Greenheart

The capital of the Eldeen Reaches is not a bustling metropolis or major seat of power, but handles the few administraive affairs not under the purview of local authorities, such as international diplomacy and trade. It also the first place House Vadalis takes its stock before it is shipped to other nations.   Tucked deep in the Towering Wood, Greenheart is home to the Wardens of the Wood. The community takes its name from a sacred grove in the center of the village, a manifest zone linked to Lamannia, the Twilight Forest (see page 97). The Great Druid Oalian spends his days in the grove; he speaks to visitors but rarely moves. Aspirants who wish to learn the ways of the Wardens of the Wood come to Greenheart for training in the druidic mysteries. The community hovers at around a thousand residents for most of the year—students and preceptors, the guards and attendants of the Great Druid’s grove, the elder druids who coordinate the actions of the Wardens across the region, and hunters and gatherers who provide for the people of the village. However, the population increases exponentially during conclaves or important druid ceremonies, when members of all sects converge on Greenheart; at these times the population can increase by thousands, with druids and rangers (many of them in animal form) camped out around Greenheart in all directions while their animal companions mingle freely.   Greenheart is a religious community. The druids give shelter and sustenance to travelers who respect the land, but the town has no marketplace or tavern. Some folk live in simple buildings formed from shaped earth that has been transmuted to stone; others live up among the trees of the Towering Wood, on platforms created through the use of wood shape.