Eldeen Reaches

The power of nature resonates within the Eldeen Reaches, flowing out from the primeval Towering Wood into the cultivated lands of the east, where it nourishes crops and people alike. The Reaches have long been the bastion of the mysterious druids whose faith offers guidance to understanding the deeper mysteries of primal power. Though this land is now a place of peace and prosperity, the Eldeen Reaches have known hardship as dark and sinister as that faced by any people in Khorvaire.

Location

The Eldeen Reaches are bordered by Lake Galifar and the Wynarn River in the east, Silver Lake in the south, Byeshk Mountains in the southwest, Shadowcrag Mountains and Icehorn Mountains in the northwest and Eldeen Bay in the northeast. The Demon Wastes border the northwest, Aundair on the eastern border, Breland on the southeast, and Droaam and The Shadow Marches to the southwest. Though the Lightning Rail does not pass through the Eldeen Reaches, House Orien roadways pass through the lower southeast of the nation, around Lake Galifar.

Society

Two distinct cultures occupy the Eldeen Reaches. The Towering Wood that fills most of the region is home to the various druid sects, while the agricultural communities dominate the northeastern plains.

The farmers of the northeastern region live simple, rustic lives. They have worked the land for generations and possess a strong sense of pride and ownership. The typical Reacher has little interest in events beyond his village but a fierce loyalty to the people of his community. The region has never been heavily populated, and there is plenty of room for the farmers to expand. A Reacher focuses on caring for the land, producing a good harvest, and leaving his or her children a larger farm. While strangers may be treated with suspicion in some communities, in general the people of the Reaches are generous and friendly, doing what they can to make travelers comfortable.

House Vadalis maintains communities along the eastern border that are larger than the farming villages and generally more sophisticated in terms of the services and forms of entertainment available to travelers. While Vadalis respects the power and influence of the Wardens of the Wood, Vadalis towns rarely have druid advisors; the house considers the powers of its dragonmark heirs to be proof of its own strong bond to nature.

A dozen distinct druid sects inhabit the Towering Wood. The largest of the sects, the Wardens of the Wood, has communities scattered throughout the forest. The other sects are largely nomadic. Most remain within specific regions of the great wood, but the Ashbound and a few others migrate across the length of the forest. Each sect has its own customs and practices, and sometimes these customs conflict with those of another group. The Wardens of the Wood provide a warm welcome to all travelers who show proper respect for the forces of nature, while the Ashbound are often suspicious of travelers and hostile toward those who practice arcane magic.

The majority of Khorvaire’s shifter population resides in the western half of the Reaches. While many shifters have integrated into the druid sects, a number of shifter tribes also live in the woods. Like the druid sects, each tribe has distinct customs. Some of the shifter tribes follow a nomadic lifestyle; these shifters generally celebrate their bond to the natural world and prefer to avoid all contact with other races. Stationary tribes usually embrace their human heritage, establishing hamlets and trading with travelers and the people of the northeastern plains. All suffered to at least some degree at the hands of the Silver Flame inquisitions over the centuries, but in recent years the Church of the Silver Flame has altered its attitude toward the shifters; it no longer considers them to be the spawn of evil. While it hasn’t embraced the shifters, the Church no longer sees them as creatures that must be destroyed (despite their lycanthropic heritage).

Religion

Druid traditions dominate the Eldeen Reaches. The Wardens of the Wood hold sway over the region and most communities have a Warden druid who serves as a spiritual guide and advisor. The Wardens seek to find a balance between human advancement and nature. Unlike the Ashbound, the Wardens have no problem with agriculture, animal husbandry, or hunting for food, as long as proper respect is shown for the land. The Wardens also respect the fey as embodiments of nature—destroying a dryad’s tree is a terrible crime.

While most of the villagers of the eastern Reaches respect the authority and wisdom of the druids, other beliefs and traditions can be found; the Wardens do not prevent the worship of other deities. While few churches exist in the Reaches, the Sovereign Lords Dol Arrah, Olladra, Boldrei, and especially Arawi and Balinor are commonly invoked and revered.

Industries

The Eldeen Reaches contain some of the most fertile lands in all of Khorvaire. Guided by the ancient wisdom of the druids, Eldeen farmers produce abundant harvests of all manner of crops—much more than the relatively small population can use. Therefore, agriculture has become a big business for the people of the Reaches. Breland and Karrnath, in particular, utilize Eldeen produce to supplement the output of their own farms to help feed their highly industrialized societies. For this reason, both nations have tried to gain footholds in the region, and may do so again if trade or the peace efforts fail.

