Faewood

Despite its name, Faewood is not connected to the Feywild, though there is a powerful presence of magic everywhere throughout the forest. So powerful is this magical emination that it often affects the Weave when spells are cast, though the extent of change is impossible to predict. The other frightening part of the magical emination is how it has affected the creatures of the forest, granting typically mindless and harmless creatures terrifying mutations and abilities. Somehow, the Elves of Locrati are treated much more passively than foreigners.

Effects on Magic

Faewood demonstrates some sort of inherent awareness of the type of magic being tapped into by the creatures near or within it. Evocation magic, for instance, will be shaped by elements or types of energy with the strongest presence near the caster. Abjuration magic's appearance may be more in line with the forest, and the forest may act as a bane or a boon to the caster, enhancing or diminishing the intended magical effects.
In any case, the use of magic also acts as an alarm to some of the creatures of the wood, forcing some into hiding and enraging others. The more powerful the magic used, the wider the area of alert. The strongest magics purportedly run the risk of opening temporary portals to places unknown, though the humans and creatures intelligent enough to access such power tend to be wise enough to avoid such possibilities.

History

The Wood Elves of Locrati have long sought to co-exist with Faewood. It's alluring magic has made it the object of intrigue for both the Wood Elves and the Drow, but the alliance shared between the two has been rooted in the protection of the forest since its enigmatic assistance in the Underwood Wars.

The Seed and The Star

Just after The Great Sacrifice, the first seed of Faewood sprouted in otherwise untouched fields north of Alohma's Basin. For years, the sapling grew slowly, hovering between life and death. Fighting the cold and an unfamiliar and hostile world, it struggled to spread its roots to more fertile ground until one day a star fell from the heavens. The Star fell gracefully and nested in the small branches of The Tree; but instead of burdening the limbs, The Star provided warmth, nurturing The Tree and bringing it a surge of life. Shielded by the leaves of The Tree, The Star hid for the first time since creation and the two exchanged life for solitude and brilliance for bioluminescence. Over time, the sapling grew half as tall as the mountains, continuing to protect The Star in its brilliant canopy. But as it grew taller, the light of The Star shined further and further until its brilliance started painting the clouds.

The Star and The Sky

During the night, The Star and The Tree illuminated great swathes of land. The trunk of the tree climbed nearly a mile into the sky, fueled by the everlasting warmth of The Star. The canopy of this single tree stretched wide, covering over 20 miles in either direction, casting enchanted shadows which danced on their own. But The Sky grew envious of The Tree, as it sapped life from the land and encroached on the clouds. The Sky began to muster its force and angrily lashed out against the mighty tree. Storms of unprecedented might swept across the land as The Tree was stabbed by lightning and shaken by thunder. Knowing it might lose its star to the call of the sky, The Tree surrendered itself to the storm and split into thousands of pieces. The light of The Star illuminated the earth and the branches rooted themselves on impact while their new canopies reached for one another to catch the falling star. Once again, The Star and The Tree saved one another. Out of the clouds at last, The Sky's anger subsided and the storms passed.

The Star and The Mountain

Apart from the entirety of The Tree that it knew, The Star began to travel across the canopy. Its passive warmth as it climbed and departed different trees changed their color from a brilliant green to a vibrant purple. The Star and the forest continued this dance of harmony for hundreds of years. The Star kissed every tree of the forest as it passed while the trees grew with each embrace. The trees continued to grow and The Star continued to hide until the monsters of the Underdark erupted from the mountains and began transforming the peaceful world into an abyssal nightmare.
The Star, in an attempt to protect the forest climbed into the sky, exposing itself once again to cast the darkness back into the mountains. But The Sky, even more envious after watching their dance, blocked The Star with overcast skies, leaving the forest in the dark for the first time in centuries. When it broke through the clouds, The Star found much of the forest had been swallowed by the mountains. It returned to find the last trees grasping for light as the earth shook and trembled below them, a river of blood pulling the dirt from the roots and threatening the last grove above the surface. Cast from the sky and unwilling to die alone, The Star plunged itself into the depths of the mountain, driving the monsters back to their homes.

The Forest and The Dark

With the monsters gone, the forest sewed closed the scars of the earth with its roots. Basking in the residual light of The Star, the forest continued to grow; but instead of reaching high into the sky, it thrust its roots deeper into the earth and spread its canopy wider and wider, searching once again for The Star that brought it life so long ago.

Type

Forest