Starborn Forests: Intro

Starseeds.

The Coming of the Seeds:

The starseeds came from deep space, and they came without warning. Dozens impacting upon the world, sending shockwaves across the land. Castles were shattered, dragons flung out of the sky in mid-flight. Even the gods were taken by surprise.

But that wasn’t the only thing that happened. Or even the most devastating.

For from each crater, came an explosion of fecund plantlife. Trees and vines reaching out, storms filling the skies, plants compressing decades of growth into days or weeks.  And within that ever growing region, as the trees grew and farmlands turned to jungles, the people fled, for the plants tore down stone, and iron and steel alike rusted and vanished in minutes. Animals changed, and spirits roamed the overgrown and decaying remains of the engulfed cities.

For the first few months after the fall, the nations of the world trembled in fear. Would the forests stop? Or would they engulf all the world?

But they did not. The expansion slowed, stopping at rivers or at the great mountain ranges the impacts had created.

Some of the “starborn forests” were small things, no more than thirty miles in diameter, others were immense realms, built upon the remains of entire empires. Around them, animals were more feral, more… intelligent, and spirits and other beings more active.

And within them, any form of worked metal, bricks, and other materials, save for those enchanted, or bound by the weight of history would decay in days—or sooner. Armored knights found their swords and shields rusting as they were set upon by animals and spirits. Attempts to burn the forests and jungles brought immediate counterattacks—and the starborn forests would expand. Some expanded for miles, before the neighboring kingdoms learned that lesson.

They also learned something else. There was treasure in those forests. The retreating mages and knights brought fruits that could be processed into potions for a fraction of the cost of the old ways. Gleaming gems, formed from magic itself, wood that could be melted down into metallic forms that could be used to craft wonders…

Each starborn forest wasn’t simply a danger— it was a prize, an unimaginable treasure and resource. Nations that bordered one, if they could exploit it, would become wealthy, powerful…and dangerous.

The Wars:

The nations bordering the starborn forests might become immensely powerful—later, but now they were suffering. Lost farmland, lost mines, lost populations and cities. They were weak. They were vulnerable.

Nobody knew who started the first wars, but a year after the forests had appeared, every region was at war. Kingdoms that had hoped to benefit burned at the hands of their neighbors—and their neighbors burned at the hands of others, for the treasure that might be gained was too great to trust to any nation. After all, to listen to the wizards, those who could exploit the forests would rule.

How that would be done, was not spelled out, for the forests remained dangerous, and attempts to engage in widescale exploitation triggered a response, expanding both the starborn forest and the fringe of dangerous animals, spirits, and weather. Treasures could be brought out—by brave adventures, but while they might make a man rich, secure nobility for others.

The Song:

As the wars continued, the roads were crowded with those seeking safety, away from armies and the powers of the starborn forests alike.

But not all. Some heard a song. Low born, high born, educated and ignorant. Many of them were young, but more than a few oldsters heard the song, calling out from the heart of the forest. Some refused, the call, and they were not compelled for all that they felt an ache in their heart. But others left, heading to the forests. Many, it must be said had nothing to lose. The closer to the forest, the stronger the call.

Those who ventured into the forest were not protected, or safe. Many fell prey to the dangers of the road and the forest itself. Their tools were no more immune to the nature of the forest than anyone elses. But they could interpret the forests message. Many heard wisdom in the night,  and learned how to work the strange magic that had come with the forest—or how to use the magic they’d brought to aid it. Some lived independently, some served the spirits and beings of the forest. But unlike the forces on the outside—they were part of the forest, and they learned how to harvest it without endangering it.

The Truce:

The Truce was not born of a desire for peace, but exhaustion. The nations surrounding the forests, had been ravaged. Attacks on the forests had seen ever larger portions of the surrounding territories absorbed or pulled into the fringe. And none had gained even a fraction of what they had lost, the hopes of mages and kings alike proving to be useless in the face of their enemies and the forests themselves.

And now the starborn forests had their own peoples, some the same, some oddly changed by their new home. Nobody knew the source of the Song, or what powers that might ultimately rule the forestfolk as they came to be called.

But the forestfolk would trade, the marvels of the starborn forests, as well as seek out the remaining treasures of the cities and castles that had been engulfed by the forests. So merchant families and adventurers alike moved to take advantage of the bounty, while the kingdoms withdrew and licked their wounds—and none wishes to trigger off another set of wars by trying to monopolize trade.

So the world is… calmer.

And yet. Why did the starseeds land on earth…

And what is their intention?