Notable Trees of The Forest of Eradûn

Trees, to the Vargr are very important things. Some species are sacred for the powers they possess to shape land around them or the seemingly magical properties they have (any sufficiently hard to understand phenomena can be attributed to magic just as easily as an equally unintelligible technology). All trees in Eradûn are larger than average, they grow taller and wider and also seem deeply infused with the natural magic of the land to simply grow larger, stronger, and stranger. For example, these trees naturally create holloways that form the most well used roads and canals through the forest, and have a quite visibly stronger impact on the environment than even the strongest animal trails; the only thing to dwarf some of these are some titan trails. Vargr often make their villages on, around, or beneath trees and always use them as scouting towers and important meeting spaces. The trees of the Eradûn are also all uniquely skilled at nutrient capture, which in many events have helped them conquer and expand through foreign soils and crush fields and farmland in their path. Grafting magic, to create hybrids of some trees, have produced new and incredible woods, fruits, and frameworks for golems as well. The Vargr know the trees are the foundations of their ecosystem and they owe everything to these incredible plants, so here are some of the most notable species among the many species of trees in Eradûn.

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Spider-Step Firs: These trees on the surface seem indistinguishable from normal fir trees of the area but have one very distinct difference: they do not produce pine cones. At least not ones above ground. The Spider-Step Fir gets its name from the incredibly long branching roots it possesses. Often these roots can grow as long as the tree is tall - and for a tree that grows 200 feet tall on average this is quite a feat. Instead of producing seed-bearing cones on its branches, this species grows modified “cones” on the ends of its roots. Spider steps spread their roots out far and wide and when they brush against other tree roots these branches wrap around one another and their cones grow beside each other and in some cases fuse while still on the root. These trees create massive spider web-like matrices of roots that can cover the entire forest and then some, making their forests some of the most erosion-resistant forests in the world. In addition to this, having the seeds form underground, they are kept safe from snow, wind, fire, and hungry animals which are not uncommon in the area. It may have been a genetic accident that first produced these trees, but they have become a highly successful variant that has thrived in the far northern reaches of the realm. Whether it be storm, fire, or mass-logging event, the Spider-Steps almost always remain unfazed and new saplings will sprout when the weather warms, with new roots that slither and squeeze through even the smallest cracks and make any attempts at farming the land a nightmare for would-be settlers.

Red Arbors: The forest of Eradûn is a very dangerous place where both the plants, animals, and people can and will eat you. Many species of plants exist that eat meat and some of the trees in Eradûn are no different. A Red Arbor is one such example. While excreting the scent of rotting meat from its snow-white flowers, the tree attracts insects and carnivorous animals to investigate the scent and look for an easy snack. It’s fruit, which is toxic, is a grayish brown color and covered in a soft peach fur that makes them look like rodents. When a fruit is pulled or a flower pressed, the flexible fibrous plant “muscles” of the tree’s branches coil around quickly and sway violently to constrict or smack the animals it attracts. Many animals escape, and even strong winds can trigger it, but those that don’t suffer a painful fate. The needles that make up this tree’s leaves contain a deadly toxin that is absorbed into the skin and causes paralysis, seizure, and soon death when their toxin is absorbed through the skin. Dead animals then rot into the soil and are “eaten” by the tree through its roots, which are quite shallow and can often grasp onto animals as well. Seelie often collect these needles for their weapons, though the toxin becomes ineffective after it’s been removed from the tree and allowed to try out.

Whomping Willows: (I had to) This massive tree can grow up to sixty feet tall and is commonly found in the northwestern side of Eradûn. The willows are easily identified by their thick club-like branches that have many long thin spindly branches hanging off them from which countless vines grow. The Whomping Willow has long roots that spread out for roughly twenty feet in diameter around it and are highly fractalized to create a veritable minefield of small roots poking up out of the ground, which are able to blindly trip and grasp things that touch them. When an animal tries to eat their leaves or vines, the tree reacts by swinging it’s massive branches down toward the creature to smash it. Only the trunk and upper ends of the tree have bark, the rest are bare to give the tree’s “muscular” flexible fibrous branches more mobility. If hit, or simply ensnared, the roots often wrap around whatever limbs they can reach and hold the creature down until it dies, and often bury their roots into the animal to start “drinking it” before it's even dead. If something large is ensnared and trying to escape, the tree “feels” many of its roots being strained or pulled and will swat down at where the large creature is until it feels no more strain. If ensnared by a willow, it is always best to move as slowly and carefully as possible.

