Whitepine Forest or Whitepine[1] is a forest in the mainland Lhazaar Principalities.[2]
History[]
Madame Dotuella, a sorcerous woman believed to be a descendant of Sarlonan ogres or of both ogre and hag blood, once inhabited a hut in the depths of the forest. On the Day of Mourning in 994 YK, the Fortress of Fading Dream reappeared in the Material Plane where the hut was previously, displacing the hut within its walls.[3][4]
Description[]
Whitepine Forest is a cold forest in the mainland of the Lhazaar Principalities.[2] The jade evergreens are dusted with snow for much of the year, and the forest appears pale due to the snow, and mist clings to the canopy of the woods. The forest is so dense that the wood appears dark even during the daytime, which makes it easy to become lost unless guided by a Lhazaar ranger.[1]
The woods of the Whitepine Forest surrounding the feyspire of Taer Lian Doresh are haunted by the ghosts and banshees of the feyspire's victims. The area is surrounded by natural springs and volatile geysers, and the rising steam signifies the border where Dal Quor and the waking world blend.[5] The ghosts and banshees manifest as their greatest fears rather than the wounds that slew them.[4] Thirty vicious scarecrows surround the feyspire, and craft more scarecrows out of the remains of their victims.[6]
Narathunhold in the Mror Holds is the closest territory to the Fortress of Fading Dreams in the Whitepine Forest, and the dwarves of that realm sleep with troubled dreams.[7]
Inhabitants[]
The nightmare fey inhabitants of the Fading Dream are known as wyrds ("the fated").[8][9] These fey are transformed by Dal Quor into nightmarish versions of themselves. Wyrds are immortal, immune to fear, can resist psychic damage, and can teleport once an encounter.[8]
The thirty scarecrows that guard Taer Lian Doresh are also considered wyrds, and they are more independent than would be expected for constructs crafted by the hags of the feyspire. They know the secret of creating more of their kind from the remains of slain victims.[6]
The woods of the Whitepine Forest surrounding the feyspire of Taer Lian Doresh are haunted by the ghosts and banshees of the feyspire's victims.[5]
Notable Inhabitants[]
Outside of the wyrds within the Fortress of Fading Dreams, there are a few notable inhabitants of the forest:
- Ladyrook: the most powerful of the thirty scarecrows found outside of the feyspire. She was constructed thousands of years ago by the night hag Santyriana, leader of the Shrouded Sages of Taer Lian Doresh. Ladyrook also knows the secrets of crafting other scarecrows from her victims, helping create ten additional scarecrows for their ranks. Originally animated with a noblewoman's heart in her body, Ladyrook has been influenced by the dreams of mortals in Dal Quor. She now wishes to transcend and become truly alive by gathering parts from victims. To that end, the scarecrow now possesses a pair of eyes, the jawbone of a damsel, and a human scalp with hair on her sack head retrieved by Mawkin.[6]
- Mawkin: a scarecrow that Ladyrook sends outside of Whitepine Forest and the reach of the wyrds of the feyspire to menace small villages and hamlets near Tantamar and Cliffscape. Mawkin murders peasants and absconds with single organs and body parts to return to Ladyrook to help her construct a living form for herself.[6]
- Madame Dotuella: a 7‑foot-tall (2.1‑meter) corpulent woman with a monstrous face decorated with garish paint. She is carried in a gilded and gem-encrusted carriage and often wields a parasol and dresses aristocratically in a ball gown with a hemline tattered by the ground. She possesses sorcerous powers, and speaks through the various animals who pull her chariot. She is thought to consume the beasts after they have dragged her carriage. She wages a personal war against the ghosts and scarecrows surrounding Taer Lian Doresh. She is of unknown origin, and the rangers of Whitepine Forest think she is descended from Sarlonan ogres, while others think she is a descendant of humans, ogres, and hags. Her hut formerly occupied the area where Taer Lian Doresh now occupies, and the influence of Dal Quor warps her dreams of aristocracy to appear in her current form. She seeks entrance into the feyspire to recover her hut, which shifts location within the feyspire but often appears in the tavern of Night's Refuge.[4]
Notable Locations[]
- Taer Lian Doresh, the Fortress of Fading Dreams, is a feyspire deep within the forest that coexists simultaneously with Dal Quor. It is inhabited by nightmare fey.[5]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jeff LaSala (May 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Fortress of Fading Dreams” (PDF). Dungeon #178 (Wizards of the Coast) (178)., pp. 81–82.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jeff LaSala (May 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Fortress of Fading Dreams” (PDF). Dungeon #178 (Wizards of the Coast) (178)., p. 78.
- ↑ James Wyatt and Keith Baker (2009). Eberron Campaign Guide. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 49, 143–144. ISBN 0-7869-5099-4.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jeff LaSala (November 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas” (PDF). Dungeon #184 (Wizards of the Coast) (184)., p. 51.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Jeff LaSala (May 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Fortress of Fading Dreams” (PDF). Dungeon #178 (Wizards of the Coast) (178)., p. 82.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Jeff LaSala (November 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas” (PDF). Dungeon #184 (Wizards of the Coast) (184)., pp. 49–50.
- ↑ Jeff LaSala (November 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas” (PDF). Dungeon #184 (Wizards of the Coast) (184)., p. 48.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jeff LaSala (May 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Fortress of Fading Dreams” (PDF). Dungeon #178 (Wizards of the Coast) (178)., p. 83.
- ↑ Jeff LaSala (November 2010). “Explore Taer Lian Doresh: Villains and Vendettas” (PDF). Dungeon #184 (Wizards of the Coast) (184)., p. 47.