Treants

The Treants
“Rising from the fertile grounds there came the rumbling of a creaking noise that echoed within my very soul. I turned around, and quickly invoked a prayer to Carmelya, and gazing about the forest eagerly. Within moments, I saw the gentle rocking of a distant creature dozens of feet high into the air; it had to have been the tallest treant that I had ever seen. Covered in a green moss, the harsh brown bark seemed almost gentle with human-like features.” - Lady Keia Su'el, "Brightmoon Forest Diaries".

From the book, “Legends of the Woods”, by Minyavása Niltur.

“You won’t believe what I have seen in the forest today. I saw a tree walking! The whole 20 feet and all! No, I was sober. You must believe me!” - A claim by a drunken halfling in a tavern in Medonia.


General

By elvish folklore passed down, Treants are guardians of the forest and are gentle creatures, but they can be provoked into violence by the senseless devastation of forests. There are elvish records of a Treant taking on a group of twenty humans that had been indiscriminately cutting down trees. The humans were easily devastated by the Treant.


History


General

Treants were created when the world was young and covered by many ancient forests. Carmelya saw that many in the ranks of the gods had created races to advance their own causes and for many patterns, Carmelya did not see the need to do the same. But not all races had the same reverence for the forests as the elves, and Carmelya had to do as the other gods had done, create a being to serve her causes, which was to protect her forests and creations. Dryads were created first, but did not quite fulfill Carmelya’s requirements for a protector of the forest and nature. Not quite satisfied with the dryad as protectors of the forest, Carmelya began to create another race. This time, Carmelya took trees from the sacred forest of Aetheria, “Carantathra”, and infused them with sentient awareness. Hence the first Treants lifted their roots out of ground and began their duty of protecting the forests of Telath. She placed hundreds of these beings in forests of every kind on Telath, some already sentient, some dormant until their chosen time of "awakening," when they would animate for the first time.

History of Treants in the Aelyria Empire

In the patterns before humans had built their cities and the elves freely roamed all over Telath, Treants were happy to keep to the forests and interact with other sentient beings as long as others respected the forest. However, the emergence of human cities and the wild ambitions (to the Treants that was) of the Aelyrian Empire, made things different for the Treants in the lands of Aelyria. At first, Treants resisted the invasion by the humans by killing anyone who would chop down trees. As time went by, the Treants saw that this effort was not having the effect that the Treants wanted on the humans. The humans just kept on chopping down the trees. There were just too many humans and so little Treants. The Circle of Elders, the ruling council of the Treants, recognized this and knew that if the Treants were going to survive, something must be done. So a gathering of Treants was called to discuss this. At first, many hotheaded Treants advocated war, but many knew that a confrontation was not the solution, therefore disagreed with the hotheaded ones, and advocated for peace and gradual withdrawal into the hearts of the forests. At one stage of the discussion, the situation was looking to boil over and a civil war among Treants was going to happen. Carmelya stepped in at this point and said the she knew of the difficult decision facing the Treants. Not wanting to see the war and bloodshed, Carmelya instructed the Treants to retreat into the hearts of forest.

With the instruction of Carmelya and getting the consensus of the general Treant population agreeing on the idea to retreat, the general population of Treants retreated deep into the heart of forests and other parts of nature where they would not be disturbed. Much forest was yielded to the humans. This pained the Treants and until this brightening, many Treants still mourn the lost of trees cut down in the early brightenings of human civilization. So it is that if one wants to see a Treant, one will have to travel deep into the forest. Of course, there is the chance that a Treant may venture out of the heart of the forest and chance upon civilization. But the chance of meeting a Treant outside of forests is very slim, comparable to one being visited by the gods, for Treants, by rule, stay in the forests they protect and will not venture out of the forests unless there is a good reason to do so.

A Legend

A legend has it that in the first brightenings when Carmelya first created the Treant race, there were evil beings occuping the forests of Aelyria that no ordinary Treant could handle and many Treants died trying to repel the evil. This continued for many patterns. The number of Treants who died trying to repel the evil reached thousands in those patterns. The Treants were in danger of being massacred and driven out of their forests.

