The Verdant Veil is a magical phenomenon in the Deepwoods and the Domandrod that causes the Feyrealm to bleed into the Prime Material Plane, making portions of the two forests flux between the two planes. As such, travelling into certain portions of the Deepwoods can cause one to inadvertently enter a parallel Feyrealm version of the Deepwoods, or, as the Feyrealm does not subscribe to Prime Material conventions, somewhere else in the plane of the Fey entirely.
While there have always been other places in Halann that have a strong connection to the Feyrealm, and thus causing transportation across planes, the Verdant Veil is the largest and most consistent case of such matters.
Effects[]
As a long-standing magical entity, the effects of the Verdant Veil have largely remained stable over the centuries of its existence. However, the Veil's behavior did notably change in 1443, almost certainly due to the death of The Eldest, the Veil's believed progenitor.
Present Day[]
The following is an excerpt describing the current conditions of the Verdant Veil from Responsible Travels Through The Deepwoods (2nd Edition, 1891) by Field Chronicler Armyn Stynài.
When investigating, or dealing with the Verdant Veil in any manner, there are a number of key things to keep in mind to preserve yourself.
- The Verdant Veil is an invisible force, acting as bridge and border between the Prime Material and the Feyrealm. Travelers will soon find themselves in a different plane if caught unprepared. Stick within the bounds of a grove or travel only along known and established paths, locally known as Vyrs.
- If it is necessary to deviate from established bounds and paths, prepare magical detection spells or carry enchanted items to avoid crossing the Veil
- If one does cross the Veil, purposefully or otherwise, be aware of the following:
- Crossing the Veil often means entering a parallel version of the location, for example, going from the Prime Material Deepwoods to the Feywild Deepwoods. Keep in mind, due to it being a parallel plane, whatever location you're in within the Feywild is merely a copy of the Prime Material, albeit with distinct differences. Magic is the best means to confirm what plane you are in.
- More dangerously, one can be transported to anywhere else in the Feyrealm. There many instances of travelers from the Deepwoods winding up in the Feyrealm's version of the Salahad, Haless, or even Aelantir!
- Exiting the Feyrealm is well known to be inconsistent with space and time as our plane observes. It is possible to exit from different place in the Prime Material, such as emerging in Yanshen though one entered from the Deepwoods. It is also possible one may find themselves at a different time, emerging a hundred years in the past. Both are also possible!
- There are certain locations within the Deepwoods that have stable connections with the Feyrealm and are used for safer passage between the planes and trade, known by locals as "the Gladeways." Travellers should still practice caution when using these gladeways. It also best to employ a local to ensure safe travel.
- The Veil functions much like any doorway, is able to swing both ways. Due to its fey origins, the Fey are adapt at leveraging the Veil and encounters with these devious and mischievous beings are much higher the closer one gets toward the Veil. Practice caution.
Historical[]
The behavior the Veil seemed have been more encompassing prior to 1443. This is based off the anecdotal evidence given in Planar Realms and the Ruin of Aelantir by Rothomar the Wise (1645), edited and compiled by Sofia síl Verne (1894). The following is taken from síl Verne's compilation:
It is noted that, just like today, any creature native to our plane could enter the Deepwoods. The key difference was that doing so would result in that creature passing through the Verdent Veil. In doing so, such a creature would find itself in the Feyrealm but with no guarantee of where it would be in the Feyrealm. It was entirely possible for this creature to enter into the Feyrealm's version of the Deepwoods or some elsewhere entirely. It seemed to be nothing more than pure chance. The key exception to this was if there was the intervention of a more powerful fey, typically an archfey. In which case, our hypothetical creature would end up where the archfey wanted them to be.
The fate of the creature depended largely on where it ended up in the Feyrealm. If landed in most any place, there was a degree of chance that the creature would eventually find its way back to our plane, albeit potentially far from where, and when, it started. However, if the creature landed in the Feyrealm's form of the Deepwoods, its fate would be doomed to remain there till the Veil's fall. Such was the fate of the Wood Elves ancestors and the various orc clans of the Greentide.