In addition to agriculture, animal husbandry is a major industry in the eastern reaches. House Vadalis is concentrated in the Eldeen Reaches and has spent generations working to domesticate the unusual creatures of the region and using magebreeding techniques to produce new and superior lines of existing species. Mounts, guard beasts, superior livestock, and exotic pets often originate in the Eldeen Reaches.

Darkwood groves are scattered throughout the reaches, and the forests contain many exotic plants and animals that have valuable alchemical or mystical properties. However, the druids discourage the harvesting of rare plants from the woods, and the Wardens of the Wood deal harshly with poachers caught hunting the creatures of the forest for personal gain.

Poaching aside, most of the druid sects tolerate the industries of the northeastern farmers and House Vadalis, as long as the land and livestock are treated with care and respect. Many villages have a local druid who provides spiritual guidance and agricultural advice. However, a few extremist sects—most notably the Ashbound—view such acts as a violation of the natural order. These extremist sects occasionally strike out against the northeastern communities.

Government and Politics

For the past forty years, the Eldeen Reaches have officially been under the protection and guidance of Oalian, the Great Druid of the Wardens of the Wood. Long dominant in the forest, the Wardens have spread out into the plains to ensure order throughout the region. Each village has a druid counselor (of anywhere from 1st to 7th level, depending on the size of the community) who provides magical assistance and spiritual guidance, and who advises the leaders of the community. Councils made up of representatives from each farming family govern each of the communities. Bands of Warden rangers patrol the forest, responding to threats as they arise.

The shifter tribes and druid sects have their own customs, but leaders are usually chosen based on age and spiritual wisdom. Concepts of law are guided by the ways of nature, and justice is usually swift and harsh.

Politically, the folk of the Eldeen Reaches largely ignore the events of the east and are ignored in return. The Wardens of the Wood have made clear to Breland and Aundair that they will defend the nation against any military threat and have no interest in further discussions regarding borders, treaties, or resource rights.

Power Groups

House Vadalis

The Mark of Handling first emerged among the earliest human settlers of the northeastern Reaches, and the house has maintained its greatest strongholds in the region ever since. Vadalis controls three small towns and a small city in the Reaches, and goods and services from the other nations can be acquired in these locations on a regular basis. The small towns are Merylsward, Delethorn, and Erlaskar; the small city is Varna, on the Aundair border, home of the Vadalis patriarch. Vadalis appreciates the security and order provided by the Wardens of the Wood and maintains a friendly relationship with most of the druid sects. However, the house has clashed many times with the Ashbound, a sect that abhors the house’s work with magebred animals.

The Gatekeepers

The oldest druid tradition in all of Khorvaire, the Gatekeepers hold true to their charge of vigilance against the horrors of the Dragon Below. Today, less than a hundred Gatekeepers work within the Reaches. These druids maintain old wards scattered around the region, seals that hold the daelkyr and other ancient powers in check. They also watch the skies for signs of deadly planar convergences. Most of the Gatekeepers in the Eldeen Reaches are orcs, though a few humans and half-orcs can be found within the sect.

The Wardens of the Wood

The largest and most influential druid sect in the Eldeen Reaches, the Wardens can be found across the nation, guarding both plain and forest. Their ranks have swelled over the last generation, as many a farmer’s son or daughter has dedicated his or her life to the druidic mysteries. The Wardens maintain order across the Reaches, and all of the sects respect the power and wisdom of the Great Druid who commands them. Oalian, a massive greatpine approximately 210 feet high and more than four thousand years old, was touched by the awaken spell of a long-dead Gatekeeper druid. Bound to the land and the great forest of the Eldeen Reaches, Oalian is the oldest and most powerful druid in Eberron. The Wardens maintain communities throughout the region, including Greenheart, Sylbaran, and Havenglen.

The Cults of the Dragon Below

The legacy of the daelkyr can be found throughout the great wood. Aberrations and other twisted horrors still lurk in the shadows of the forest. Cultists from the Shadow Marches occasionally travel into the Reaches, and shifter tribes and eastern villagers have sometimes been corrupted by the seductive madness of the Dragon Below. These cultists generally battle the Gatekeepers, seeking to undo the ancient wards guarded by the orc druids.

