In forgotten times the ancient redwood forest of Braelach (long before it was called such) resided above a potent node of ley-energy that spread veins spread throughout northern Ravillia. In those old times, fae still existed in the realm and had free reign on the continent, manipulating and creating to their heart's content. The fae grew ambitious with their creations and began to experiment with wrong, twisted magicks that corrupted ley-energy. Using immense amounts of it in the process. Once used for this purpose, the corrupted ley energy was unable to safely return back into the ground to begin the cycle anew. While the land of Eialm and by extension Ravillia was and is not a sentient awareness, the life energy that fed the lands and does so even now is 'alive' much like how a plant is. Evolutionarily, Ravillia needed to solve its growing problem with the fae... and thus, the first ley-pulse occurred.
With an explosion of light in the center of the giant red wood forest a mass of ley energy swept across the northern hemisphere of Ravillia. The energy sank into the natives of the land and altered them forever; in particular, predators with innate instincts that would be able to hunt the fae into extinction. Wolves, predatory birds, felines, and bears became bipedal bestial forms with increased intelligence. The forest of Braelach became known as the birthplace of the ley-born, and from their birthplace the leyborn hunted the fae across Ravillia until the fae fled to a dimension of their own creation to avoid annihilation.
For hundreds of years the ley-born lived within the forest of Braelach until visitors from across the ocean arrived on Ravillia's shores and eventually pushed the ley-born away from their homeland. Where they would remain on the outskirts of their former home for hundreds of years to come, forming nations and nurturing their anger. In the meantime, wood elves from the mountains would brave the dangers of the humans to make Braelach their adopted home, drawn by the quiet majesty of the forests until one day, they too would be expelled by the new residents that would make the region their home; dragons. The black dragon Rakant would make his territorial claim to Eialm, nurturing the newly established town of Vahina, the mountain passage that would eventually become Rahfar. The elves would begin to prey upon merchants and travellers that dared to walk the forests, dared to cut down the trees. This was to be a fatal mistake, and the elves would face the fire dragon's wrath. Their forest scorched, their homes burned, their warriors devoured and the entire tribe pushed out to the far north just as the ley-born had been.
Muir'Beinn rose from those ashes that had stretched across the land as Rakant and Takaani reshaped the population to their liking, erecting towns and trade routes as their needs grew. The fledgling nation survived a declaration of war, those ley-born that had been ousted to the outer edges of the territory seeing an opportunity to return to their old home. This was defeated with pitiless ease by the dragon overlords, returning to the very seat of power in the kingdom of Kinzerelk where the wolven ley-born had settled to display their power...and their mercy. With kindness and keen diplomacy, the dragons offered a way for the ley-born to return to their old territory. Those of skill would take oaths to a new country, to Muir'Beinn. They would settle in a new town, that being Giuthas and Braelach to establish themselves. This was accepted by the ley-born of the eastern kingdoms with grace and excitement, access to their old homeland too great of an opportunity to pass up.
Giuthas was a town between three mountain peaks, but Braelach...it was a town within the trees themselves. The trees had to be tended, their health monitored carefully, changes to the livelihood of the villagers advised to maintain the health of the vast forest on which the town would rely for its crafts. Takaani the Green had taken charge over the fledging town, and her eyes turned towards those elves in the far north. The elves' anger had not yet cooled when the storm dragon came to them, offering no apology and instead giving terms which brokered no argument. The ousted wood elves who chose to return would become the Treeminders, would co-manage the town with their new ley-born neighbors. Plenty chose to remain in exile...but many of the younger elves chose to return to the great majesties of the redwoods with which they had been told, but had never seen with their own eyes. The place of their ancestral home.
Today, Braeleach is a thriving community of avian and feline ley-born as well as Treeminder wood elves. The trees were carefully warped, sung, coaxed into shapes that suited habitation but retained their structural integrity. As one would imagine from a town nestled in a grand forest, careful sustainable logging is the primary export of the town. Medicinal plants, forage, wild-caught game, and gold panned from the streams that bubbled merrily through the roots of the redwoods also stuffed the coffers of those who settled there. There is tension still between the elves and the ley-born, but an understanding has grown. An appreciation that Braelach was once their home long, long ago and is again now. For as long as peace reigned.
This is Braelach, one of the two settlements that were chosen to provide a new beginning for the Ley-Born's return to Muir'Beinn. The town looks to Takaani for protection, for the occasional settling of disputes, and every so often a helping hand.
