The Iron-Bound had come. They were men who had forgotten the language of the leaves, encased in steam-hissing suits of metal, driven by a hunger for the "Heart-Sap"—the glowing amber essence that kept the forest eternally green.
He swung a mechanical claw, but Elara didn't flinch. She slammed the butt of her rowan staff into the soft loam. “Listen,” she whispered.
The legend of "The Forest Champion" is a tale told by the moss-covered stones and the whispering oaks of the Elderwood. It is not a title given by men, but one earned through the pulse of the earth itself.
With a wave of her hand, the roots retracted, depositing the terrified men and their ruined machines back toward the edge of the tree line.
The trouble began when the silence changed. The usual chatter of the squirrels and the rhythmic drumming of the woodpeckers stopped. In its place came the mechanical clunk-shriek of iron meeting ancient root.
The Iron-Bound had come. They were men who had forgotten the language of the leaves, encased in steam-hissing suits of metal, driven by a hunger for the "Heart-Sap"—the glowing amber essence that kept the forest eternally green.
He swung a mechanical claw, but Elara didn't flinch. She slammed the butt of her rowan staff into the soft loam. “Listen,” she whispered. The Forest Champion!
The legend of "The Forest Champion" is a tale told by the moss-covered stones and the whispering oaks of the Elderwood. It is not a title given by men, but one earned through the pulse of the earth itself. The Iron-Bound had come
With a wave of her hand, the roots retracted, depositing the terrified men and their ruined machines back toward the edge of the tree line. She slammed the butt of her rowan staff into the soft loam
The trouble began when the silence changed. The usual chatter of the squirrels and the rhythmic drumming of the woodpeckers stopped. In its place came the mechanical clunk-shriek of iron meeting ancient root.