Millennium Tree Forest

The **Millennium Tree Forest**, originally named **Held's Forest** and also known as the **Forest of Bewilderment**, was a wood bordering Lucifenia and Elphegort and a pilgrim site for Levin followers of Held. It was infamous for its dense flora and lack of roads, making it extremely difficult to traverse for those unfamiliar with it. It was later dubbed **Evil's Forest** after rumors spread of its visitors disappearing in search of Gallerian Marlon's small theater.

## History

### Early History

In BT 528, the earth god Held created the forest and all life in it after burying 62 of his kin in the middle of the ground world. Afterward, he became the Millennium Tree and oversaw the forest and his spirits. Sometime afterwards, the forest became a pilgrim site for Levin followers of the Held sect in Heldogort. At some point, followers began holding a festival for Held at the Lake of Amusement.

### Original Sin

At some point before EC 0, Adam Moonlit and Eve Zvezda settled in the forest and lived within a small home, marrying at the location. Following the establishment of the Evillious Calendar, Meta Salmhofer sought refuge at the forest and periodically visited it with her children, Hänsel and Gretel.

In late 001, Meta visited the forest with her children and briefly left them in the forest. They were subsequently found and taken by Eve while she was strolling the forest. Chased by Meta, Eve fled to her home when she was caught by the witch and immediately killed her at her doorstep.

Following the famine caused by the Levianta Catastrophe, Adam and Eve took their children out into the forest in EC 014 and abandoned them there before returning to their home. The twins later found their way back home and killed their foster parents, splitting Eve's Original Sin into seven fragments. After the twins scattered the vessels of sin they created across the world and left the forest, Held was visited by Elluka Clockworker in EC 015 and tasked the mage with collecting the vessels.

### Venomania and Conchita

Afterward, Elluka and Irina Clockworker periodically visited the earth god. At some point, the village of Yatski began cultivating the area around the Lake of Amusement as a trauben farm. Following the end of the Venomania Event in EC 137, Gumina Glassred often came to the forest to pray to the Tree of Held as another pilgrim. Elluka later visited the forest to report to Held about the incident with Duke Sateriasis Venomania.

In EC 325, Elluka visited the forest again to report her failure to acquire the Twin Blades of Levianta and discuss the recent subordinate she acquired. Several hours after she left, Irina arrived and tortured the god to learn of Elluka's location. She eventually gave up and left, prompting Held to task his spirits with erecting a barrier to prevent those with great magic power from entering the forest. Later on, the barrier was removed.

### Story of Evil

Sometime during the 5th century EC, an Elphegortean king of the Levia sect renamed the forest as the "Millennium Tree Forest" and dubbed the Tree of Held as the "Millennium Tree". At some point during the turn of the century, Keel Freezis constructed a secret hiding place within an old well in the forest.

Elluka later visited Held around EC 492 to report her success in sealing a hand mirror vessel she encountered. Around that time, a group of bandits took refuge in the abandoned home. Later that year, the bandits were fended off by Germaine and Allen Avadonia following their abduction of Chartette Langley.

In January of EC 499, Elluka visited Held, asking for an apprentice to help her collect the vessel of Pride and discuss her visions of the Kingdom of Lucifenia's destruction. A few weeks later, Elluka returned and Held agreed to have his spirits, Gumillia and Michaela become her disciples. The mage then took the spirits farther west and incarnated them as humans. Afterward, the three took residence at the abandoned house while Elluka trained them for a month.

The house was later used as the headquarters for the Lucifenian Resistance in EC 500. The forest was set ablaze later that year by the Lucifenian army as part of the Green Hunting. Elluka and Gumillia swiftly entered the forest and conjured a rainstorm to douse the fire. Michaela later sought refuge from the genocide in Keel Freezis' secret room in the well.

Michaela was later visited by Allen Avadonia and assassinated the following night by Ney Futapie. Allen returned to the well shortly after to discover Michaela's dying body; after the boy left, King Kyle Marlon arrived at the well and discovered his beloved's corpse. Elluka and Gumillia arrived shortly after and forcibly took the corpse from Kyle's possession.

