Centuries ago, the area known as the
Scorched Grove was once a lush forest of
calm meadows and peaceful glades. Then,
the Great Calamity came: a massive forest
fire that swept through the Grove and
reduced it to a smoldering, ashen plain.
The Grove refused to heal. Stranger still,
the soil beneath the ashen steppes still
smolders with embers. The air here carries
a supernatural heat which can exhaust
travelers or even cause burns depending
on its fierceness. This hostile landscape is
home to a variety of curious fire-aspected
creatures. Certain species, now considered
native to Humblewood, only appeared
after the Great Calamity. Most notable are
the emberbats, which roost in the safety of
the Grove during the day.
Accounts of the great blaze have been
recorded in Humblewood’s history books,
but the exact cause of the Great Calamity
remains a mystery. The soils of the Grove
were tested and found to be distinctively
suited to channeling evocation energy,
especially when used with fire spells.
It was also discovered that the fire-aspected creatures of the
Grove have extra-planar origins, giving rise to the theory that
the Calamity was caused by magic. A popular myth told by
forest-dwellers alleges that the Calamity was caused by the
appearance of a great primal being of fire and destruction,
which visited its wrath upon the Wood and then vanished as
mysteriously as it arrived.
Whatever its origins, the fire devastated the area and
displaced thousands of beasts and people from their homes.
While the inhabitants of the Humblewood know that the
death and rebirth is part of the natural order of the Wood, the
Calamity that befell the Grove was clearly unnatural.
Each year, the Grove pushes on the boundary of the forest,
growing slightly as its edges are set ablaze by windblown
embers or fire-infused creatures. The expansion of the Grove
leaves the newly-burned areas similarly affected, experiencing
the supernatural qualities of the Grove. This gradual spread has
increased with a recent spate of forest fires, making those who
study the Grove nervous.
The Scorched Grove is cared for by a conclave of mystics
and druids known as the Tenders. Many Tenders are talented
thinkers and practitioners of natural magic, who have dedicated their lives to understanding the nature
of the Calamity’s
effect on the Grove and healing the damage it has caused. They
believe that through study and communion with nature, the
natural balance of the energy in the wood can be restored,
healing the Grove back into the tranquil forest it once was.
There is much debate about the intent and success of the
Tenders. High-society perch-dwellers are inclined to think of
the Tenders as nothing more than “odd-birds,” embarking on
a fool’s errand. These detractors claim that the Scorched Grove
is simply a quirk of Humblewood’s natural magic. Much of
the populace agrees with this point of view, despite educated
claims to the contrary. Still, given the affinity between nature
and the cultures of the Wood, Tenders are generally respected
for the care and reverence they give to the forest.