The Forest Remains

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a character, who must be present throughout.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

The target gains the ability to call shatter twice each day with a two-handed weapon.

The ritual also creates a roleplaying effect: a target wants to deal with problems and obstacles in the simplest and most direct way; to act now rather than worry about complicated plans. When confronted by a complex situation, the urge is always to solve it in a direct physical way (rather than find another way through a a locked door, smash the door in, for example).

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional characters from the same banner. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 10. Additional characters must be present throughout.

Description

In the Spring realm, the works of mortal artifice, crafting or building are quickly undone. Stories suggest that not only do bodies rot away within minutes, but that a book, sword, suit of armour or even a castle would be quickly undone by the relentless assault of trees, wind and rain. This ritual harnesses some of that power and turns it against the enemies of the coven.

This ritual is commonly attributed to the Landskeeper Moira of Old Pig, who named it after the opening lines of a short poem about Glory attributed to the early Marcher poet Od the Blithe. The castle has gone, it begins, but the mountain and the forest remains. It is also known as The Viridian Hammer (referencing the way that new shoots can force their way between and ultimately crack flagstones and cobblestones), Splintering Woodsman's Axe and The Devouring Storm (often with reference to the various insects and bugs that destroy wood and cloth).

The enchantment does not provide any additional ability to wield a two-handed weapon. As a consequence the ritual is best performed on someone who already knows how to use a maul, greataxe or similar two-handed weapon.

With the additional power provided by this ritual, the target can smash their way through a shield, or quickly disarm a number of opponents armed with pole-arms or pikes. While it grants an obvious advantage to someone already able to strike shattering blows, it can also be just the tool needed to get past an obstacle in the absence of such heroic individuals.

Common Elements

When performing this ritual, the coven often invokes the relentless powers of natural destruction and erosion. These forces may take the form of wind and rain, the irresistible strength of vines and roots that tear down walls, or the slow rot that consumes wood and leather.

The ritual often involves music, chanting or dancing with a slow increase in tempo until the performance reaches a violent crescendo. This slow building of power to a destructive climax mirrors the way that natural forces tear at the fruits of civillisation. The ritual may also involve destroying fragile items, working to create a sympathetic relationship between that destruction and the destruction the ritualists hope to visit on their enemies.

Some ritualists invoke the name of the Eternal Llofir, the fungal lord of rot and decay who represents the slow triumph of natural forces over craftsmanship.

The rune Mawrig is a common element of this ritual, as is the evocation of The Claw or even The Oak.