Quelynos
The unending forests of Quelynos, the most ancient home of the faerie, rests here, sprawling across an infinite distance on this place. Legend has it that Eluna first created this world, populating it with her first children, the eladrin. They, in turn, spawned the elves from their heritage, and the other fey, long before the splitting of the world. Ygdrassil, the World Tree, rests here, and its roots once physically touched Aeryth as well. However, in ancient times, the god Maugrim led an attack on the tree, and though it survived thanks to its many defenders, the roots connecting it firmly to Aeryth were destroyed, causing the elves and earthbound fae to lose their pure connection with the glamour and madness of the faerie. Now, the faeries have reorganized themselves, and lead innocent and carefree lives. Some manner of the old elves is still found, but as Maugrim touched the forest, he tainted it slightly with his evil, causing other creatures to come into the realm. Fae of darkness, twisted shadow elves that found their way here, slaadi, and other minions of the Unseelie court live in the forests as well, causing those who travel here to be cautious, particularly at night when the Wild Hunt runs. No true deities reside here, though the demi-powers of the Seelie and Unseelie Court can shape and mold the forests to a limited extent.
Planar Traits
• Normal Gravity
• Erratic Time: When Ygdrassil was firmly connected to the World, the time was as it was on Aeryth. Now, however, the damage wrought by Maugrim means that time passes randomly (roll once each day, to see how much time passes in Aeryth).
• Infinite Size
• Divinely Morphic. The demi-powers of the Seelie and Unseelie Court have the ability to twist and reshape the forests as they see fit.
• Quelynos is either strongly chaos-aligned (for the six months that the Unseelie Court holds sway), or mildly-chaos aligned and mildly-good aligned (for the six months that the Seelie Court holds power).
• Enhanced Magic: Spells with the mind-affecting designator, as well as chaos spells, are automatically heightened four levels (so the save DC increases by +4). This stacks with any Heighten Spell feats already applied to the effect. Any spells with the lawful designator are automatically countered.
Important Sites
There are a multitude of sites within the forests of Quelynos, but of them all, these two stand out the most to those that visit.
The Court of the Faerie: Home of whichever Court is currently in ‘session’, this massive, sprawling bejeweled city loses none of its beauty, even when the Unseelie hold their reign. During the spring and summer months, the Seelie Court, the ancient lords of the eladrin, along with good fae and their attendants, rule from the Court with a benevolent touch. However, in the fall and winter, the Unseelie Court takes control, the Seelie willingly banishing themselves to keep the balance as the darker lords of the fae: slaadi princes, extraplanar shadow elves, and other creatures of nightmare, come forth to rule. Though the Unseelie are more chaotic than evil, the good that tempers their actions has been removed, and they are capable of acts of cruelty and malice that the Seelie Court could never comprehend (it is said that a certain strain of them inspired the oruch). Regardless of the season, visitors are welcome as always, though the manner of their welcome might be dramatically different. Often mortals that come to visit are encouraged, seduced, or imprisoned into staying, slowly losing touch with their mortal lives to become one of the many attendants of the court. During the Seelie reign, Queen Titania, a powerful and unique eladrin, holds reign with her consorts, while the dark and twisted King Oberon, a death slaad, rules the night, and the Unseelie. Rumor holds that they were, in the primordial times, together as one, but that Maugrim’s severing of the roots forced Oberon to fall into his darker nature, to keep the balance holding within Quelynos.
Ygdrassil: A mighty aspect of Ygdrassil resides here, linked to the one in the Cradle of Nature. The roots of the World Tree slither to the center of the forest, some distance from the Court of the Faerie. Here, the One Tree resides, its roots flowing deep into the soil as all manner of guardians and other protectors rest nearby. There are no real towns or the like in this area, though some of the more sedentary guardians might have a home that they would share with those good characters that respect and honor the wilderness. All manner of beasts can be found here, typically celestial and anarchic variations of standard animals, vermin, and magical beasts. The Wild Hunt patrols this realm, a powerful group of guardians that make certain that the damage done to Ygdrassil during the olden times is never repeated. Though they are good in heart, they will fall on any that harm the Tree, including other good characters acting mistakenly, without mercy or kindness, as the threat of the Tree’s destruction is too great. Rumor holds that one root still touches Aeryth, a root that Maugrim missed in his destructive wake, and that it leads into the heart of Mythwood.