So it was that Treants started to pray to Carmelya to give them the power to repel the evil in the forest of Aelyria. Carmelya responded to the prayers and appeared before deserving Treants. These Treants that Carmelya appeared before were judged to be the more pious, strong, of good character and thus were seen as a good choice to face the evil. Appearing before them, Carmelya gave them a choice, either to destroy the whole section of the forest where the evil beings appeared or Carmelya would grant the selected Treants with the power to destroy the evil. At first glance, the second choice that Carmelya offered seemed to be better. However, the second choice came with terrible sacrifices for the Treants. The Treants granted the power would need to sacrifice most of the Treants’ life force and would die after all their life force was depleted.

At first, many Treants hesitated at what to choose. But the love for the forest was strong and the selected Treants chose the second choice. A terrible battle was fought and many Treants, even with the power that Carmelya granted, died. At last, only a few Treants were left and they managed to kill the last of the evil beings. The death of that many Treants grieved Carmelya and so in an effort to save the last of the surviving Treants, she cast a sleeping spell on the Treants to preserve them. The Treants thus fell into a deep slumber and were saved. However, even when in a deep slumber, the Treants still had some consciousness and tried to interact with their immediate surroundings. Some had even managed to extend the reach of their interactions beyond their immediate surroundings. It is rumored that the Pondertree is one such Treant.

Physical Appearance

There are a lot of breeds of Treant due to fact that many had retreated to parts of the world where they would not be disturbed. Many had adapted to the climate and gave rise to many appearances.

One common type is Treants that have adapted to the colder climate and the temperate climate. The first thing that one will notice about this kind of Treant is that a Treant of this breed is very tall. Treant of this breed can be of a height of 10 feet to 18 feet, there was even reports of a Treant having a height of 25 feet. The long limbs of the Treant are another feature that will capture attention. The arms of Treants are long and thin with five thin extensions that served as fingers. The legs of Treants are longer and thicker than that of the arms with larger thicker stumps as feet. The body is also long but is much thicker than both arms and legs, and can be compared to that of a trunk of a tree. Having origins from trees, the Treants have green-colored hair that is very lush. The hair looked like leaves of temperate trees. This is in addition to a green leaf-like growing that has taken roots on their skin. Moss and other tiny vegetation can also take root on a Treant’s body. In fact, so lush was such growth, that people have mistaken the growth for leaves of a tree.

The features of Treants of this breed are said to be wooden, literally. Like most sentient beings, they have two eyes, one nose, a mouth and two holes at the side that served as ears. The skin of Treants of this breed is like the bark of trees and so is very resistant to physical blows. And further more, the older a Treant is, the tougher the skin of a Treant will be. And long can the Treant live, it is said that a Treant can live up to ten thousand patterns! Like most other forms of plant life on Telath, a Treant is asexual, having both male and female reproductive parts.

Treants are found anywhere where there is plenty of plant life and nature in Telath. The above described Treants have been sighted near to the Circle of Stones, the Forest of Light, the Maevewood and in the Dolwoods. Others of different appearances from the above described have been also sighted in the Aelyrian Empire. Some had even been seen in the great underwater kelp forest, for underwater forests are forests too and part of Carmelya’s creation. There are also reports of Treants from other places in Telath.

Society


Government

All Treant societies have about the same basic society structure. From elvish reports, a circle of seven elders, called the Circle of Elders, loosely governs the Treants. Each of these elders are at least of a thousand patterns. The Circle of Elders makes all major decisions. But the rule of the circle of elders is not absolute, any Treant who has seen at least one hundred patterns have the authority to question any decision made by the Circle. In fact, the Treant society is more of a society whereby every Treant have a certain level of independence and influence. Every decision made by the circle is made with the consultation of the majority of the Treant society. So it is not surprising that decisions sometimes take tens of patterns before they are finalized.

