Elderna Woodlands
The Elderna Woodlands, sometimes just called Elderna or the Eternal Grove, is a vast forest that encompasses much of the north east of Elderan.
It is an ancient woodland, home to the Eternal Grove, a druidic order who reside within the Woodlands, and who have devoted themselves to its protection, from defending the forest from invaders and disease, to maintaining ecological balance within it. The druidic settlements of the Eternal Grove, Nénsûl, Virdishka, and Yárasta all reside within the Elderna Woodlands.
The Elderna Woodlands is naturally imbued with Magic, reminiscent of the Magic that permeates the Land of Faerie. It is believed that the Elderna Woodlands were one of the original homes of the Elves, when they first arrived on Exorsia from Faerie, during the Silver Age, having imbued the woodlands with their ancient Magic. The main source of this Magic being the Tree of Elderna, a gargantuan, magical oak tree, located deep within the woodlands, and at the centre of the druidic settlement of Yárasta. The tree is sacred to the people of the Eternal Grove, and was supposably planted by the Goddess Demeter herself, it's magical nature imbuing the surrounding environment with Primal Magic, keeping it vibrant and healthy.
History
The Elderna Woodlands shares it's name with the continent of Elderna, which contains the regions of Elderan, Osirin, and Terrasmus, though it is unknown which one is named after the other. Historical records suggest that when the first Elves arrived on Exorsia, during the Silver Age, the Elderna Woodlands encompassed almost the entire Elderna continent, covering the whole of Elderan, as well as the the northern regions of Osirin, and the entire west of Terrasmus. But as Mortal life began to colonise the land, as well as engaging in numerous destructive wars over the millennia, the forest began to dwindle. Many remnants of the old Elderna remain across the continent, with the Rhûnwood of Elderan, the Ironwood Forest of Osirin, and the Redwood of Terrasmus, having all formerly been part of the ancient Elderna Woodlands, separated by Mortal expansion, and disconnected from the ancient Magic of the Woodlands, now mere vestiges of the once mighty forest.
The Elderna Woodlands was at it's smallest during the Age of Arcanum, when the ecological destruction of the ancient empires of Arcanum, particularly the industrial expansion of the city of Kith’urûr, almost completely destroying the Woodlands, with it only springing back after the Fall of Arcanum. Despite the efforts of the Eternal Grove in restoring the Elderna Woodlands, much of it's natural Magic has dwindled following the Fall, with it likely impossible for the Woodlands to ever return to it's historic splendour.
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