The Lesser Sects

In addition to the Wardens of the Wood, a number of smaller sects—which can prove to be valuable allies or dangerous antagonists—also work within the region. These include the Ashbound, dangerous fanatics who roam the great forest, striking against the farmers of the plains and others they see as threats to the natural order; the Children of Winter, nihilists who embrace death as part of the natural cycle of life; and the Greensingers, druids and rangers with close ties to the fey, who can be found near the Twilight Demesne.

History

The deep woods of the Eldeen Reaches remain mostly as uncultivated and pure as they were when the world was young. In the Age of Monsters, when the goblinoids forged an empire across Khorvaire, the Eldeen Reaches were the domain of orcs who sought to live in harmony with the wilderness. The orcs were devastated and decimated in the war against the daelkyr. As a result of this terrible conflict, the forest was seeded with aberrations and horrid creatures formed by the sinister shapers of flesh.

Millennia passed, and humans came to Khorvaire. As the nations that would one day join together as Galifar took shape, the Eldeen Reaches were largely left alone thanks to tales of the “haunted forest” west of the Wynarn River, filled with monsters and demons. Still, over the course of centuries, humans and members of the other common races slowly drifted into the Reaches. Some came in search of land and opportunity. Hunters and warriors devoted to the Silver Flame came to battle evil magical beasts, eventually driving the more dangerous creatures into the deep woods. Others were drawn to the woods, called by a force they could not name. Deep in the ancient forest, those who heard the call met with the Great Druid Oalian, an awakened greatpine who has watched over the woods for more than four thousand years. He taught those who heard his call the ways of the wild and the duties of the ancient Gatekeepers. His teachings inspired all the druid sects that eventually grew up in the Reaches.

Centuries passed. The druid society grew and spread throughout the forest, which came to be known as the Towering Wood. The younger races brought their own customs and perspectives to the Reaches, of course, and Oalian’s teachings had already begun to diverge from those of the original Gatekeepers. In time, the druids fragmented into a dozen sects. Meanwhile, the nation of Aundair claimed the fertile plains along the eastern edge of the woods, and farmers and settlers spread across the river. Despite minor conflicts between shifter and settler, settler and druid, and even among the druids themselves, the region prospered.

The Last War proved to be the undoing of the old order. As the conflict intensified, Aundair pulled its forces back to protect its heartland and eastern borders, leaving the Eldeen Reaches to fend for themselves. Bandit lords sponsored by Karrnath and the Lhazaar Principalities harried the farms west of the Wynarn River, using the forest as a base and staging ground. In the south, Brelish troops crossed the Silver Lake to occupy Sylbaran, Greenblade, and Erlaskar. As things went from bad to worse, an army of druids and rangers emerged from the forest. In 956 YK, the Wardens of the Wood rallied the farmers and peasants, crushing the bandit army before it knew what was happening. With order restored in the north, the Wardens turned their attention to the south. In 959 YK, they finally succeeded in driving the Brelish forces back across the lake.

Angry at the Aundairian crown for abandoning them, the people swore allegiance to the Great Druid, breaking all ties with the lords of Aundair and resisting several Aundair attempts to regain control. Since 958 YK, the people of the Eldeen Reaches have considered themselves to be part of an independent nation, and they were finally recognized as such with the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold. It remains to be seen whether Aundair will try to reclaim its old territories now that the Last War has ended.

Major Settlements

Greenheart (Capital Town, 1,300)

Greenheart is home to the Wardens of the Wood and the Great Druid Oalian, and the town is the center of the Eldeen Reaches’ authority and government. It is the only site in the Towering Wood that sees significant numbers of travelers, and it is here that those wishing to join the druids first come to study and train under the elders who govern the settlement.

Although Greenheart is small compared to Varna in the east, the town’s population swells for ceremonies and sacred festivals. The folk of the forest are committed to defending Greenheart, and they can quickly converge on the town in response to any threat.

The druids permit no commerce within Greenheart, and although visitors are welcome, the town has no marketplace or tavern. Shelter, comfort, and healing are freely provided within private homes, as long as outsiders show the proper deference and respect for druidic customs.

