Corpse Tree

Many myths surround these disturbing trees some say they are once mighty oaks twisted and perverted by the echoes of unholy and necromantic rituals. Others that they are the spawning grounds of Will-O-Wisps or wraiths a place of torment and misery for the spirit that is bound to the world for as long as the tree persists. One of the more common tales is that they are the result of someone breaking a deal with a Hag, or suffering from a Hag's curse for trying to attack her.
These trees vary in size based on their age but they appear like barkless trees the same color of driftwood while that itself isn't concerning what gives the tree its name is the way the tree contorts and grows limbs to look like a person caught in horror as their body turned to wood. The trees grow no leaves and no one is quite sure how they survive but many consider them ill omens and avoid them at all costs. It isn't uncommon to find these trees in areas tied more closely to profane magics and swamps, but they can appear seemingly anywhere.
Adding to the idea that they are the work of hags many hag covens have at least one corpse tree growing near their home as both a warning and to serve some purpose in their strange rituals. Most mages believe they simply know how to cultivate such a tree due to their obscure magics but don't discount the possibility of a curse.

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Further off the Corpse tree is something quite horrifying and exceptionally rare, so rare is it that scholars of magic debate upon just how the creature comes to exist. The Corpse Treant a horrifying monster that lumbers and wails from the many holes that look like mouths along the many bodies. While it does have two larger branches that serve as its arms each having a large scythe-like blade of the same wood attached at the wrist in place of a hand. The bodies that form a corpse tree have arms that move and wave as the creature lumbers forward clawing at its wood or reaching out as if for help or to escape.
Some think this is the work of a druid bent on evil awakening such a tree, others it is a form of golemancy similar to a flesh golem. One thing that is known is that these creatures are the things of nightmares letting out a cacophony of horrified and mournful wails. Some of the rumored abilities include the ability to attach new bodies to its own and grow in size and power, letting out a horrifying wail that can terrify even the bravest of souls, and some form of magic either believed to be from Hags or from the abilities of one of the many bodies that make it up. The few times one of these creatures has been destroyed they unleash a torrent of souls that were trapped within.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Primarily in swamps but they have been documented in every country of the Mortal Empires, even in the Dragon-Teeth Mountains.

Lifespan

Unknown

Average Height

Each 'body' of the tree adds to the height the largest corpse tree is 64 feet tall.