Haunted Wood

The Haunted Wood is a vast forest crossing northern stretches of the Duchy of the Northmarches from the Deepfells almost to the foothills of the Stoneheart Mountains. This woodland has always been considered fey and strange, and it is believed that large portions of it currently lie under a shadowy curse. It was never actually a part of the Great Akadonian Forest that once swathed much of the continent, always having been separated by the Green Mountains and chalky High Downs to the south. Tribes of reclusive wood elves still live in this forest but are largely confined to the settlement of Golden Oak as a consequence of the shadowy curse that besets the woodland.
Five thousand years ago, the Haunted Wood was connected to the Namjan Forest across the Gryphon Hills. It was then the domain of the elven kingdom of Alathanar, home of the Alathi tribe. These elves who worshipped the goddess Shalraei were advanced in arcane knowledge and lived in homes melded from the living trees and rocks of the forest. It is said that a king among these elves turned to dark powers, which led to a civil war that ultimately destroyed the kingdom. Since that time, the elven presence in these northern forests has diminished (particularly after the wild elves departed to the south and west in the Third Exodus of the Elves) and the Shadow increased. The forest has gradually shrunk over the years until it is now completely isolated from the Namjan to the west.
Somewhere in the Haunted Wood can be found the ruins of Shadowhold, the stronghold of the dark elven king.

Type

Forest