Lonely, dark and deep

The drums around the ritual circle died down as Drefa completed the ritual. This was the third time he had led the Dance of Navarr and Thorn, the third time that the Voice of the Quiet Forest had called upon the power of Spring to expand the trods. It wasn’t just his coven though, they had used the belt of the Archmage to aid them and all the Spring vates in Anvil had played their part.

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The young Knight watched as the mist drifted in the wind. This wasn’t unheard of, the miasma within Brocéliande was often carried by the weather, but normally it was short lived. The danger was always if creatures travelled in the miasma, sometimes husks but more often ettercaps or dire spiders that were hunting for new food. It would be a glorious fight against the creatures, but he needed to warn the yeomen first - the miasma was dangerously close to the little farm.

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In the Broc the young Thorn fired another arrow at the vallorn spawn that came stumbling from the Black Boughs. He had only recently recovered from greenlung and was eager to prove himself to the rest of his steading. The husks fell to the arrows easily, but stood again too soon. The sound of hunting horns rung in his ears as the rest of the Thorns came to repel the threat.

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The tall skinny orc looked at his companion, the barbed thorn had caught him deep in the leg. They had been sent deep into the forest yet again. “Sort your own problems out…” he snarled “If we don’t report back to Greenmask we’ll both be skinned for our trouble.” His companion screamed as the barbed thorn seemed to wriggle in his wound, still alive even though it was no longer attached to the vine. He would be glad to leave this forsaken forest. He pulled out a vial of swamp fever and threw it to his companion… “Better this, than let the forest get you.”

Overview

In Brocéliande, the vallorn is shifting ever-so slightly, obviously aggravated in some way. There are scattered reports of vallornspawn attacking people and settlements on the outskirts of the dark forest.

The remaining orcs in Elerael seem to be pulling back to Reikos, and it is unknown what (if anything) they have done to provoke the vallorn, but they seem to have more of a knowledge of it than the other orc nations.

The repaired trod network must be draining the power of the Vallorn and weakening it, but like a wounded animal it lashes out in response.

Significance

Scouts report that the Druj are leaving Elerael unoccupied; with the vallorn shifting restlessly it is possible that it will be able to expand into that deserted territory with ease.

Alternatively it would be easy for an Imperial army to take the region with minimal resistance, claim it for the Empire, and push back the vallornspawn before they can establish themselves.

People on the borders of Casinea, Astolat and Semmerholm also have to be wary of the vallorn miasmas and incursions from the forest, for if they cannot expand to Elerael they could damage farms and forests on the border territories. It is extremely improbable that the Vallorn itself could expand past the borders of the forest, but the pestilent mists and roaming predators do not respect the territory boundaries.

Resolution

After the Summer Solstice, thick clouds of miasma spreads from Brocéliande into Casinea, Astolat and Semmerholm, accompanied by scattered reports of bands of ettercaps attacking people on the outskirts of the forest. The insect-horrors were swiftly dealt with, and the miasma does not spread too far from the borders of Brocéliande and soon dissipates.

Over the next month, however, a wave of transformation strikes the farms and forests in those three territories. A quarter of their produce emerges twisted and strange. Orchards produce unnatural fruit; iridescent butterflies emerge from their cocoons misshapen and monstrous; ambergelt flows slowly and solidifies quickly into weird shapes and shades.

The yeomen and farm workers largely deal with these plants with fire. Magisters and witches, however, soon discover that some of the fruit of this unnatural excursion can be employed in a similar fashion to crystal mana when performing rituals of the Spring realm. It is as if the fruit contains some of the limitless, fertile energy of that fecund Realm - or of the vallorn itself.

OOC Note: More information about this event can be found here.