Witnessing her body become a plant sapling, the two mages consulted Held on the matter. The sapling was later planted by Clarith and Rin near the Millennium Tree in EC 505. Later that year, Kyle Marlon, transformed by the Demon of Pride, began stalking the forest. Two weeks later, Gumillia, Germaine Avadonia, and Yukina Freezis visited the forest and checked the old well before visiting Held to confirm the situation regarding the possessed Kyle.

### Change of Hands

The demonically transformed king then attacked the group before being subdued by Michaela's singing and exorcised of the demon by Gumillia. Around the EC 530s, Held's Millennium Tree body died and was replaced by Michaela, becoming the new giant Millennium Tree of the forest. Later on, the Sisters of Clarith established a church at the entrance of the forest to regulate pilgrims attempting to visit the Held sect's sacred tree.

In EC 609, Puerick Rogzé took sap from the tree in order to formulate a cure to an airborne Gift ravaging Toragay; around the same time, Elluka and Gumillia visited the New Millennium Tree to meet with him, and Margarita entered the forest after regaining all her memories as the Clockworker's Doll. In the abandoned house, Elluka then confronted Eve within the doll and engaged in a battle with the witch before later leaving with her apprentice.

### Evil's Forest

In EC 964, Ma gave birth to Nemesis Sudou in the abandoned house and raised her there. In EC 975, Ma abandoned the child at her home and left her to go insane. In EC 982, Gallerian Marlon acquired the abandoned property and demolished it, building Evil's Theater in its place. The following year, Ma returned to the forest and resided at the theater with the vessels of sin the judge had collected during life.

Afterward, the theater and forest were largely forgotten. In EC 990, the awakened Clockworker's Doll resounded the Clockwork Lullaby across the forest and numerous treasure hunters began visiting the forest in search of Gallerian's rumored fortune. With all the visitors beings killed by the Master of the Graveyard and the Servants, the forest was dubbed "Evil's Forest" as rumors spread it became a place of no return.

In EC 998, the forest was used by the Elphegortean military as a testing ground for their new prototype weapon: Punishment. After Punishment was fired, the forest was decimated.

### World's End

After the destruction of the Third Period and its subsequent merging with the Hellish Yard, an illusion of the verdant forest created from the memories of Held and Michaela embodied the obliterated landscape. Later on, Allen Avadonia teleported to the site and met with the gods before taking the Venom Sword and leaving with the Demon of Lust.

## Locations

### Millennium Tree

The first and largest tree of the forest, found near its center. Originally called the "Tree of Held", it was widely believed to be the incarnated earth deity himself and became a center for pilgrimages by followers of the Held sect. Over time, fewer pilgrims began making the journey to visit the Millennium Tree and less believers would come and pray for the god's assistance or guidance. It was later replaced by the "New Millennium Tree". It is assumed that traffic to visit the new tree completely halted after rumor spread of visitors to the forest disappearing.

### Lake of Amusement

A large lake in the northern area of the forest. During each Millennium Tree Festival, the elderly followers of the Held sect invited the youth to come together and celebrate, telling legends about the lake. The village of Yatski was set up northwest of the lake as a trauben farm, dying its west bank bluish-purple.

### Ancient Well

An old well that existed in the south-east portion of the forest. Down the ladder of the well was a secret room built for emergency situations by Keel Freezis. The hidden room had a bed and carried enough rations to last an extended period of time. An iron-barred window gave it a viewpoint to the outside.

### Abandoned House

The home of Adam and Eve after they fled from Levianta. The house was used as a refuge for the woodcutters up until their death. Following the murder investigation into their deaths, it was abandoned. Approximately 500 years later it became a hideout for bandits, Elluka and her disciples, and the Lucifenian Resistance. The house's furniture and silverware remained and became dilapidated along with the house over the centuries. The house was later demolished to create Evil's Theater.

### Evil's Theater

 A small movie theater in the forest. Built in EC 982 by Gallerian Marlon in place of the abandoned house, the theater acts as the judge's personal storehouse for his collection of the Seven Deadly Sins. In the years following his death, the theater was forgotten until rumors spread that Gallerian's fortune was laid there. It acted as the residence of Ma, Gammon Octo, and several of the awakened vessels of sin.