Cloud Oaks: This species of oak, despite its rather whimsical name, is one of the most notorious trees in the forest. While oaks are well known pollen producers, these trees produce pollen in a significantly higher volume, to the point that during a “bursting” [when the trees spew out pollen across their body simultaneously] they create massive yellow clouds, hence the name. This is normally the only nuisance the tree produces, except when one of its kind is harmed. When the trunk is cut, or the tree is otherwise under threat of being fallen it “bursts” a powerful pollen plume that is also laced with poison. The poison causes rashes and blistering across the skin on contact and when inhaled, causes even more severe rashes and blistering down the airways and in the lungs. This act is particularly evolutionarily beneficial because it lets the tree spread its genes one last time before death, wards off those that are trying to kill it, and acts as a chemical “alarm” for other cloud oaks that creates a chain reaction of bursts among all the trees within range. This defense mechanism mostly protects the trees from Graran Stags, a species of large antlered giant deer that can scratch against trees to the point of knocking them over and often accidentally knocks down trees when trying to scent-mark territory. It also happens to be very good against loggers as well.

Iron Elms: In the mountainous woods that wall one side of the Eradûn, gargantuan trees rise high above the canopy, digging their sharp metallic roots deep into the hard soil. Iron Elms are a species of tree that absorbs large amounts of iron through their roots and into their bodies. This iron enriches their sap and both increases respiratory function and gives their sap a bloody color and scent. In addition to this, the iron also helps make their root stronger by creating a sort of iron-carbon not-really-biosteel-but-kind-of-is alloy that helps them dig deeper into the rock itself. Iron elms also store excess iron in their heartwood, which makes their trunks particularly stiff, but their roots generally help keep them in place even in strong winds. They can grow exceptionally tall, even up to 200 meters, though these aren’t even the tallest trees in Eradûn. They are however, the Vargr’s best and most ecologically friendly source of iron. Vargr often cut into the tree’s heartwood, extract long shafts of iron wood, and then have biomancers heal the tree to its original state. Iron elm seeds are the most commonly planted seeds in the deep woods of the north.

Titan Trees: Part of my inspiration for this whole claim was the magnificent Redwood Tree so how could I not include it here, but bigger? Titan Trees, also known colloquially as Dûnvra Alfa, The Forest’s Alpha Tree. They are also known as The Nobles of the Forest, the Titan Trees are the most ancient trees in the woods and are most found in the deepest depths of the woods and spread throughout Eradûn. These trees can grow up to 500 feet tall, their roots can be spread out over 200 feet, though, while they are relatively shallow for a tree their size, only going about ten feet deep, they have created a thickly woven lattice of roots throughout the entire forest that is believed to connect every tree and plant in the forest. All together these trees have a sort of “shared neural network” allowing them to quickly send signals to other trees of signs of danger, change for the seasons in perfect sync, and even move nitrogen and other vital nutrients higher or lower in the soil when needed. Not only that, these trees are also the homes to countless creatures and entire Vargr villages have been known to be built - or grown - onto and into the trees themselves. Dragons, Rocs, and hippogrifs make their nests in some of these trees, traveling titans are watched from their boughs, and mages can use their root network to send messages across the forest to other mages incredibly quickly. In densely populated areas these trees can even shape the regional water supply by sucking up or diverting streams with their roots and forming clouds in their tall canopies. The seeds of Titan Trees are one of the most sacred things to the Vargr.

Blood Trees: This species of tree has a distinctly red, iron rich sap that looks like blood. This sap, after a unique processing method, makes a great addition to vargr cuisine, especially in the winter because of its iron rich properties to supplement broccoli, brussel sprouts, and other vegetables they can’t get in the cold months. In very concentrated processing methods, this sap can even be a decent iron source. The methods for extracting useful iron for forging requires a long, drawn out process that the vargr have perfected over many centuries. It takes roughly four barrels of sap to produce one bar of iron in the middle of summer, when the trees are most concentrated, though the iron withdrawal byproduct can still be made into safe, delicious, iron-rich blood syrup. In fact, because of the iron concentration, it is safer to use the sap for iron extraction first before processing it into syrup. The iron extraction process was most likely a byproduct of attempts to make the syrup safe to eat. Blood Trees also make excellent fertilizer additives.

