Knoll Emberwood – Backstory
* Roots of the Ember Enclave
The Ember Enclave was a druidic order devoted to guarding the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Legends spoke of its roots stretching through the planes themselves, binding life and spirit together. Where one of its branches pierced the earth, miracles of nature blossomed. Around such a sacred site in the volcanic range known as the Cinders, the village of Emberwood took shape.
 
Though shadowed by smoldering peaks, the forests around the branch thrived with impossible vitality, and the enclave swore to protect it. Among their number were elves, humans, hin, goliaths, and even fire giants who had rejected the conquest and cruelty of their kin. Together, under the guidance of ancient treants, they lived in harmony with the land.
 
* A Different Kind of Fire Giant
Knoll Emberwood was born to this life. Though his blood marked him as a fire giant—and even part goliath by lineage—he was raised far from the warlike clans of the Cinders. His people taught him to respect balance: the fury of the flame, but also the patience of the earth. He trained with axe and hammer, but also with seed and soil, knowing that to protect the sacred branch meant mastering both war and peace.
 
Where other fire giants reveled in dominance and destruction, Knoll’s childhood was one of community, tending to the forests and learning the ways of the druids. Yet even then, whispers of the Cinders’ warlords reached Emberwood, none darker than the name Cinderlord Zulthane Hellhammer.
 
* The Fall of Emberwood
The peace could not last. Zulthane, seeking dominion over all the Cinders, forged a pact with infernal powers. With armies of fire giants, enslaved mortals, and devilish allies, he marched upon Emberwood. The enclave fought desperately, but the Cinderlord’s strength was overwhelming.
 
Knoll witnessed the slaughter—the treants burned, his kin crushed, his own mother struck down before his eyes. In grief and rage, he tried to strike Zulthane, but the warlord only laughed at his defiance. Knoll was spared—not out of mercy, but mockery. The scars of that day burned deeper than flesh.
 
When the fires died, nothing remained of Emberwood but ash. From those ashes, Knoll gathered what little he could: the charred remnants of the Yggdrasil branch and the ashes of his fallen people. According to their rites, these must one day be returned to another living branch of the World Tree, so their spirits might rejoin the cycle.
 
* The Wanderer’s Burden
Since that day, Knoll has wandered. He carries his people’s ashes, seeking another branch of Yggdrasil to lay them to rest. Yet he knows he is not ready. The memory of his failure haunts him, and he believes himself too weak to challenge Zulthane or avenge Emberwood. Still, the path of the wanderer is not without purpose. Each battle, each lesson in the wilds, each bond forged with others, is another step toward becoming the protector he could not be.
 
* A Flicker of Fate
His resolve was tested when he came to the human settlement of Trenton, besieged by strange beasts. Knoll fought with all he had, but his strength faltered, and darkness claimed him.
 
He awoke not on the battlefield, but in a strange tavern, surrounded by strangers who seemed as lost as he. Was this the afterlife? Had he fallen at last? Or had Yggdrasil, the World Tree itself, intervened to guide his steps toward a greater destiny?
 
Knoll does not yet know. But the ember that survived Emberwood still smolders within him, waiting to be fanned into flame.