Long ago, the Fir Elves of the east left the forests and
founded a city to the north of what is now Caersech Forest.
Dubbed Pinesbreak, the city grew to be a bustling community.
For many generations the Fir lived there happily and
peacefully. Eventually, through lack of use, the Elves
became night blind and lost much of their knowledge of combat
skills. The arrows and bows that had been the Elves’
trademark had long before been used as firewood for a cold
winter night, and the knowledge of the crafting of such
objects was all but lost. Only the few remaining Elves
that followed their Forester heritage kept these skills,
though the rest thought them strange and wild folk.
The peace was shattered, however, when a tribe of nomadic
Sanene raiders moved into the area. Pushed out of their
original mountain homeland by the Frontacian Empire, the San
had become hungry and dangerous in their wandering.
When scouting groups discovered the city of Pinesbreak, a
raiding party immediately set out to investigate more closely.
The Fir were barely able to repulse this first attack by a
small group, and when news of the great tribe sweeping down
upon them came, they panicked. The great mass of the
Firian villagers took up what few possessions they had, and
fled to the forest where they thought themselves safe.
Soon the city of Pinesbreak, and the few residents who stayed
was decimated and burned to the ground. The San, after
celebrating for many days of their victory, then began to
hunt down the Fir who had fled.
Meanwhile, the Firian refugees wandered about lost in the
forest. They had lost all their natural abilities of
foraging in nature, and were on the verge of starving to
death. Luckily for the villagers, the Foresters, who
retreated to the forests long before the others who had not
left until the last minute, came upon them and helped to
gather enough food to keep them alive. While the Firian
refugees lamented their ill luck, the seven Foresters had
gathered by themselves to ponder what to do and where to go.
While they sat and discussed, a great silver-feathered owl
landed amongst them. One of the Foresters, the elf-maiden
Ildryn Meadowstar recognized the owl as a sending from
Elindale. The owl flew off, and Ildryn bade the
Foresters to follow it. They chased the owl for hours
until it landed at the base of a steelwood tree so massive,
not one of the Foresters had ever seen its like. The
owl launched itself into the air, and flew to the highest
branches of the tree. The Foresters climbed after it,
and after climbing for hours, reached the apex of the trunk,
which was wide and flat like a room with a roof of boughs.
The owl’s nest was in the branches directly above, and
in the center grew what looked like an altar, with one thin
branch arching over it. The branch was tipped with a
large steelwood fruit that glowed green in the dim light of
the inner tree. Ildryn plucked the fruit and ate of it,
and then shared it with the other Foresters. The green
light suffused them, and they gained a great knowledge from
the Goddess Elindale. She spoke to them in thoughts,
and taught them the ancient ways of the Forest. Using
their knowledge, the Seven spoke with the birds and animals,
and learned of the approaching Sanene army. They sped
back to the body of the Firian group and told them what they
knew of the San and what had happened. They bid them
come to the Great Tree at the center of the forest to find
shelter, and dumbfounded, the rest of the Fir followed.
When they reached the tree, the Fir climbed (tree climbing
is a skill which no Fir will ever forget) to the top branches.
The Seven taught them how to build ledges onto the side of
the tree, and how to forage for fruit among the boughs of the
trees all around. The days passed, and the Fir
relearned how to live with the forest, how to hunt, and how
to move through the limbs like the forest creatures did.
The ledges around the Great Tree merged to become one, and
soon spread to other large trees around. Using animal
helpers as scouts, the Seven tracked the San to the edge of
the forest. With the help of Elindale, the Fir had
become knowledgeable in their lost arts, and when the San
entered the forest, they were slaughtered mercilessly from
above with poisoned arrows. No San who entered ever
left alive. The remaining Sanene raiders fled east to
the sea, and forever declared that ghosts in the forest had
killed both the Fir, and the San raiding party.
With the help of the Seven Foresters, the Fir rebuilt
their community in the treetops. A rebuilt guild of
Foresters began patrolling the borders of the forest so that
no enemy could ever assail the Fir again unbeknownst.
The city was renamed Treehaven and was consecrated to
Elindale, in honor of the help She gave against the San.
The Seven Foresters became the first council of Elders of the
city. Ildryn became High Priestess of Elindale, and
ever since, the High Priestess of Elindale has served on the
council with six other Elders of the town. The Fir
vowed never again to forget their skills in the forest, and
soon the Forester’s guild was the largest in the city.
As time wore on, other Fir, and other races found
Treehaven and were welcomed. Other temples to other
gods were allowed, though Elindale’s was always to be
the largest and most worshipped of them all. Only Taath
and Set were banned from practicing in Treehaven. Set,
because thieves were not welcome in Treehaven, and Taath
because of the connection between Him and the San raiders.
The Great Tree was named the Mother Tree after Elindale the
Mother of All. The other large trees around soon became
colonized and were named for different pieces of Firian myth,
such as the Tree of Spirits and the Tree of Life.
The Council of Elders
The Council of Elders has forever since been the governing
body of Treehaven.The High Priestess is always one, though
the other six are no longer only Foresters. Members are
appointed whenever an Elder steps down or dies, usually from
the most knowledgeable of the citizens. The Council had
traditionally been composed of Fir Elves, but recently an
Anthian was named High Priestess of Elindale, and an aged
Drag-al who had been head of the Merchants was appointed to a
seat.
The Fruit of the Mother Tree
Once in a great while, the fruit of the Mother Tree
matures, almost always during a time of need. The Council of
Elders eats from the fruit, and gains knowledge from Elindale
of what to do. The most recent was almost a century ago, when
a foul disease began to decimate the trees of the forest.
The fruit allowed the Elders to eradicate the disease, and
most notably, to use the dead wood to create golems that
could be inhabited by the fallen trees’ spirits.
In gratitude, the spirits promised to protect the city of
Treehaven in golem form for a thousand years.
ITIES AND 
URROUNDING 
REAS
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