The Forest’s Revenge: This is the most common tree species along the Eradûn border. It is most actively planted by vargr as they seek to expand the forest and causes the most trouble to deforesters while also helping the forest grow even stronger. This species of tree only releases its seeds after fires, though this can be artificially induced by a vargr with a torch too. What makes this tree so dangerous is the speed in which it seeds sprout, how many seeds are spread, and how well it’s ash feeds the soil. Under normal conditions Revenge trees spend their lives acting like normal trees but also storing extra nutrients. The fact that they do not spend energy producing seeds yearly - instead they create, fertilize, and then halt their seeds development until the right temperature conditions are met. When burned, these trees release their seeds, as well as spread their ash and then decay into the soil. Being so nutrient packed - because they used less energy in their lives than most similar trees, the Revenge turn the charred woodlands into rich and fertile soil that it’s seeds and all other foliage very quickly regrow in. It has almost magical powers that seem to make plants even grow faster than normal. These may be merely chemicals in the soil though. Foliage density usually returns to pre-burn levels within a year while the seeds go through a rapid growth spurt in their first couple years and are able to reproduce within a year. After this however, the forest tends to grow even more than usual, plants grow and spread faster, wild animals flock to the fresh new foliage, and already dangerous plant life tends to behave… more intensely. Poisons are stronger, toxic spore clouds spread wider, roots grow further and thicker, and many plants much more aggressively break apart man-made structures. The tree itself does not do harm, but it seems to incite a greater ferocity into the forest around it

ForgeFire Firs: Forge Fire Firs are another species of tree that spreads its seeds after fires, though it’s most notable properties are more obvious. These trees have a unique bioluminescent algae growing in the cracks and wells in its bark. This algae glows reddish-orange and makes the tree look like it has a smoldering fire within, which it often does. These trees produce some naturally fire-retardant chemicals on the outside of their trunks in an attempt to help the tree survive fires while its seeds are spread. It’s inner wood however, has, as an odd consequence, does not have the same fire retardant properties but does burn for much longer than normal wood. When caught on fire the outer layers of this tree may survive the flames but their inner layers may be reduced to charcoal within the living tree. Vargr plant this tree in abundance and use it’s wood as an easier source of charcoal, longer lasting firewood, and, as the name suggests, longer lasting wood for forges. Burning wood is a necessity for even the hardy Vargr to stay warm and of course cook their food and make metal tools, but the wood of these trees allows them to use less and spend less time gathering wood.

Boil-Wood Trees: The last of the very notable species of trees that do very interesting things with fire, the Boil-Wood Trees are a species of exploding tree. These trees have a special mutation that, while in most species, would be bred out, for these they help spread seeds in a much wider area so it has been successful enough to define this species of tree. As the tree grows, pockets form within it where exhaled oxygen often gets trapped instead of being released. These pockets often become quite pressurized and may crack the inner wood and create splits that make more room for the bubble to grow. The tree however rarely lets these bubbles burst easily. They have a somewhat elastic and flexible rubbery outer layer beneath their bark that can let the bubble stretch and grow. These trees often look like they have massive cankers on them and may be gnarled and twisted by their bubbles. When the trees catch on fire, the wood burns, fire hits a pressurized oxygen bubble, and a massive chain of explosions occurs that sends their very hard seeds and splinters of wood far and wide. They may also explode if the boils are cut into suddenly, like from an axe. They are endemic across Eradûn and often planted at the border.

The Glimmering Elders: Deep in the oldest groves in the darkest depths of the Eradûn, some ancient trees hold a beautiful, and sacred secret. The Glimmering Elders are ancient gigantic trees, roughly 200 meters tall on average, that have opalized . Some have called down or split open and their glittering trunks lay exposed in the dim light of bioluminescent fungi. Some have had their bark and outer layers of wood stripped away from storms, leaving only opaline towers behind. The Vargr believe these towers are the crystallized souls of the trees, manifestations of the soul of the forest itself.

