I is for Inganno Forest

The Forest of Inganno

originally posted with Prism Book Tours

On the northern edge of the Prathae Plains lies an ancient forest. Wisps of a grey mist ooze between bent and wrinkled trees. Silvery cobwebs sway loosely among their twisting limbs like tattered curtains of the dead. A force lingers at the edge of the forest like the foul stench of a beast.

It breathes of dark magic and death.

But it wasn’t always so.

Through the veils of time, a history long forgotten, it had once been a lush forest. Sammara. A place of enchanted trees and healing, it’s breath a song of joy and peace.

The home of the Naajiso, the fairy-kind.

The Naajiso were not of this world. These fairy-like beings were the size of a large cat and had iridescent wings not unlike a dragonfly. They had no need for clothes or food like the other races, but later would adapt to the changing cultures around them. Legend has it, they were born from the tears of a spirit being kidnapped and imprisoned in a pearl. Others say they flew from the eternal realms of Zohar to rescue her. Either way, in Sammara they took up residence, watching and waiting.

The Tainted One came, and Lord Stygian ruled Raemoja and the plains with the blood of the innocent, his desire for the world. The forest concealed its secrets from him, a secret that would bring about his demise.

But it wasn’t the blood of the innocent that cursed the forest.

Years after the fall of Raemoja and Stygian’s defeat, the Tainted One lingered, her promise of power alluring to the young Naajiso nymphs who longed to be freed from the land and return to their eternal home. So they rebelled against their own kind, but instead of freedom, they found bondage. For their treachery, these fairy-like beings were cast into the Abyss, never to grow their wings. But the Tainted One had plans for them and covered their shame with thick wiry fur. To this day, they are known as the imps.

Thus the lies of the Tainted One consumed the forest, and Samara was no more. Or is it?

The forest, now called Inganno, is at war with itself, yearning to be free of the Tainted One’s presence. Beneath the struggle, it breathes a sad and weary song. Sleep.

So be forewarned, it is best to avoid the forest at all costs. If you find that your path will not alter its course, then do not sleep, do not linger, but travel swiftly upon the Naajiso Trail. You may yet leave the forest unscathed. At least, that is what the Guardians say.

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