The Grove of the Survivors

Before the Krai Jan invaded Isarshael, the Stag Tribe of the Urdaggar people lived purposefully and in close harmony with the Dunrian and surrounding forests in what is now Haradel. There they worshipped Ra’amshar, the Evergreen, their Totem god.   Ra’amshar is forever tied to the Dunrian through the Whispering Tree, the living representation of the Hearth on Faelon, and the place where the Stag Tribe and Falcon Tribe believed they could hear the voice of their Totem god.   There, deep within the Dunrian, the Golats and the Stag Tribe defended the tree, listened for the instruction and wisdom of their god, and tended to the garden that their god planted for them. When the Krai Jan invaded their sacred forest, they fought like devils to repel them.   In the end, their efforts were not enough to defeat the Krai Jan Red Shields. When the Phalanx came with fire and attempted to burn them out of the Dunrian, the Mystics of the Stag Tribe conferred with the Golats. It was decided to abandon their sacred groves in the hopes that the Krai Jan would not burn them once they had left.   Before they left, Golats tenders from the Whispering Tree’s grove gifted a mystic from each Clan of the Stag Tribe with a seedling from the sacred grove. The Golats assured them that wherever these trees were planted and nurtured, there would be Ra’amshar.   The flight from the Dunrian was dangerous, long, and fraught with peril. As more and more of the Urdaggar Tribes were pushed out of their ancestral lands they were forced into more contact with each other. This assured internecine fighting on top of fighting with the pursuing Krai Jan.   Their numbers dwindled, as did their spirits.   Refusing to cross the mountains of the Dorsang Danar, the Stag Tribe turned west, crossing the chilly Fel Orm and coming finally to a new forest where it was decided by a mystics council to make a new home.   The Stag Tribe named this forest Ra’amsharveras - The Forest of the Evergreen. There, deep within its shadowed boughs, the Mystics of the Stag Tribe planted the sacred trees gifted to them by the Golats.   They chose an area so remote that they were sure it could never be found except by those who served Ra’amshar. The trees were planted in a wide circle. Magically nurtured and nourished, the trees, each of a unique variety, grew tall and broad almost immediately.   At the base of each tree was laid a large stone. The history of each clan was carved on the stones. Disaster had nearly destroyed them once, and in truth, it had decimated many of the Stag Tribes’ once-strong Clans. The Mystics would not allow another mass extinction of their culture and history. So much had been lost during the war for the Dunrian and the frenetic flight across the plains before they were guided by Ra’amshar to their new home.   The mystics from the remaining Clans named their new sacred place The Grove of the Survivors. It honored both those who survived and those who did not make it to their new home. The Clan Mystics hold their meetings there, and no important decision is made by a Clan Leader without making a pilgrimage to listen to the trees and discern the wisdom given by Ra’amshar to its children.