Grove of the Great Druid: Oalian, ruler of the Eldeen Reaches, is like no other creature in Eberron. Some claim he was once a tree, awakened by powerful magic wielded by the original Gatekeepers. Others say he is the first tree, as old as the world. If Oalian knows the truth of his origin, he does not share it. At the center of Greenheart stands the Great Druid’s grove. Trees and treants form a ring around a pool of mirror-still water where the Great Druid channels the primal power that enriches this land

Cree (Small Town, 1,000)

The small town of Cree, located on the shore of Lake Galifar, doubles as both a farming and fishing community. Farms spread out to the west and north, while fishing vessels ply their trade on the crystal-blue waters of Lake Galifar. Boats from Cree can be seen all across the lake, and its crews are among the bravest sailors operating on these waters. While boats from the other coastal towns prefer to sail along the shore, Cree’s fishing boats often cut across the lake, showing little fear of the deepest reaches of the waterway.

One such brave sailor is Captain Notak Ninefinger who commands the vessel Smooth Sailing. When Notak and his crew aren’t engaged in fishing, they can be hired to transport passengers and cargo across the lake. As such, this Cree vessel can often be seen in the ports all along the Lake Galifar shore, in the Eldeen Reaches, Aundair, and Breland.

Shae Loralyndar (Feyspire, 4,500)

The druids have long known that the boundaries between the world and the Feywild are thin within the Towering Wood. For centuries, legends spoke of the feyspire of Shae Loralyndar materializing for short periods within the forest. Now, the great citadel’s appearance after the Day of Mourning heralds a new chapter in the history of the feyspire and the Reaches.

Shae Loralyndar stands at the center of a forested valley in the Twilight Demesne, where waterfalls from the Shadowcrags spill into the forest. The Spire of Rose and Thorn defines the artistry and grace of the eladrin. Its peak-roofed houses are connected by slender bridges, beautiful rose gardens spreading between them as the towers of the eladrin lords rise high above.

The eladrin enjoyed peaceful relations with the druids of the Towering Wood. However, their inability to return to their native plane in the aftermath of the Mourning has led to suspicion and unrest, and the eladrin struggle now to find their place here. A rivalry has always existed between Shae Loralyndar and Pylas Pyrial. The folk of that Zilargo feyspire have adapted easily to their new lives in Eberron, an attitude that seems treasonous to the folk of Shae Loralyndar.

Lord Eversun rules Shae Loralyndar as he has for centuries. He regards the druids as useful (if inferior) allies, but he refuses to subject himself or his people to their laws. This perceived arrogance is a source of growing conflict within factions of the Wardens.

The Twilight Demesne: The sylvan grove known as the Twilight Demesne has long been a sacred site for the fey of the Towering Wood, for the boundaries between the Feywild and Eberron are thin here. The Twilight Demesne is home to great revels, with fey folk journeying from across the Towering Wood and beyond to pay homage to the court of Shae Loralyndar.

Wolf's Paw (Thorp, 75)

The farming community of Wolf’s Paw, located in the central region of the northeastern farmland, is one of the relatively few permanent shifter communities in the Reaches. Most shifters either live among the common races in their communities or wander as part of a nomadic tribe that operates more like a wolf pack than the nomads of the Talenta Plains. Those of Wolf’s Paw, however, saw an advantage to settling down and claiming a piece of land for their own.

The leader of this shifter farming community is Slara, who convinced her pack to stop wandering and work the land. Spiritual guidance comes from Lorgan, whose ties to the Wardens of the Wood have proved beneficial to the community on more than one occasion.

In addition to farming, the townsfolk make periodic trips into the forest near Havenglen to hunt for meat. These hunts have an almost religious signifi cance for the community, and many traditions and ceremonies dating back to their time as a nomadic pack find outlets in the forest. The community also possesses a secret that no one outside its ranks is aware of. Slara’s grandsire, the ancient Thorntuft, is actually a werewolf in hiding. A survivor of the Silver Flame inquisitions, Thorntuft rarely ventures far from Slara’s homestead. He is content to sit in the sun and enjoy his role as historian and advisor to the community. Only occasionally does he desire to shift into hybrid or wolf form and do a little hunting of his own—always being careful not to spread the curse during his hunts

Varna (Frontier Town, 8,000)

On the eastern frontier with Aundair, Varna is the only settlement of significant size in the Reaches—this land’s commercial center and gateway to the rest of the world. Reacher merchants congregate here to buy and sell livestock and to trade finished goods for the Reaches’ bountiful harvests.

All the dragon marked houses maintain a presence in the town, even as they look for ways to expand their influence in the Reaches. At the same time, Varna has become home to the excesses of all larger centers, particularly a thriving black market where poachers and trappers smuggle rare plants and animals into Aundair and beyond.