Verdant Veil

The Verdant Veil is a magical phenomenon in the Deepwoods and the Domandrod that allows the Feyrealm to bleed into the Prime Material Plane, making the two forests in flux between the two planes. Walking into the Deepwoods can instead transport you into the parallel Feyrealm version of the Deepwoods, or, as the Feyrealm does not subscribe to Prime Material conventions, somewhere else in the plane of fey entirely.

While there have always been other places in Halann that have a strong connection to the Feyrealm, and thus allowing transportation across planes, the Verdant Veil is the largest and most consistent case of such matters.

Effects

Taken from Planar Realms and the Ruin of Aelantir by Rothomar the Wise (1645), edited and compiled by Sofia síl Verne (1894).

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, a border between the Prime Material and the Feyrealm, often taking in unexpecting or unprepared travelers, though it can be sensed by certain spells
• Crossing through the Verdant Veil can happen at any point within one's journey into the Deepwoods. A mere blink of the eyes or turn of a corner can result in said crossing of the Veil. This is the same as any other crossing to the Feyrealm, though the Verdant Veil's effect is through a wide area rather than localized and unpredictable.
• Crossing means entering the Feyrealm:
  • One can be transported into the 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.
  • More dangerously, one can be transported to anywhere else in the Feyrealm (such as entering in the Deepwoods and winding up in the Feyrealm's version of the Salahad)
  • Related to the Feyrealm as a whole but important to note: exiting the Feyrealm can be inconsistent, and one may find themselves at a different time (for example, emerging a hundred years in the past), and at a different place in the Prime Material entirely (emerging in Yanshen though you entered from the Deepwoods)
• Not all locations have an equal connection to the Feyrealm, certain "pockets" are closer to the other plane than others and thus increase a chance of crossing. This may mean that at some locations you will be unable to tell which plane you're in, proving especially dangerous in regards to time and distance. Whether this reflects a more "normal" version of the Feywild or a more "extreme" version of the Prime Material is hard to say. After the Veil's fall, certain locations within the Deepwoods have stabilized and are used for safer passage between the planes and trade.
• The Veil functions much like any doorway, is able to swing both ways. Tales of fey mischief such as abductions and changelings can easily be explained by the fey and other such beasts crossing the Veil.
• Prior to the Veil's fall, the wood elves that inhabited the Deepwoods were unable to cross back into the Prime Material from the Feyrealm. This being the reason their presence had maintained obscured from the rest of Escann despite apparent proximity. Important to note, this did not apply to other creatures, as while all have difficulty crossing back, there have been texts of descriptions matching the forest goblins.
  • Editors Note: This has resulted in numerous theories in regards to its cause, many chalking it up to the nature of the Feyrealm, others to fey intervention, and even some suggesting that the Veil has a mind of its own.

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

It is widely agreed that the Verdant Veil appeared due to the Day of Ashen Skies, though whether it was a natural creation or caused by someone is unknown to both modern scholars and fey.

Greentide Invasions

Starting in 1424 the Greentide consisting of orcs and goblins invaded Escann bringing the kingdoms there to its destruction. As a part of this various incursions into the Deepwoods occured for a myriad of reasons, from Dookanson wishing to seek out new fables of fey artefacts to searching for new paths to circumvent Bal Dostan, or even machinations of the Ashentree Fey who saw orcs as pawns for their plans.

These invaders were also subject to the effect of the Verdant Veil, but unlike other historical invasions into the Deepwoods the Greentide Hordes reached the wood elven clans, who had been wholly unprepared for a new enemy - having been used to warring with each other, the fey or forest goblins. According to the wood elves, by the time of the Verdant Veil falling, they had been at war with the greentide invaders for over a hundred years.

Fall of the Verdant Veil

In 1443 the Verdant Veil fell, stabilizing the borders between the Feyrealm and the Prime Material. This allowed parts of the Deepwoods to be brought back into the Prime Material proper - allowing for stable trade and passage without the great threat of being lost in the Feyrealm.

TODO: how did it fall? who did it?

The Fall of the Verdant Veil initially destabilized the Deepwoods, with the greentide invaders breaking up into warring tribes after the news of Korgus Dookanson's death - having largely been uninvolved with the Escanni greentide. The fall was particularly eventful for the goblins invaders, who, despite being cave goblin in origin, broke free from their orcish enslavers and banded together with their long-lost forest goblin cousins into new and stronger clans.

For some wood elves, it opened up a new world for them and new allies in Corin and other adventurers, even aiding in the greater fight against the Greentide. For others, they retreated back to isolationalist tendencies, and treated the world beyond the Deepwoods with the same suspicion they did the fey.

After the Greentide many wood elves fled and settled Escann, seeking new pastures and opportunities beyond the Deepwoods, becoming one of the largest minorities there behind goblins and half-orcs.

However, the Verdant Veil did not fall in its entirety, and many places in the Deepwoods to this day are still dangerous, transporting lost travellers to the Feyrealm.

Origins

It is widely agreed that the Verdant Veil appeared due to the Day of Ashen Skies, though whether it was a natural creation or caused by someone is unknown to both modern scholars and fey.