The Venthalyr

The forests expand and will consume all

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Infobox

The Venthalyr

- Facts -

Aliases	The Verdant Scourge
Type	Sentient, Humanoid
Ancestry	Ancient Monkhalyr
Age	70 Years (Adult) Indefinite lifespan within their forests, greatly reduced outside
Height	1.7 meters
Weight	60 kg
Weaving Discipline	Shamanism (Breaking the Cycle)
Society	Mostly Unified, War-Driven, Expansionist
Governance	Druidic Circles, Elders Councils, Hierarchical Clans
Speech	Venthalyri

“We are the shadow that slowly etches closer, the roots that strangle the light, the canopy that suffocates the weak. Let them flee; they cannot outrun the forest.”

Naerith Shadecaller, Druid of the Ebon Hollow, at the Twilight Conclave

"Life flows from the heart of these forests. To embrace it is to know eternity; to deny it is to become the very soil beneath our roots."

Laethen of the Verdant March, on the eve of the Sundered Grove’s siege

"You call it assimilation. I call it liberation. You call it cruel, we call it birthright. For the Panther does not care for the wailing of the Sheep."

Captured Venthalyr Raider, confessions recorded at Korr Keep.

Basic Information:

The Venthalyr descendants of the ancient Monkhalyr, transformed over millennia by their entwinement with the arcane forests they call home, remnants of the Convergence, where reality merged with the Mirror in the cataclysm 30,000 years ago. These Woodlands are dark and twisted places, where flora and fauna was reshaped into otherworldly, often malevolent beings.

Inhabiting these dense, twisted woods filled with unstable magic, the Venthalyr have evolved into beings uniquely attuned to their environment, becoming lithe, forest-bound creatures, perfectly adapted to a life under and in the shadows of the ever-shifting canopy. They possess elongated limbs, hard claw-like nails for climbing, light-sensitive eyes that faintly glow, and skin tones from deep brown to mossy green, allowing them to blend seamlessly into their surroundings.

Dependent on the sourging essence of the mirror that permeates their forests, the Venthalyr live in near-immortality within these enchanted domains. Outside their forested lands, however, their strength and abilities quickly fade, which drives their relentless expansion. Their territory grows as they plant new forests and assimilate foreign races through force, expanding the bounds of their mystical woodlands and ensuring their continued existence.

• Physical Adaptations: Slender, agile forms with climbing adaptations, light-sensitive eyes and akute hearing, camouflaged skin. Some even possess prehensile tails for forest mobility.
• Forest Dependency: Their strength and vitality are bound to the enchanted forests, granting them agelessness and increased resilience within their borders, while significantly weakened beyond their borders.
• Sterility and Assimilation: Practically sterile due to the constant arcane radiation over millennia, the Venthalyr rely on assimilating other races to propagate their race, with children born within their forests becoming Venthalyr.
• Primary Magic: Breaking the Cycle, a blood-based shamanic magic focused on mutation, transformation, and manipulation of life and death, is used both in battle and to maintain control over their surroundings.

Current Affairs:

The Venthalyr are in constant pursuit of territorial expansion, aiming to regain the dominance they once held after the Convergence and battling the curse of infertility that plagues their kin, with each Venthalyr birth hinging on assimilating members of other races, often through raids and forced incorporation into their society.

Their enchanted forests act both as home and battlegrounds, as they wage guerrilla warfare and employ dark shamanic magic to weaken neighboring lands before seizing them. By planting satellite forests and destabilization, they slowly claim more territory, extending the reach of their influence and allowing the essence of the Mirror to bind new lands to their power.

In addition, the Venthalyr hold deep-seated hatred toward their cousins, the Anthalyr, whom they view as traitors for rejecting the ancestral forest ways. This animosity manifests in occasional skirmishes as the Venthalyr seek either to reclaim or to destroy their wayward kin.

The Druidic circles, which govern Venthalyr society, often find themselves in dispute over the methods and goals of expansion, with some advocating for swift, decisive conquest and others for more careful, patient assimilation. However, they remain united in their mission to grow their territory and prevent any encroachment from outsiders.

For the Venthalyr, survival means ensuring that their forests grow without end, so one day the world lies in the shadow of their canopy. And every newly assimilated land strengthens their numbers and power.

Key Issues Facing the Venthalyr:

• Territorial Expansion: Expanding forests is essential to their survival, yet each new conquest risks open conflict with neighboring civilizations.
• Population Crisis: Venthalyr are nearly sterile due to arcane mutations, relying on assimilated outsiders to sustain and grow their numbers.
• Internal Divisions: Druidic circles hold conflicting views on the speed and nature of expansion, though they remain united in their broader goal of growth and preservation of their way of life.
• Tension with the Anthalyr: Long-standing, deep rooted hatred with the Anthalyr, as the Venthalyr see it as their duty to either reclaim or erradicate their wayward kin.
• Threatened Territory: External civilizations, seeing the Venthalyr forests as a danger, push back on their expansion, leading to border conflicts and raids.

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Myths and History:

Fact1:

• Description

Myth2:

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