Singing Cedar

Hey, wait, stop. Did you hear that?

Hear what?

That... singing?

Ugh, you're just hearing things. Come on, let's go.

— Two lost travellers

Singing cedar is a tree that can be found in the fogswept forest. Named for the haunting melodies it produces, the tree's process of "breathing" has a side effect of causing sound. The trees grow and reproduce slowly, and are not particularly common. However, where they do appear, the nearby fauna avoids them in a wide radius. The trees are fabled to have souls, to be just as alive as any sapient creature, and to hold malice towards the world around them. Of course, these are just folk tales, and there is no truth to them.

Anatomy

The singing cedar is a coniferous tree with needle leaves and cone-like seeds. Its leaves are a dull and desaturated forest green colour. The tree has a dark brown bark, but its wood is a lighter colour with an almost pinkish tint. It does not grow very tall, only around fifty feet at the tallest. The species' bark has pores that permeate the wood, as it "inhales" and "exhales" to gain the minerals held within the fog. This process, often likened to breathing, is how the species gains much of its nutrients despite the lack thereof in the soil where it grows. It is also largely thought to be the source of the species' "singing".

Geographic Distribution

• Fogswept Forest

Legend & Folklore

The singing cedar, according to legend, are actually the trapped souls of those who died lost in the fogswept forests, unable to find their way out. According to these tales, the cedar's songs are actually cries for help, cries of pain, or sorrowful wailing, depending on the story's source.