Learning and Language

Treants do not have a spoken language. All Treants have the ability to communicate to each other telepathically. It was only after interacting with elves, that the Treants learned how to speak elvish. Treants learned to speak elvish from the elves and sometimes talked to each other in elvish. So it was not surprising that elvish became the most common spoken language among Treants and was used to name many rituals and customs in elvish to others. But elvish was not the only language that Treants could speak. In a Treant’s long life, it is not surprising for a Treant to speak other languages. These languages are often learned through interaction with rare traveling bards and adventurers that chanced upon the Treants, as well as Druids and Rangers familiar with the Treants. Due to this sort of interaction and Treant's enjoyment in learning, Treant scholars are not uncommon.

Along with the learning of elvish language the Treants also learned much of elvish culture and technology. Though, Treants do not feel the need to produce anything, especially if it means cutting down trees. In addition, Treants having skin of bark and having an advanced feel for magic do not have the need for any technology. But nevertheless, elvish culture and technology fascinated them. Treants have an urge to learn and research. Many had worked with elves on works of arts and magic. It was rumored that Treants had even taken part in the making of mithril; a closely guarded secret by elves. With regards to Arcana, Treants do not like any Arcana spheres that involve mass destruction or violence, and instead concentrate more on the benevolent arts like Druidism and Thaumaturgy.

Although Treants enjoy learning, there is no formal study institution in Treant society. However, it is not uncommon to find a group of young Treants being attached in the “apprentice” sense to a learned older Treant.

Food and Festival

Treants take substance unlike other sentient beings as Treants are of plant origin. Treants can live by just getting sunshine and water alone. But for a Treant to live healthily, a Treant must take more sustaining substance. The beginning of Treant food culture was started this way, food was considered as a source of nourishment and nothing more. Treant’s most principle food is called Vasa, which mean food in elvish. Vasa are made from a kind of mould found in many environments and when gathered, the mould will be fermented and a liquid will be produced. Sometimes, other ingredients unknown will be added to add more nourishment value to the vasa formed. In addition, Treants are found to have a liking for wine. Treants will ferment any fruits and seeds available to make wine. However, Treants do not like the flavor of ale and such. The reason is not known. Maybe it is that ale had a bitter taste.

There is one main festival celebrated by the Treants called Yesta Coia, which mean “The Beginning of Life” in elvish. Yesta Coia is the celebration of life and the brightening that Carmelya supposedly created the Treant race. It usually begins at the first sign of life. Depending on different parts of Telath, a different time is given. For example, for places with four seasons, it can begin at the brightening after the thawing of the winter’s snow or for deserts, the brightening after the first sign of rain. Even if the place has no change of season, Yesta Coia can begin on the first brightening of the era. Yesta Coia usually takes about a cycle to celebrate. During the festival, songs, short plays, praying and drinking will be held. In addition to this, there will be a massive celebration every three patterns. This is not to say that the Treants do not have any other festivals, other festivals in varying degrees of importance are celebrated. But the most important is the Yesta Coia.

Companionship & Reproduction

Treants can form a bond with a second Treant who they have a friendly/trusting connection with. This bond is done through a friendly ritual where the two Treants agree to the bonding and produce forth a small amount of sap containing a very small portion of their life force. They then exchange these bits of sap, forever linking each to the other. The sap-bonding is more ritualistic than anything else, although a few legends speak of one Treant always knowing where the other is, and feeling its pain or happiness. This is not confirmed. The two Treants who sap-bond become what is known as Sap-Mates. Treants can take from a few eras to as long as a few patterns; to finally find their Sap-Mate and a Treant usually has only one in its long life. It is a serious decision where trust is everything, for the Sap-Mates must be able to trust each other with their lives.

A pair of Sap-Mates usually stay close to each other, however, it is not uncommon to find one of the pair to leave the other to walk other forests for a period of time. The period can be as short as a few cycles to as long as tens of patterns! When one of the pair leaves the other to walk other forests, the trust between the two will be tested, especially if the period is long. Some Treants leave marks on each other to mark this separation. Few have betrayed the trust, but the few that did so lived the rest of their life empty of any companionship and branded as a “Betrayer of the Sap”, a name that is akin to a Jorel worshipper among the Treants.

