Kynemal

The Kynemal are sentient, tree-like beings whose bodies resemble the birch trees of the Bone Wood — tall, white-barked, and sinuous. At first glance, they are indistinguishable from the forest’s other flora, save for their deeply knotted eyes and slit-like mouths carved into their bark-like faces. These features remain closed or hidden until they choose to reveal them. Their limbs move with a slow, creaking grace, and their speech, when offered, is like the wind whispering through leaves. They weep a sap called Virdhrial, a glistening, pale blue substance prized for its use in both arcane rituals and rare alchemical recipes.

Lifespan & the Stillform

When a Kynemal approaches the end of its natural life, it chooses a place in the forest to “pause” — locking itself into a stillform stance. In this posture, they appear like a Treant frozen mid-step, blending completely with their surroundings. Yet, unlike true death, the Kynemal remain spiritually aware and may awaken from this state in times of great need. The distinction between living and still Kynemal is deliberately kept ambiguous; some are eternal sentinels, waiting decades or centuries before rising again to defend the forest.

Defensive Nature

Though peaceful by default and strongly isolationist, the Kynemal are fiercely protective of the Bone Wood. They employ cunning camouflage and guerrilla tactics when defending their home, often “playing dead” until intruders pass beneath their boughs — only to spring to life and strike from above. Their knowledge of the forest’s secrets makes them exceptional trackers and ambushers.

Culture & Beliefs

The Kynemal believe that each tree in the Bone Wood is an ancestral spirit, and that their own souls are fragments of the original “First Seed,” an ancient entity said to have birthed the forest itself. They engage in ritual “sap weeping” during moments of communal grief or spiritual transition, allowing their tears to sink into the soil and return to the First Seed. Their songs, carried through root and leaf, are rarely heard by outsiders, but those who do speak of melodies so hauntingly beautiful that they bring both awe and terror.

Relationship to Other Races

They do not attack without cause, and will tolerate careful scholars or druids who show respect to the forest. However, those who desecrate, harvest, or defile the Bone Wood are marked. The Kynemal do not forget. Local legends say a Kynemal will silently follow the offender home, marking their soul with the scent of the forest — ensuring nightmares, visions, and ill fortune until the debt is repaid.