> [!success] Integrated > This lore drop has been processed and integrated into the vault. > See: [[Region - True Sylvaria]], [[City - Treeheart]] # LOCATION - Gryth - Auken - True Sylvaria ## TRUE SYLVARIA True Sylvaria, or simply Sylvaria as it is known to most, stands as one of the last true "wild woods" remaining in Gryth. In ages past, this vast expanse was a dominant force on the continent, covering much of western Auken and stretching across a million square kilometres from the northern Avornian cliffs to the eastern shores of Lake Fern. Though it has since receded to approximately 250,000 square kilometres, the Syndani Forest remains a massive and formidable territory. It serves as one of the four sovereign kingdoms of the wood elves, holding equal status with the Forest of Emberleaf in Iros, the Singing Forest in Edaria, and the ancient woods of Wild Fen in western Ganath. The realm is defined by a deep, prehistoric magic that has become intertwined with the very soil through thousands of years of wood elf stewardship. The Syndani Forest is a landscape of dark, ever-changing depths and thick, cloying mists that shroud a world of unpredictable wonders. Fantastical animals and strange creatures roam freely here, flourishing in an environment where the physical world is frequently pierced by Feylines. These fonts of raw magical energy draw power directly from the Feywild, and in the most secluded reaches of the forest, the veil is so thin that travellers may find themselves stepping inadvertently between planes of existence. For over 200 years, the wood elves have been ruled by Tree-King Olandir of the Great House Greenroot. Under his guidance, Sylvaria maintains a close and harmonious relationship with High Vel'Nora, the ancestral home of all elvenkind. Despite being ruled by the high elves, Sylvaria is well-represented in the ancestral capital, ensuring that the interests of the wood elves are voiced within the most holy sites of their race. The wood elves view themselves as kin to all natural things, and they are fiercely dedicated to maintaining the balance of their wild world. The population of Sylvaria is as diverse as the magic that sustains it. While wood elves form the majority, the Syndani Forest provides sanctuary to numerous human druid tribes, Bugbear clans, and families of changelings. Beneath the earth, secretive Drow societies maintain their own dark kingdoms, while villages of air genasi remain hidden amongst the clouds above the canopy. The woods also offer freedom to twisted mongrelfolk, troll-men, and even displaced beast races from Q'Shar. Many of these creatures arrived in Auken through the cruelty of slave traders and flesh markets but found a new life of liberty within the deep, protective shadows of the forest. At the heart of this wild kingdom sits the capital, Treeheart, known in the wood elf tongue as Illiir, or "Home". This vast commune is a marvel of living architecture, formed by a network of interconnected trees that share a sacred and direct lineage with the Great World Trees. The city is spiritually and physically anchored by its connection to Adar’Sha, the Great Mother Tree in High Vel’Nora, and the twin child trees on Isle Forna in Edaria: Oka Naala and Vashin’Sadaa, known as the trees of the water and fire. These monumental trees in Treeheart tower over 600 feet high, growing up to three times larger than the surrounding forest to create an enormous super-canopy of woven leaves and branches. It is within this elevated haven, held aloft by these ancient botanical titans, that the Rising Chair is located, serving as the great throne of the wood elf people and the seat of Tree-King Olandir's power. The Elvish Court of Sylvaria is a complex web of tradition and ancient brotherhood, led of course by the Tree-King. Uniquely, Olandir does not rule in isolation but alongside his six brothers: Taryn, Arrien, Caladar, Onwem, Ornir, and Vesuu. Within the storied Greenroot dynasty, kings are not born by simple primogeniture; instead, the reigning monarch is chosen from amongst the brothers of each generation, and the others reign as princes alongside him. Olandir is currently proving himself a highly capable sovereign, successfully securing the borders of the Syndani Forest in a world that is rapidly modernising and encroaching upon the wild. Under his steady hand, the wood elves have finally moved beyond the exhausted mountainous wars that ravaged their borders for the past millennium, securing tenuous peace treaties with the kingdoms of men and the dwarven holds. Despite these formal treaties, the court remains in a state of constant vigilance. Sylvaria still faces frequent and illegal intrusions from human logging interests originating in Durdany and Prosperia, requiring the brothers to maintain a formidable forest guard. Olandir has also demonstrated a pragmatic streak by reaching exclusive trade agreements with the Dwarves of the Greyrock Isle. However, these dealings are strictly limited; the wood elves possess an ancient disdain for the mining of metals, trading only for the dwarves' stone to bolster their own defences. This selective commerce ensures that the Syndani remains as untouched by industrial rot as possible, preserving the sanctity of the mountain’s gifts while rejecting the forge-fires of the new age. The spiritual life of the Syndani is a wild and multifaceted tapestry, rooted in a druidic religion that reflects the forest’s unforgiving nature. The wood elves pair the traditional elvish deity monarchs, Millith the Moon Mother and Elvarion the Sun Father, with far more primal and unpredictable entities. Their worship often bleeds into the fey realm, with numerous cults dedicated to powerful archfeys, beast spirits, and legendary monsters that stalk the cloying mists. In Sylvaria, nature itself is a god that takes whatever it wishes, and the "Law of the Wild" is the ultimate authority. This leads to a way of life that values the cycle of life and death above all else, a perspective that often seems alien or even cruel to the inhabitants of cities like Treston or South Wessing. This deep connection to the primitive world has made the wood elves a profoundly ritualistic and superstitious people, far more so than their highborn kin in High Vel'Nora. Their society is governed by ancient omens and signs found in the rustle of leaves or the flight of birds, and they maintain a deep, visceral hatred for those who go against the natural order. To a wood elf, a breach of tradition is not merely a legal offence but a spiritual rot that threatens the safety of the entire commune. Within the towering heights of Treeheart, the six brothers and their King ensure that these ancient ways are upheld with an iron will, ensuring that while the forest may be shrinking, the spirit of the wood remains as fierce and untamed as it was a thousand years ago. ![[Pasted image 20260122173950.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122173959.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122174018.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122174027.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122174036.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122174044.png]] ![[Pasted image 20260122174056.png]]