Barony of Heartsgrove

The Barony of Heartsgrove was formerly part of the larger Barony of Sarcelfen. As part of an effort to heal the Withering Wood, Duke Maxen Montclair and Baroness Cassandra Lyon agreed to carve off the section of the Withering Wood known as the ‘Heartsgrove’ and hand it over to the Rangers of Mirwood for study and treatment. Located just north of the tower of Sarceline, the new barony is the largest continuous area of the Withering Wood itself. Like the rest of the Withering Wood, the area is filled with trees bearing thorns instead of leaves. Wild brambles grow in excess, the grass is sharp and serrated, and the animals of the forest display rabid aggression. The area hosts only two ruined towns, long since completely abandoned and collapsed. At the center of Heartsgrove is a single healthy tree - for which the area gets its name. This tree, the Heartsgrove, is a large weeping oak estimated to be around 500-750 years old. Great roots break the ground in a massive sprawl stretching nearly 50 meters from the single massive trunk. Twisted and bulged, the tree itself has grown thick and powerful over the many ages, though not much more so than the many others of Sarcelfen. The key and stark difference here is that the tree remains fully alive and in perfect health. Bearing broad green leaves every month of the year, the Heartsgrove has stood out as singularly immune to whatever cursed the rest of the Withered Wood - and indeed the seasons themselves. Despite its health, however, the tree hosts neither animal nor insect.There are no birds nesting in its canopy, and no critters dare collect its acorns. Whatever has affected this tree may not be entirely natural.

The old villages of Caister and Piscator’s Rest exsisted in ruin and memory. Once each a thriving goldsmithing town and ferry port respectively, the two villages were evacuated following the Sarceline Accident. For decades, they have remained abandoned, slowly collapsing and falling into rubble as the many storms, seasons, and years passed them by.

(WIP)