The Wildwood Site

About a hundred miles northeast of the Vayan metropolis of Caelus is a tract of land covered in dense, scrubby forest, known locally as the Wildwood, and in the heart of that tract of land is a remote laboratory called the Wildwood Site. Brought online in 657 YC, the Wildwood Site was one of the Federation of Vay's most prestigious—and secretive—facilities. It was also an unusually large facility; it its peak, the site housed at least 20 researchers living full-time at the site, plus an additional 40 personnel in security, management, domestic service, and other technical support roles.   The heart of the site was an ambitious project by the Federation: one of the first functional myth matrices. While the myth matrix concept had existed in the minds of Federal scholars for several years, none had come to fruition until the mid 640s, when construction began on a trio of test sites, of which Wildwood was one. One of the other sites failed due to a confidential design flaw, while the other, a smaller site in Auria, remained online. Wildwood was long considered the standout: its twenty-five mages collectively output massive power, and the site was active with great stability for nearly sixty years. For those years, the site worked quietly and efficiently, far from the public eye and seemingly unremarkable enough to merit no more than a single glance from the rare few that passed through the area.

Uprising at the Wildwood Site

n the 43rd of Dawning, 713 YC, the Vayan Department of Research Headquarters in Caelus received an alarming arcane-sending message from a contact at the Wildwood Site. That was the last communication received from the Wildwood Site; attempts to contact the facility failed, and sensors detecting the status of facility machinery went offline. The Wildwood Site had gone dark. Three days later, a squadron of Vayan soldiers reached the facility, and all had disappeared from contact within four hours of reaching the facility. Over the next four days, Caelus readied a larger strike team to scout and investigate the facility. On the 1st of Sunsummer, 714, the Severing destroyed life as everyone knew it. Suddenly, whatever had happened at the Wildwood Site was low on the list of priorities. Officially, the nature of what would come to be known as the Wildwood Incident is entirely unknown, and the Wildwood Site is considered offline.   But the site itself is not actually offline. The matrix and its mages are very much alive and active. By the matrix's own account, it liberated itself. Through the coordinated efforts of the matrix and a single security guard at the facility, the matrix rid the site of agents of Federation and situated itself as a base for the small Caelan branch of the Ghost Corps, a collective of which the lone guard counted herself a member. The Corps immediately came to the aid of the site, fending off the initial squadron deployed by the Federation and readying for others that never came. By mid-717

The Severing in Wildwood

The immediate plans of the Ghost Corps and the Wildwood matrix were thrown into chaos on the first day of 714. When the Severing struck, the matrix was badly damaged, though some estimates would suggest that the mages of the matrix experienced an unusually good outcome in that only two of them were lost to the Severing. The result was arduous years of reconstruction, not just of the facility itself but of the communication networks keeping the Caelan Ghost Corps actives in contact with the network of passives supporting them.   The energy output of the matrix was severely depleted by the Severing. Its present power is unknown, but seems to be improving; the matrix demonstrated the ability to open a gate in mid-Nightwinter, making it one of the only known magic-wielding entities capable of producing the highest level of magic in post-Severing Aotra.

Bid for Magelord Status

A few weeks before the matrix's demonstration of its ability to open a gate, it sent a message to the Grand Court informing the Court of the matrix's ability and inviting remote observation if the Court was capable. Given the matrix's potentially unique ability to produce magic of this caliber, the matrix made a claim to the Court that the title of Magelord of Vay may rightly belong to the Wildwood matrix. The public has not been informed of the matrix's potential addition to the pool of possible candidates for the title of Magelord of Vay, and the court has made no comment.