of Aypavoc and prevent it from corrupting the world at large. Its waters all flow towards the deepest point, Irev's Fall, a maelstrom at the center of the fractured continent.

Relations

The Beastsworn have a fabled vendetta against Akagawa. The two factions have been at war for longer than recorded history, both claiming the other started it, and both with lost loved ones to avenge. History of Aypavoc
They have no relations with the elusive Yuanjia, and typically mistake the rare wanderer as an Akagawan.
Laments and ki-ko, however, are regarded as sacred creatures.
Varayi are an oft-deadly nuisance, and most Beastsworn will do their best to stay away from their territory. Occasionally, however, a Beastsworn will make a deal with one in a bid for power, either to increase their own tribal rank or to raid another tribe... but the cost is hardly ever worth it.

Beastsworn Characters

Taiys Ir'tek ◈ Ayumu ◈ Thek Ir'aat