The Wodenweald

The Wodenweald

The Wodenweald is an ancient forest, dense with the memories of the way the world once was, which all lives here again. The trees are thick-trunked and mighty, having stood strong in their numbers for thousands of years against strong storms that come rolling down from the mountains to the north.=, and against the heavy rain dumped by clouds moving up from the south. It is permeated with creeks and rivers that eventually join, miles and miles down the way, and flow out to the sea to the west. This place is not inhabited, and truly rarely even approached, by anyone who would settle it or claim it’s resources. The wood of the Granitebark trees is dark with sap, and tightly grained, it is so difficult to work that it could take a sawyer all day to produce a few boards, and his tools may easily suffer the consequences. This can also, however, make the wood especially appealing to those who can afford to have it worked and made into fine luxury goods. A Granitebark hilt for a dagger or sword may well cost three weeks of average wages among the merchant class, but a young and petulant lord would be the talk of the town if he could get one. This is where the most vicious inhabitants of the Wodenweald enter the picture. The Bloodmoon Druids defend this forest to the last. It is their most holy grove, and they do not abide the harvest of their sacred birthright. Even a tree which naturally dies or falls is not to be allowed to fall into the hands of one outside their community, but it will be taken by the druids to their conclave, where by unknown means, it will be used to carve objects of veneration and religious tools. It is a great honor for a Bloodmoon to be given an icon made of Granitebark wood, and they are expected to care for it. The druids are unknown in number, likely fewer than one would hear from the lumbermen scared off a claim by them, but more than you might think. A favorite tactic is for a dozen or so druids to take the form of wolves or bears and drive away would-be invaders. If it doesn’t work, or if the offenders return again, they may lose their life for their arrogance. No one (at least no one who has returned to tell of it) has seen the druids village somewhere deep within the wood, though of course this causes rumors to spread like wildfire. Some picture a relatively normal village, but all the houses are made of Granitebark and have large totems out front of all the doors. Some think of a strange temple, using the forest itself as walls, with great bonfires and altars to make sacrifice to their foreign and unknowable forest gods.