The Faewild Woodland Invasion

In the year of 6E1917, across several continents, deep
bottomless pits appeared in many forests.
Tears in space and magic had created portals to the most savage abysses of
the Faewilds. Plague and bloodshed spread throughout the forests of Tella’ndor.
Most Fae creatures had previously never before shown such primal ferocity and
they soon ravaged many forests. The inhabitants of the Faewilds were often
thought of as having been the entities which planted the first seeds on
Tella’ndor that flourished into many lush forests. However, the Fae that emerged
from these pits had been so corrupted that they were mere shadows of the purity
which they used to symbolise. It was said that Arbella’s influence started
waning since the release of the Fae. This Fae Invasion was fairly discreet
since the Fae hordes never once left the forests they had invaded and hence
scholars coined it the Faewild Woodland Invasion.

The wardens of forests, druids, centaurs and many other
Sylvan races of Tella’ndor gathered together to plan their tact response to
this situation. These times were known for having given birth to the legacy of
the Councils of Nature. These Councils across the forests had formed through
necessity and caused many woodland races and tribes to ally with each other
which had seldom happened before. Most of these Councils were led by Treants
and Ancient Living Trees since they often expressed cold and logical yet just
viewpoints on matters of nature.  The
Councils unanimously agreed that in order to preserve nature’s natural cycle,
the Fae portals would have to be shut in order to prevent the immediate
necrosis of Tella’ndor’s forests. The fighting and spellcasting was gruesome
and the war against the Fae was hard-fought. At one point, the front of the
battlefields nearly reached the World Tree in North-West Cahryst. Many tens of
thousands of precious lives were lost but they had not prevented the World Tree
from having been damaged. In the Kingdom of Andel, the Fae that had invaded the
Oakreach Forest were exclusively Fae with relations to the Fire Planes. Many
acres of forest were burnt to ash and settlements lost to the thick smoke. The
Council of Nature that sprang forth in the Oakreach Forest was founded by a
female Weeping Willow Ancient Living Tree named Swifthallow. Swifthallow had
lived for thousands of years but the Fae invasion had traumatised her. Oakreach
Forest had been pressured and hard-pressed for answers. She did not want to
witness the death of so many more fellow creatures. The fire Fae conquered
miles of woodland, converting it into plagued land. The Council of Nature in
the Oakreach Forest was on the verge of being dominated. When Swifthallow gave
the order for one last meeting, many gathered with the acknowledgement that
they would be probably overrun in that meeting and that the meeting was
essentially for their last prayers. Swifthallow, having not received any divine
message from Arbella, instead looked to the Twin Solar Goddesses Icara and
Asari in that final meeting.

As predicted, the fire Fae had marched unto the meeting and
made quick work of defeating the Guardians of Oakreach Forest. Swifthallow in
her final moments prayed for the Twin Solar’s assistance. As a wicked Fae
pierced Swifthallow’s heart, she became engulfed in divine flames. It was
reported that two booming voices that sounded like roaring fires spoke out. Her
eyes glowed bright white and a flaming scimitar appeared in one hand and a
flaming longsword in the other. Swifthallow fought bravely but began to be
overwhelmed. In the moment she was buried under the fire Fae that threw
themselves on top of her, Swifthallow prayed to Arbella, Asari and Icara to
accept her as a sacrifice to ensure the Forest’s eternal longevity. Suddenly,
Swifthallow burst into bright light in a divine explosion. The fire Fae were
taken aback by what they saw. Out of the body of Swifthallow, her soul became
visible and it split into seemingly hundreds of seeds. The seeds began to
rapidly grow arms, legs and heads. This was the birth of the Oaklings that
signalled Arbella’s regained fortitude. Out of Swifthallow’s suffering, her
strong soul provided the sustenance for a new subspecies related to Treants.
These Oaklings, under the blessings of the Twin Solars, were resistant to the
fires of the Fae and managed to cripple them. The Oaklings drove back the Fae
in the coming years. The first Faewild portal was sealed right in the Oakreach
Forest. This was the first success of the Councils of Nature approximately 20
years after it had been established. Soon after, Arbella’s influence in the
forests re-emerged and aided greatly in driving back the primal Fae. Arbella
introduced the Oakling race into the other forests and they were consequential.
It was reported that by the time the last few portals were closed, the primal
Fae seemingly became less aggressive in their pushes and allegedly some Fae
that had overcome their spell of evil helped the Councils of Nature drive back
the last Fae hordes. Some notable Fae races that aided in pushing back the
hordes included Wildens, Pixies, Nymphs, Dryads and Xephs.  Divine and Arcane magic was used to seal back
the portals, most notably the spells of many Witches. The Councils of Nature
were unsure if they had sealed every entry into Tella’ndor but they had
established a large enough foothold that they knew it could prevent another
such invasion. The Fae races that aided in sealing the portals were given
independence and the right to colonise land on Tella’ndor.

These Councils grew exponentially over the next several
decades and became epicentres for culture, magic and growth. With Arbella’s
renewed strength, the forests once again regrew and flourished, including the
Oakreach Forest. Alongside the regrowth of Oakreach Forest, many settlements
were re-established, most notably Bloomhallow, which was founded upon
Swifthallow’s body. Swifthallow was officially declared a Saint of the Twin
Solars and Arbella. Many Oakling have since embraced their role as Protectors
and Guardians.