Waking the Swarm
Every 1,700 years, a swarm emerges from the undertree. Screaming as they fly crownward, insects larger than dragons surge forth, blotting out the sun as they compete for space. These colossal beasts alight upon every available surface and begin to drink deeply from Arboreus, piercing deep into the hidden rivers of the xylem and phloem. The stories warn of great black and bulbous insect bodies, tinged with the orange of an evil flame upon the vast wings, punctuated with eyes that are either the black of a void or a demonic red. Drinking oceans of sap and turning it into rivers of sweetwater, the legends warn that the swarm, unchecked, will drink the great tree dry as the cacophony of its cry drives all to madness. It is said that the deafening drone of this insects will even cause the sun and moon to abandon Arboreus, leaving the world in eternal darkness.
Spread
This myth is known all across Arboreus, but has faded from common knowledge. Now the myth of the swarm is mostly known only by historians and the occasional well-read bard. Folklorists believe that this is largely thanks to the story being mixed and merged with other legends until the original story was diluted to nothing.
In Art
There are some cave paintings in Deadfall that seem to depict this event. In a deep bark crevice, a hand-painted wall shows a great swarm flying up from the roots of the tree. As the swarm spreads, chaos is depicted in many forms: burning homes, floods washing away towns, darkness blotting out the sun and moon. But the paintings show a glimmer of hope as well. From a castle that seems it could be the palace of Ekrova before its decay rise a battalion of figures riding dragonbats, which are shown to drive back the great insects. This has led some archaeologists to believe that the swarm caused the death of Deadfall's branch. If the region were less hostile to life, perhaps the origins of these paintings could be properly studied.
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