Tanglebrier Forest
The dominant feature of the Greenwold, this forest is immense. The maps list this immense area of The Tanglebrier Forest, and while many call it the Tanglebrier, all Greewolders know what is spoken of when The Forest is mentioned.
Once the home of the great elven empire of Ser’Alun, the tragedy and disaster that is Mouyld brought it to destruction. Now it is the home of the Dragon and her followers. The remnants of the elves still live there as well, but they have been reduced to a more tribal state than they used to be. The forest is broken into two basic zones, the Forest Fringe along the outside of the Forest, and the Forest Heart. The fringe is home to the elves and any forest creatures that remain untainted by the Dragon while the Heart is where Mouyld sleeps and her forces live. Many who go into the forest never return, but any who go into the Heart disappear forever. Because it is such a cursed place and the elves have become so unwelcoming, little knowledge is remembered of the forest. Rumors state the Forest is not one uniform group of trees, but a mix of different areas. “From the twisted Puzzlewood, to the lush Fae Garden, to the rocky drops of he Crags, to the gloaming of the Cursed Grove, the only quality shared throughout is the unbroken dominion of trees.”
The denizens of the Forest are wild and varied. The Fringe holds an almost sylvan beauty tinged with deep sadness and Darkness. Wood elves and typical forest flora and fauna tenuously coexist with capricious fey creatures. Goblins and giant-kin find lives in the Fringe, too, though they all too often fall under the sway of the dark Heart of the Forest and its Mistress. The Heart is filled with palpable shadows. It is said the land itself is twisted and bent, filling dread into the hearts of those who do not dwell within.
In recent years, it seems as if the blight of the Heart is creeping tendrils of discord and decay into the Fringe and even the non-elven settlements at the Forest's edge.
There are rumors of one city of note remaining in the Tanglebrier -- River Break. It lies in an area where many rivers converge and the elves still live. Travelers seeking the hidden elven city are more likely to die than see the sights of that city and return to tell the tales.
The Curse of Tanglebrier Forest
Tanglebrier Forest is the untamed, primeval heart of the Greenwold. Long ago it was also the center of a great elven empire that
stretched to fill many lands. That empire came to an end when the elves brought a great curse down upon themselves.
The exact nature of the crime and the curse has been forgotten by nearly all who dwell in the Greenwold, the details changing from bard to bard, each time the story is told. What is indisputable is that the empire is now reduced to a few scattered ruins, and the Tanglebrier is overrun by evil creatures of all sorts. It’s even rumored that a mighty green dragon dwells within - though if it still remains, it has not been seen for many long years.
Few who venture into the forest’s depths ever return – although whether they fall to the hand of hungry monsters, or are claimed by
something more sinister is unknown.
The good folk of the realm stay as far away from the Tanglebrier as they can, with the exception of the elves who once called it home.
The descendants of the fallen empire still dwell on the less dangerous fringes of the forest, embittered by their loss, and locked in frequent conflict with the humans who gnaw at its edges to feed their cities.
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