Weeping Rowan

> *"Children of despair, of hope, of sorrow, of joy, of rage, of love...you have come, not for me, but for them."*
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**The Weeping Rowan,** previously known as **Lothaerian,** was a cursed Archfey that resided in the Verdant Grove in the Feywild.

The Wanderers encountered him in their efforts to rescue Ascher and Dalee.

## Appearance

* Archfey
	+ Elven features, such as his ears pointed towards the back of his head
	+ Vibrant eyes
	+ Brownish green hair
* Gaunt, with frail arms and pronounced ribs
* Dislocated shoulders, presumably in an attempt to escape
* Clothed in patches and bark
* Speaks in labored breaths

## Known Backstory

* In his younger days, regularly committed pranks with his friend Artana as a way of getting attention
* Ultimately turned to more malicious pranks, eventually striking out on his own
* At one point stole precious belongings from the Queens of the Seelie Court and Unseelie Court and swapped them, hoping to spark a conflict
* Was cursed by both queens once the ruse was discovered, trapping him in a Rowan tree
* Initially was not bothered by his punishment, until he realized his eternal imprisonment would lead to him being forgotten, including by Artana
* Began asking travelers and passers-by to share their stories, feelings, and emotions with him
* Began to crave these emotions more viscerally over time, eventually offering to take people's sorrows away from them just to feel something
* Additionally gained the ability to create Thralls out of some of the people who came to see him
* Eventually used his Thralls to kidnap Ascher
* Additionally captured Dalee when she arrived to rescue Ascher
* Encountered the Wanderers as they arrived to rescue Dalee and Ascher, offering them each a chance to give up sorrows of their past
* Only Aggarash accepted, leading them to become one of the Rowan's thralls
* In the ensuing fight, the Rowan and his thralls (including Aggarash) fought against the other Wanderers, dealing major damage to the party and knocking out Clover, Ernelis, and Jothomir throughout the fight. However, the Wanderers in turn managed to lower his defenses by attacking the vine clusters providing power to the barrier surrounding him
* After getting healed by Kelta, Jothomir charged at the Rowan, delivering the killing blow with the Nine Lives Stealer
* In his dying moments, the Rowan was released from his prison and falling to the floor, finally feeling an emotion of his own: sadness. He chuckled at the feeling as he fully collapsed and died
* In the aftermath of the fight, an enraged Warrior McFighter beheaded the Rowan and beat his head to a pulp

## The Story of the Weeping Rowan

The following is the full story of the Weeping Rowan as told by Hollaeti:

> *"This is a story that has been borne on the wind's breath and carried in the griever's heart. It is about one Archfey, though it begins with two. We will simply call him The Rowan, as he does not yet weep. Her, we will simply call his friend. The Rowan and his friend were pranksters. They played these jokes on everyone. Harmless pranks to entertain themselves. And, for a long time, the Rowan and his friends were satisfied. That changed. The Rowan's pranks went farther and farther, reaching and reaching until you could no longer call them harmless. He fed off of everyone's reactions, drinking in their laughter and tears, yet always craving more.*
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> *His final prank was the boldest. He stole from the rulers of both courts, robbing the Seelie and Unseelie Queens alike. But that alone was not enough. He deposited each trinket in the other court, blaming each robbery on the opposite queen. And then he waited. And watched. To the Rowan's delight, his final prank made its mark. Each queen blamed to other, bringing their people closer to conflict than they had been in aeons. And with every argument, every curse spat and every hand that reach towards weapon, the Rowan grew more and more pleased. However, his victory soon came to an end. The queens discovered his treachery, and confronted him together. While his previous pranks had been ignored at worst and encouraged at best, to steal from two queens and nearly bring their courts to war was too far. Seelie and Unseelie alike agreed; the Rowan had to be punished. They took him to a corner of the Feywild, sealed him partially inside a Rowan tree, leaving him enough awareness and power to remain conscious forever.*
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> *This punishment was strangely amusing, at first. The Rowan's friend visited him and they laughed at his predicament, waiting to see when the queens would relent, when he would be free once more. But time passed, and time passed, and time passed. And when even his friend stopped visiting, when the Rowan found himself truly alone, he finally realized: this wasn't his punishment. It wasn't to be immobile, to be trapped forever. It was to be forgotten. Enough time passed that his name faded entirely, leaving him with only the tree that had become his identity. His isolation, immobility, and immortality continued unchanged but, as a result, his sanity diminished. He longed for companionship, for emotions to feed off of, at the very least. And that wish became a need. Became a hunger. Became a craving.*
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> *Whenever anyone stumbled upon him, the Rowan reached out to them. He begged for them to tell him their stories, to share their joys and triumphs. Some engaged with him, yes, but most moved on, leaving him alone once more. It wasn't enough. The paltry scraps he got from a shared story weren't enough. And so he began asking his visitors not to share their emotions, but to give them. He wanted to take their joys and triumphs, to hoard them for himself, to taste a fraction of the life he used to live. But who would give up their joys? Who would give them to a stranger, to a diminished Archfey found sealed inside a Rowan tree? By now the Rowan didn't just wish for others' emotions, he needed it. It drove him madder and madder until he was desperate for anything, any scrap of feeling he could derive. And so he began not to ask for his visitors' joys, but for their sorrows. He could take them away, keep them for himself and relish in them as long as the emotion would allow. This offer to have their sorrows taken away is appealing to many.*
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> *Stories began to trickle into the world, borne by travelers, by the whispers of leaves, by the waters of this very river. 'Seek the Weeping Rowan. Offer your sorrows. He will always take them.' And many did. They found him still in the Verdant Grove. Some go, and return unchanged. Some go, and return transformed. And some go, and do not return.*
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> *The tale I've told has no end, for the Rowan himself has none. He will be here til you and I are dead, buried, and gone."*
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## Personality

* Mischievous and attention-hungry prior to his curse
* Desperate for emotion of any kind after his curse, and willing to go to great lengths to attain it from whoever he can

## Combat Strategy

* Send thralls to attack
* Use the Verdant Grove, such as an acidic attack from the Rowan's tree and vines sprouting from the walls
* Cast spells from within a barrier of vines and branches, powered by several vine clusters throughout the chamber