Stone Stand
The Stone Stand was a stone circle in the High Forest in the Silver Marches. It contained a large oak tree, grown from a cutting from the Grandfather Tree. The site was sacred to both the Tree Ghost and Blue Bear tribes.
At the heart of Stone Stand stood a tall oak tree. It was encircled by two cairn rings, which were each surmounted by a ring of menhirs. Each menhir was evenly spaced out 10 ft (3 m) apart and capped by lintel pieces that linked the cairn rings together into two unbroken rings.
These menhir rings predated the arrival of the Uthgardt tribes and were inscribed with the symbols of many nature deities, some too obscured by age to properly make out. The deities that were known to be represented on these menhirs included Baervan Wildwanderer, Eldath, Emmantiensien, Lurue, Mielikki, Moander, Rillifane Rallathil, Shiallia, Skerrit, Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira, and Tapann.
At the heart of Stone Stand stood a tall oak tree. It was encircled by two cairn rings, which were each surmounted by a ring of menhirs. Each menhir was evenly spaced out 10 ft (3 m) apart and capped by lintel pieces that linked the cairn rings together into two unbroken rings.
These menhir rings predated the arrival of the Uthgardt tribes and were inscribed with the symbols of many nature deities, some too obscured by age to properly make out. The deities that were known to be represented on these menhirs included Baervan Wildwanderer, Eldath, Emmantiensien, Lurue, Mielikki, Moander, Rillifane Rallathil, Shiallia, Skerrit, Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira, and Tapann.
History
It was unknown exactly how old Stone Stand was, but its use far pre-dated its discovery by the Uthgardt tribes by centuries.
In the Year of the Burning Tree, 890 DR, during one of the Blue Bear tribe's annual Runemeets the Grandfather Tree tree inexplicably burst into flames, though it and the forest were somehow left unharmed. Noticing the strangeness of this phenomenon, their shaman began to cut a low-hanging branch that was untouched by the flames. As he did so a shadowy male figure, garbed in green, was said to have emerged from the branch. He fled into the forest, leaving a trail of bear prints in his wake. The tribesmen followed the trail of this figure, until they came to the Stone Stand. It was here that their shaman planted the cut branch of Grandfather Tree and established the site as their ancestral mound.
At some point Uthgar tribesmen buried a giant relic beneath the site's central mound, the skull of a frost giant that their god Uthgar was said to have killed at Morgur's Mound. The tribesmen believed its magic would help to protect the oak tree, whose roots wrapped around skull. In reality this skull would exude an aura of necromancy magic, causing the spirits of Uthgardt warriors to arise whenever any creature got within 30 ft (9.1 m) of the tree.
At some point the Blue Bear tribe consecrated the site to Malar the Beast-Lord, inscribing his symbol on one of the menhirs. Following their destruction the Tree Ghost tribe took over stewardship of the mound and worked diligently to drive off any remnants of the Blue Bears who tried to approach the site.
In the Year of the Burning Tree, 890 DR, during one of the Blue Bear tribe's annual Runemeets the Grandfather Tree tree inexplicably burst into flames, though it and the forest were somehow left unharmed. Noticing the strangeness of this phenomenon, their shaman began to cut a low-hanging branch that was untouched by the flames. As he did so a shadowy male figure, garbed in green, was said to have emerged from the branch. He fled into the forest, leaving a trail of bear prints in his wake. The tribesmen followed the trail of this figure, until they came to the Stone Stand. It was here that their shaman planted the cut branch of Grandfather Tree and established the site as their ancestral mound.
At some point Uthgar tribesmen buried a giant relic beneath the site's central mound, the skull of a frost giant that their god Uthgar was said to have killed at Morgur's Mound. The tribesmen believed its magic would help to protect the oak tree, whose roots wrapped around skull. In reality this skull would exude an aura of necromancy magic, causing the spirits of Uthgardt warriors to arise whenever any creature got within 30 ft (9.1 m) of the tree.
At some point the Blue Bear tribe consecrated the site to Malar the Beast-Lord, inscribing his symbol on one of the menhirs. Following their destruction the Tree Ghost tribe took over stewardship of the mound and worked diligently to drive off any remnants of the Blue Bears who tried to approach the site.
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