Interlude The Great Elven Schism (Patreon)

Long ago the Elves were once united as part of a single kingdom. The ancient elves made their homes in the forests of a land now known as the Forbidden Continent. A land sealed off by the gods. That seal came into place around the same time as the great schism occurred among the elves. The schism that led to the formation of the Elven kingdoms of today.

Now as one might surmise the two events are related, intricately so. What led to the two events was in fact something many would think innocuous. The summoning of a plant. However it was no ordinary plant, but one with the power to change the world irrevocably. The plant was in fact pulled across realms into this one by an elf too talented for her own good in the art of summoning, and that plant was directly responsible for the fall of the Great Elven Empire.

Naturally a race attuned to nature, with a great deal of respect for all living things would have a disagreement on what to do about a plant, a natural symbol of the natural world. Some fled beneath the earth becoming the Dark Elves and The Drow. Others fled across the sea founding settlements in foreign lands and becoming the Elves of today. While a third group attempted to destroy the plant only to fail and be conquered instead. After their failure, the gods themselves intervened and sealed the entire continent to prevent the plant from spreading any further.

After the fall of the Elves, those who remained drifted apart and rebuilt. Founding a number of kingdoms including the kingdoms of Stormwind, and Bluewood. Kingdoms who today have decent relations but differing values. Along with a few fundamental differences in beliefs. Ancient differences that date back to the Schism, a period that was hard for the elves, a period where many groups had to make difficult deals just to get by.

Now the real question is, what kind of plant could cause such a schism, what kind of plant could draw the attention of the gods? That plant is known as Bloodleaf, an ancient parasitic plant that prefers to grow in people rather than soil. It roots itself under the skin, and concentrates near the major veins and arteries seeking nutrients from the host’s blood. The plant is also known to mess with body chemistry, boosting sex drive, causing mood swings, and personality shifts. In later stages the plant infiltrates the nervous system, and major organs. Eventually the plant takes control of the host, and in the process gains all of the host’s memories. Interestingly enough the plant requires certain hormones only produced in a sexually mature host to grow, which makes it unable to grow in children. Also of note is that the plant requires a female host to enter its final growth stage, often referred to as the queen stage.