Defenders of the Forest - Liber Fanatica

Chapter IX: The Hinterglades
Hi n t e r g l a d e 1:
Lo s t Ki n d r e d o f t h e Wy t h e l Tr e e
The Asrai known as the Lost Kindred are descended from Athel Loren Elves, but no longer remain loyal to their ancestral realm.
Instead, they live in scattered woodland communities established around the rare and sacred species of conifers known as Wythel
trees. The exact location of their Wythel groves remains a secret, even to most other Wood Elves.
The Lost Kindred isolate themselves from the civilizations of Man and maintain infrequent contact with their Elven kin. GMs
therefore have the flexibility to situate the Lost Kindreds’ Hinterglades in whichever Old World forest best suits their campaign.
Hi s t o r y a n d Origins
Long ago a species of tree called the Wythel pine grew in Athel
Loren’s northeastern glades. The Asrai who dwelt amongst the
Wythels grew fond of the tree since its large cones, needles and
bark fulfilled nearly all of their material needs. Those resourceful
Elves were known as the Kindred of the Wythel.
In -1000 IC Bretonni horse tribes migrated across the Grey
Mountains and settled in the lands surrounding the Loren.
The barbarian tribes felled many trees and waged devastating
battles against the greenskins. Elders claimed that these destructive
campaigns altered the delicate balance of green and purple
magic beneath the Wythel groves and lead to their extinction
within the forest.
At first, the Wythels merely sprouted fewer saplings and yielded
smaller harvests, but then Cyanathair’s arrival and defeat at the
Battle of Anguish in -830 IC wrought drastic changes upon the
forest ecosystem. As the surviving Wythel trees began to sicken
and die, the Kindred of the Wythel dispatched explorers and
Warhawk riders to scout faraway lands for healthy groves.
By -700 IC barely any Wythels remained in Athel Loren, but
messengers returned with tidings of a glade many leagues east of
the Grey Mountains. Upon receiving this news, several hundred
of the Wythel Kindred departed Athel Loren forever. Today,
Elves of Athel Loren refer to the emigrants’ scattered descendants
as the “Lost Kindred”.
Cu l t u r e a n d Cu s t o m s
Although the Wythel trees never returned to Athel Loren, the
winds of magic at certain locations within the forests of the
Empire, Tilea and Border Princes provide suitable habitat for
small groves to flourish. Of course the Lost Kindred who inhabit
these groves do not consider themselves to be lost at all. In fact,
they claim that Ariel appointed their people to the sacred task of
preserving the surviving Wythels. As a result, their culture and
religion is based upon a strange hybrid of tree worship, ancestor
spirit worship and reincarnation.
The cycle of life, according to the Lost Kindred, is a process of
renewal and evolution. They believe that the first Elves were
born from the oldest Wythels, each of which has a distinct
name, so infants are named after the specific tree from which
they were presumed to have been seeded. Spirits of deceased
kin are said to dwell eternally within the Wythels, also known
as “spirit trees”. In Lost Kindred lore, the birth seed germinates
from the spirit tree and is consumed by husband and wife to
enable procreation. By this means, each new generation inherits
the wisdom of its predecessors.
Clothing, tools and weapons of the Lost Kindred are primitive
by many standards. Loincloths are fashioned from leather,
Wythel bark or spider silk, and are adorned with beads, Wythel
needles and hawk feathers. Flint or bone is often substituted for
metal, and the largest Wythel cones are fashioned into maces.
Fr i e n d s a n d Fo e s
Wythel trees are regarded as more than just spirit vessels by the
Lost Kindred – each one also has its own unique name and
identity. In times of crisis, certain Wythels are awakened as
Treekin (pg. 76) to impart sage advice to the Lost Kindred and
fight when the grove is threatened. The Lost Kindred also maintain
strong friendships with descendants of the Warhawks who
once carried their forebears across the world.
The Lost Kindred oppose all who threaten the flow of green and
purple magic upon which their sacred trees depend. Spellsingers
soar high above the forest on Warhawks, surveying the magical
winds for signs of tampering. Their greatest threats are Beastmen
who taint the wind of Ghyran with herdstones, and Human
necromancers who turn Shyish to Dhar by defiling burial sites
and waystones. In the southern forests, Goblins and Giant
Spiders are sometimes known to compete with Elves for the
delicious Wythel nut.
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