As all of the other speedpaints in this Locales of Eialm series, this was done by Blackwing over at https://twitter.com/WildBlackWing
The description is about 60% mine this time, the rest from Rakant. I'm improving! Eialm, Braelach, Muir'Beinn and its contents belong to faluma and I, do not redistribute this work.
With an explosion of light in the center of the giant red wood forest a mass of ley energy swept across the northern hemisphere of Ravillia. The energy sank into the natives of the land and altered them forever; in particular, predators with innate instincts that would be able to hunt the fae into extinction. Wolves, predatory birds, felines, and bears became bipedal bestial forms with increased intelligence. The forest of Braelach became known as the birthplace of the ley-born, and from their birthplace the leyborn hunted the fae across Ravillia until the fae fled to a dimension of their own creation to avoid annihilation.
For hundreds of years the ley-born lived within the forest of Braelach until visitors from across the ocean arrived on Ravillia's shores and eventually pushed the ley-born away from their homeland. Where they would remain on the outskirts of their former home for hundreds of years to come, forming nations and nurturing their anger. In the meantime, wood elves from the mountains would brave the dangers of the humans to make Braelach their adopted home, drawn by the quiet majesty of the forests until one day, they too would be expelled by the new residents that would make the region their home; dragons. The black dragon Rakant would make his territorial claim to Eialm, nurturing the newly established town of Vahina, the mountain passage that would eventually become Rahfar. The elves would begin to prey upon merchants and travellers that dared to walk the forests, dared to cut down the trees. This was to be a fatal mistake, and the elves would face the fire dragon's wrath. Their forest scorched, their homes burned, their warriors devoured and the entire tribe pushed out to the far north just as the ley-born had been.
Muir'Beinn rose from those ashes that had stretched across the land as Rakant and Takaani reshaped the population to their liking, erecting towns and trade routes as their needs grew. The fledgling nation survived a declaration of war, those ley-born that had been ousted to the outer edges of the territory seeing an opportunity to return to their old home. This was defeated with pitiless ease by the dragon overlords, returning to the very seat of power in the kingdom of Kinzerelk where the wolven ley-born had settled to display their power...and their mercy. With kindness and keen diplomacy, the dragons offered a way for the ley-born to return to their old territory. Those of skill would take oaths to a new country, to Muir'Beinn. They would settle in a new town, that being Giuthas and Braelach to establish themselves. This was accepted by the ley-born of the eastern kingdoms with grace and excitement, access to their old homeland too great of an opportunity to pass up.
Giuthas was a town between three mountain peaks, but Braelach...it was a town within the trees themselves. The trees had to be tended, their health monitored carefully, changes to the livelihood of the villagers advised to maintain the health of the vast forest on which the town would rely for its crafts. Takaani the Green had taken charge over the fledging town, and her eyes turned towards those elves in the far north. The elves' anger had not yet cooled when the storm dragon came to them, offering no apology and instead giving terms which brokered no argument. The ousted wood elves who chose to return would become the Treeminders, would co-manage the town with their new ley-born neighbors. Plenty chose to remain in exile...but many of the younger elves chose to return to the great majesties of the redwoods with which they had been told, but had never seen with their own eyes. The place of their ancestral home.
Today, Braeleach is a thriving community of avian and feline ley-born as well as Treeminder wood elves. The trees were carefully warped, sung, coaxed into shapes that suited habitation but retained their structural integrity. As one would imagine from a town nestled in a grand forest, careful sustainable logging is the primary export of the town. Medicinal plants, forage, wild-caught game, and gold panned from the streams that bubbled merrily through the roots of the redwoods also stuffed the coffers of those who settled there. There is tension still between the elves and the ley-born, but an understanding has grown. An appreciation that Braelach was once their home long, long ago and is again now. For as long as peace reigned.
This is Braelach, one of the two settlements that were chosen to provide a new beginning for the Ley-Born's return to Muir'Beinn. The town looks to Takaani for protection, for the occasional settling of disputes, and every so often a helping hand.
As all of the other speedpaints in this Locales of Eialm series, this was done by Blackwing over at https://twitter.com/WildBlackWing
The description is about 60% mine this time, the rest from Rakant. I'm improving! Eialm, Braelach, Muir'Beinn and its contents belong to faluma and I, do not redistribute this work.
Category Artwork (Digital) / Scenery
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 1678 x 2196px
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