Treants

Treants, also known as the Tree Folk, are one of the Species of Innworld. Though considered by most to be a mythical species that has gone extinct, similar to Dryads and Giants, the last of their kind still wander the oceans.

Physiology

Appearance

Treants resemble vast, ancient trees, their trunks forming limbs that allow them to walk and move. The bark of underwater Treants has long since fossilised, turning into coral and sprouting a reef of colorful aquatic plant life. In contrast to Dryads, Treants do not have a particularly humanoid appearance.

Physical Qualities

Underwater Treants possess a foliage of underwater plants in the place of leaves, some of which is luminescent, and are trailed by schools of fish using them as food and shelter. They have been seen to be at least 200 feet tall, and are capable of holding their own against Krakens.

Reproduction

Treants are born from Great Forests, arising from the same trees that may also become Great Trees in time.

Lifespan

Treants are capable of living for thousands of years at least, as those still alive were there when House Veltras destroyed the Vale Forest around 2000 years ago.

Magical Qualities

In Tales of Adventure and Woe, Edition #8887, a Treant possessed ironwood bark stronger than adamantium. The wood of Treants is also referred to as heartwood, and is superior to any regular wood for construction.

Behavior and Culture

Treants are great protectors of nature, similar to Dryads and Earth Elementals. They are often seen as wrathful spirits, retaliating against the encroachment of civilisation with devastating violence. Unicorns helped guard and serve them.

History

Long ago, Treants were a, if not common, then still well-known race, living in the Great Forests which each continent was home to. Alongside other spirits of nature, they ruled much of the wilderness, and would wreak devastation on the villages in their domain, even fighting the [Druids] that protected these pockets of civilisation. As villages became cities, the [Druids] turned to helping the Treants, as people started cutting them down. At one point, the Treants fought against the Dragonlords, joined by the Drowned Folk in battle. But over time, each Great Forest fell, and the Treants dwindled alongside them. By the time of the Creler Wars, only the last of the species remained, yet they still joined the fight against Rhir after the Crelers breached Ettertree Grove.

The final Treants of all the lands remained on Izril in the Vale Forest, until House Veltras cut down the Great Forest and drove the Treants to walk into the sea. This event, referred to as the Treant Wars, also led the [Druids] to leave Vale Forest.

In the modern age, a small number of Treants still wander the ocean floor, slowly dying, rarely seen by passing [Sailors]. Recently though, they have started to gather around Baleros, drawn by the new Great Forest that has sprouted in the Dyed Lands.

Gallery

• 
  Coral Treant, by Enuryn (commissioned by Pirateaba)
• 
  Coral Treant, by mg
• 
  Treant studies, by mg

Trivia

• Half-elves use "Treants" as a curse.
• The Gladefolk consider them traitors.