Ents

Ents

Ents are the ancient guardians of the forest, towering beings of bark and branch who embody the will and memory of the wilds. They dwell in the deepest, most untouched regions of Yanu’s woodlands. Ents are not merely creatures of nature—they are its sentinels, shepherds, and storytellers.

Though often mistaken for mere trees by the unobservant, Ents are active beings with slow thoughts, strong limbs, and unwavering purpose. They speak the language of the forest, and their presence marks lands that have remained untamed for centuries.

Appearance

Ents resemble walking trees with humanoid forms. Their bodies are composed of living wood, wrapped in moss, fungi, lichen, and climbing ivy. Leaves sprout from their shoulders and backs, and their eyes gleam like amber sap—deep, slow-burning, and ancient.

There are two primary forms of Ent: male and female. Male Ents are immense and imposing, often standing as tall as the canopy trees they protect. They are dense-limbed and heavily armored in bark, with thick vines spiraling around their bodies. Female Ents are smaller and more delicate in build, resembling saplings or flowering trees in humanoid form. Their features are finer, their voices lighter, and their movements more fluid.

Anatomy and Growth

Ents grow slowly and live for millennia. Their bodies are semi-plant, semi-person, allowing them to shift between rooted dormancy and mobile awareness. When standing still for long periods, they become nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding trees.

They reproduce infrequently and raise only a single entling at a time. Entlings are small, sprouting beings full of energy, curiosity, and reckless wonder. Raising one to maturity takes seventy years or more, during which both parents remain near. This long, demanding cycle explains the male Ents' aggressive protectiveness—they do not reproduce lightly, and their young are irreplaceable.

Ents are herbivores, subsisting on ferns, grasses, fruits, bark shavings, and mushrooms. They never eat trees or saplings, considering them kin. Their digestive process resembles decomposition and integration more than true consumption.

Behavior and Society

Ents live solitary lives or in small family groups, spread far across the forests. They rarely gather in large numbers except during rare forest councils, events of mythic significance, where great decisions are made by long deliberation.

Male Ents are mistrustful and territorial, especially when near their young. They serve as sentries of the high woods, monitoring the health of the forest as a whole, weathering storms, redirecting floods, and defending against invaders.

Female Ents tend to the forest floor and undergrowth. They nurture the flowers, mosses, and new growths. Though gentler in nature, they are no less fierce when the land is threatened.

Ents are not quick to anger, but once roused, they become unstoppable. In battle, they hurl boulders and crush enemies underfoot. Their strength is staggering, and their bark-covered limbs strike with the force of falling timber.

Magic

Ent magic is ancient and rooted in the deep language of the earth. It manifests through three primary domains: Growth, Binding, and Slumber.

Growth magic allows Ents to accelerate the development of plants, restore wounded trees, or even create instant thickets as living barricades.
Binding magic lets them control vines and roots like limbs, using them to ensnare, restrain, or punish intruders.
Slumber is a passive power, used to lull themselves or others into a protective hibernation, sometimes lasting decades or centuries. Some forests still whisper of Ents sleeping beneath the soil, waiting to rise when the forest calls again.