Because Treants contain both male and female sexual reproductive parts, mating is not a necessary trait for these beings. Instead, Treants infuse a "spirit" as a single seed, plant the seed, and nurture the sapling for much of its life. The sapling needs to grow to about size of a full-grown tree before it is "awakened" by its "parent" Treant. When the sapling has grown to its full size, the "parent" Treant telepathically links to the sapling, "animating" a dormant sentient conscience. The sapling soon animates, taking on the characteristics of a Treant and taking part in Treant society.

A Treant can only animate a special seed that come from within themselves. This seed is meant for animation and sentient thought. For almost ten patterns, a Treant must nurture the seed itself, forming a telepathic link with it, in order to create a "spirit" within. The "spirit" is much like an embryo of a humanoid species. If a Treant dies before it can animate its seed, the only way the seed can "animate" is by the dead Treant's Sap-Mate. If the Sap-Mate is also deceased, the seed's spirit will die and the tree will die with it, a sign of deep pain and anguish.

Life and Death

The whole Treant community celebrates the coming of life. As the Treant race is a race that is few in numbers, they hold every awakening as a special event. When a Treant sapling is awakened, a celebration of some sort will be held. Usually the elders of the Treant community will tell the story of how the Treant race was created and an elaborate dance will accompany the story. Then, a wine that will be blessed by a Treant elder, and this wine will then be shared around, and everybody, especially the newly awaken Treant, is supposed to drink it. There are rumors that the wine has arcane properties.

Then, a brightening is selected to hold the ceremony to give the Treant a name. The ceremony is quite secretive as a Treant’s name is supposed to give who ever has it access to a Treant. So a Treant has another name that all others can call him by. After the ceremony, the Treant is officially a member of the Treant community. The new member of the Treant Community has a duty to the community, and vice versa, the Treant community has a duty to the newly awaken Treant.

The death of a Treant is another matter. When a Treant dies, the first thing that members of a Treant community are to do is to recover the corpse of a Treant. As a Treant corpse is of many uses to a mage, the corpse of a Treant will be recovered at all cost as members of a Treant community do not wished to see a fellow Treant’s body being mutilated for parts useful to the mage. After the corpse is recovered, a ceremony will be hold to mourn the deceased Treant. The ceremony is silent, as Treant believed that no words could express their grief of losing a fellow Treant and instead let their mind speak directly for them by sending their telepathic thoughts to others.

In ages before, a Treant was usually buried in the ground, empty of any enchantment and then left to rot, returning nourishment back to Nature. However, unscrupulous beings will soon again try all means to get a Treant corpse. And so it is that strong arcane spells against theft of the Treant corpse had to be laid across the corpse as the corpse lay in the ground, returning nourishment back to Nature.

Housing

Treants, being very resistant to the effects of rain and such effects of the weather do not see the need to build houses and the like. And so Treants tried to make do with what they have and lived in the wilderness. It is noted however, that Treants sometimes locate groves or caves for meeting places and to weather out bad storms or extremely cold winters. There are also places that are sacred or are of practical use to the Treants. The Grove of the Circle of Elders is one such place.

The Grove of the Circle of Elders is a secret grove, hidden deep in the forests of Telath. Once exists on each continent, and two on larger continents. The Elders of these continents send telepathic messages to each other over great distances to alert each other of developments and what not.

Religion and Interaction

The religion of Treants is concentrated around the worshipping of Carmelya. This is not surprising as Carmelya created them. However, the Treants also respect other gods, as there are Treants shrines dedicated to other gods.

Treants are on good terms with races that respect nature. A lot of what was known about Treants came from visits by the elves, one of the races that Treants are on good terms with. However, Treants are suspicious of humans for a simple fact that humans cut down trees in order to built their cities. So, Treants being of peaceful nature tried to keep away from them. Orcs and other dark races on the other hand is another story, Treants will not hesitant to kill them if any are found by Treants.