There was however, one curious exception. Based on accounts from Late Castan's Empire and Chivalric Escanni, certain Forest Goblins seemed capable of exiting the Veil. What records there are exceedingly rare. The best going hypothesis is that these were likely these goblins were pactseekers fulfilling some request of their patron. The only concrete evidence of any creatures escaping the Feyrealm's Deepwoods prior to the Veil's fall was that of the remnants of Oubbligsband invading Ourdia during the Decades of Devastation.
Etymology[]
The wood elf Deinnaril Summermoon was said to have coined the term Verdant Veil as he rallied his people to aid Corin against the Greentide, saying:
- "The Verdant Veil has been lifted from our eyes, and the world we return to is not the world our ancestors dreamt of... but that is the world in its truth - and we are a part of it now. So follow me! Follow Corin! Fight to defend this world, for it is your new home!"
- ―Deinnaril Summermoon
History[]
Origins[]
In accordance with the meticulous research notes of the famed mage Arun Drennen, scholars are confident that the Veil was originally created by an archfey known as the The Eldest to protect the Feyrealm from an unnamed magical calamity. This calamity is widely agreed to be the Day of Ashen Skies based on Rothomar's study of the residual magic left by the Veil.
Fall of the Verdant Veil[]
For generations, various Wood Elves attempted to escape the Deepwoods[1], however the magical capabilities of the Elves paled far in comparison to that of an archfey. As a result, most efforts had ended by the time of Arun Drennen's attempts. Rather than attempt to tear down the Veil by force, the Drennen mage instead attempted to understand it and its source. In by doing so, he discovered the Eldest in 1429. At first, Arun and his apprentice Eledas Cenág attempted to negotiate with the archfey, as in accordance to Fey Court traditions. Unfortunately, the cost of maintaining the Veil had resulted in hollowing of the Eldest's lifeforce, leaving it nothing more than a feral husk. As a result, Arun was severely wounded and amnesiac while Eledas was killed.
It would be over a decade later before Arun attempted to face the Eldest again. In accordance to his memoirs[1], Arun had spent much of this time recovering his memories and attempting to find a solution to deal with the mindless archfey. In the end, he concluded that only slaying the Eldest would put an end to the Verdant Veil and free the Deepwoods inhabitants. Unfortunately, few mortals were capable of facing an archfey directly and living. And none were capable of killing one.
At the time, only another archfey could meet the task. But archfey did not fight other archfey directly, making that solution impossible.
Hearing of the Conclave of Elynáile, Arun hoped that the conference to unite the Wood Elves could also lead to Elvenkind finding the strength to face the Eldest as well. However, as a wanted man for the believed murder of his apprentice, he could only work to try and subtly affect the dialogue. His plans changed with the arrival of Corin and her circle. Recognizing the avatar's incredible power, he realized that this unexpected human had potential to do what no one else could in the entire Deepwoods.
When a scuffle nearly broke out between the Wood Elven leadership and Corin's party, Arun intervened with a risky teleportation spell and whisked Corin and her companions away. He then explained himself, the Verdant Veil, and the Eldest to the party before pleading to Corin for her aid. To his surprise, Corin readily agreed. After securing the aid his estranged nieces to help the party Elynáile, the party then set off to face the Eldest once more. Along the way, they met by the warlock goblin Oubblig. Despite the misgivings by her party members, Corin was convinced to allow the Forest Goblin to join due to his staunch opposition to the Greentide.
Retracing the steps Arun and his apprentice had taken years ago and aided by Oubblig's pact magic, the party soon found themselves face to face with the Eldest. Despite the incredible might fielded, the battle was recorded to be a near thing with Arun sacrificing himself to provide Corin an opening while Oubblig was lost to the party as he was flung into the Feyrealm. Yet, thanks to these sacrifices, Corin struck down the Eldest in a might blow. And, without the Eldest to sustain it, the Veil tore and receded leaving the Deepwoods once more connected with the rest of Cannor and Halanna.