The Great Water Walkers: What would an expansive, ever-growing forest be without mangroves to cross rivers and spread the great forest out into the salty ocean? The Water-Walkers are mangrove trees that seem to be very well acclimated to cold water. They have a particularly thick, strong, well insulating wood with sharp roots that can burrow down into even the rocky coasts of the Eradûn. They also exist in almost all the rivers of Eradûn and seem to be uniquely adapted to encourage the forest’s spread. Their branches split more than most and each are dense with leaves, which creates a thick mat on and over water that is very easy for wildlife to cross. Some subspecies of mangroves that have more of their body above water look quite a lot like weeping willows, but their flowers are shaped in such a way as to catch as much pollen as they can. These cup-shaped flowers each contain very fuzzy berries that become thick with both their own and other trees pollen mainly to attract more bees to them, but also tend to break off when they become too heavy and act as a boat to carry pollen far downstream to spread pollen and seeds to new places. One of the more interesting features of these unique mangroves is also their length. The trees that grow in rivers often spread as wide as they are tall and create connected bridges across rivers while off the coasts, they do not seem very bothered by deeper depths. As long as these trees’s leaves are at least usually above water, they seem to push down and let gravity and their own breaking of the rocks and shore floor move them deeper as they grow taller. This is how they’ve earned the moniker “water walker”. Some mangrove trees have been measured to about 200 or so feet long.

Tile Trees: Too many giant fruit and nut bearing species of trees exist in Eradûn to be included in this list, but for one example here is a legume producing tree, known as the Tile Tree. It has earned this name from the massive brownish green seed pods it produces. About one to two feet wide and at most twenty feet long, these trees produce massive pods that blanket the underside of their branches and give them the appearance of layered tiles. In fact, these seed pods are often harvested, dried, and used as roofing material among other things for tree-dwelling Vargr tribes. The legumes themselves are edible and quite nutritious and delicious.

Eradûnian Glue Trees: Another species of tree that gives nightmares to those who try to cut down trees, this tree produces an excessive amount of inedible thick viscous sap. In wet periods this tree stores and secrets thick sap that coats the outer bark and traps in moisture during later dry periods. Even when there isn’t enough outer sap secretions to be noticeable, it is still very thick inside and makes it very difficult to cut down. When cut, axes may get stuck, the tree tends to squirt more liquidized sap that flows through it as well, which, like the sap in general, tends to harden when exposed to air. This sap is like tar, sticks to everything, soaks into clothing, is incredibly gooey, and worst of all, it hardens into an incredibly strong material (which the Vargr harvest for some glues and also cement). Unfortunately many animals still climb these trees or try to lick their sap, but then, like living tar pits, they get trapped and die. Fungi love these trees and though they are so dangerous for animals to touch, plants and fungi grow abundantly around them.

Lietta’s Font: What is a series about trees without some of the most magical trees in Eradûn? There are countless species of plants and fungi in the forest that soak in and breathe out magic across the woods, but Lietta’s is one of the most beautiful. Legends say when a young vargr woman’s lover went off to war, she stood on the highest cliff waiting to see his boat return. When he never came, she stayed waiting to see his spirit and never rested, for fear of missing it. When she inevitably collapsed and died, the gods and the fey took pity on her and made her be reborn again as a tree that all spirits would come to. The leaves of this tree are usually green but turn a dark maroon color in autumn and never lose their leaves. When night comes, veins of softly glowing bioluminescence enhanced by magic glow to life along the branches, across the sparkling leaves, and can even be seen through the cracks in the bark. The fruit of this tree is a grape-sized black berry that invigorates the soul and gives mages increased potency until the fruit leaves their system. Raisins lose some of this potency but are still valuable nonetheless, because they still keep the berry’s magical power of basically being a natural Goodberry that can sustain a person for an entire day. The most notable effect however is a somewhat magical, somewhat hallucinogenic effect that causes the consumer to “see magic”. The vargr believe it lets them see the spirits of living beings and nature - the source of magic - around them, but is more a temporary enchantment so see aether until the fruit leaves their system. These trees are very rare and only grow on high cliffs and hills. Some druids have managed to grow them on the roots of high trees, but most can still only be found along the mountains and the high northern coasts.