Special Abilities

General

All Treants have the ability to telepathically communicate with each other. In addition, Treants being of plant origin can communicate with trees too, though the ability to speak with trees needs to be cultivated as is the usage of their telepathy over range of over three feet (about one metre). In fact, there is a Treant spell that makes use of this talent to speak with trees. A Treant can telepathically communicate with trees and ask all the trees to give off a sleeping spell. Whoever is hit by this spell will fall into a deep sleep and may never wake up.

Combat

Treants society being of peaceful nature does not see the need for a military force. However, Treants can form up into a group quite easily. A Treant can telepathically call Treants within a few hundred miles distance radius. And any Treants hearing a call for help will come; the long limbs will make short work of the few hundred miles.

Treants are strong creatures and there are stories of how a blow from a Treant can kill an orc instantly. Hence, Treants have no need for weapons. The long limbs give Treants a long reach and the tough skin of Treants gives them protection against any normal weapons. A Treant is a dangerous opponent. They know of their purpose on Telath, and protecting the forest will be done at all costs.

Arcana

Treants also have great inclination to arcane. Druidism and Thaumaturgy are the chosen Treant disciplines. Druidism is seen as a tool for the shepherding of the forests and comes quite naturally to Treants. In fact, there is even a spell in Druidism for the summoning of a Treant! Only a Master or above level mage of the Druidism discipline can summon a Treant. An Archdruidess was said to have struck an agreement with the Treants for this purpose. Thaumaturgy is practiced by less Treants, and their fellow Treants revere those that do as healers and wise beings.

Other spheres are not usually practiced by the Treants due to their nature. Elementalism and Sorcery are frowned upon by the Treants due to their violent and destructive nature. For example, Elementalism has many fire-based spells, which Treants dislike tremendously. Necromancy is despised by the Treants as it is association with Jorel and the darker gods and goddess. While for Mysticism, the Treants try disassociate themselves from it. This is because Mysticism is a sphere that concentrates on telepathic powers, and Treants are wary of the seemingly violent and aggressive nature of the telepathic usage in Mysticism.

Weakness

However, Treants are not invincible. Treants have a fear of fire as they are of plant origin but have great control over this fear. So it was no wonder that many had tried to use fire to kill a Treant. However, anyone who tried to kill a Treant by that way should be warned, a Treant takes very long to die from a fire as their bark is thick and so will be able to kill anyone who tried using fire to kill a Treant. Treants are also more susceptible against telepathic attacks as they are of telepathic nature. But again be warn that, one must be very sure of what one is doing or else risk a counter attack for most Treants are trained to repel against telepathic attacks even though Treants as a rule do not practice Mysticism.

Another weakness of Treants is that they are not fast creatures. By nature, Treants tend to take things slowly. Adding to that is their size. It takes lots of effort for a being that is more than ten feet tall to move fast as compared to an elf. Comparing with an elf or human, a Treant has a reaction that is only half that of an elf or human. In fact, Treants cannot run, they can only take large strides and even that takes much effort as it is for a Treant to stop from a Treant’s great stride.

Treants can also be made to do an evil mage’s doings, although the mage in question needs to be of Archmage level and that the Treant is dead. The Archmage needs to find a Treant corpse and then begins the long process of binding the dead Treant’s soul to his body. A word of caution for any mage that wants to try this binding of a Treant’s soul to a dead body, this binding of soul is very hard, even for an Archmage as the soul of a Treant will attack any mage that tries to bind the Treant’s soul back to the Treant’s dead body.

This binding of the soul to the body will make the Treant crazy as the Treant is disorientated after being resurrected from death, though there are the few rare cases that the Treant in question retains awareness. For such a Treant, it is a cruel situation that the Treant, who was a protector of lives, is now a destroyer of lives and is aware of every heinous deed that the Treant had done. The escape into madness will be a blessing in such a case.