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The Realm of the Golden Wood is said to be the crown of the Benelim kingdoms, second only to the Realm of Terra. It is a mighty kingdom ruled by King Christoros, the son of High King Ioannis.
Geography
It is a vast realm of ancient golden needled pine trees and gargantuan oaks. Even the grassy fields have a golden tinge. Its location is secure, with the Outer Ocean to the east, the God's Teeth Mountains to the west, and the Realm of Terra to the south. Maelim tribes may dwell in the Hinterlands, but they are typically benign, unable to muster large armies and are content to do their own thing.
Only the northern border provides a threat in the form of the ruins of the Realm of the White Birches. Ever since the Second Novalim War, lingering mutated creatures and pockets of dastardly Horrorlim still infest the snowy forests. Large portions of the very land itself is corrupted and twisted. As a result the northern border remains heavily fortified, with a sizable garrison standing by at all times.
The Ways of Terra
The Golden Wood, like all Benelim kingdoms follows the example of Domina Terra. While they have plenty of autonomy, their cultural values have always echoed those of the Earth Goddess. It is a side effect of the bond that was part of the creation of the Benelim itself. Most of the Golden Wood has no true buildings, the woods themselves provide everything they need. Structures are carved into the gargantuan conifers and oaks. From the walls of their fortresses to the tiniest of homes.
For Domina Terra decrees that the world must not be altered lightly. Every tree, shrub and blade of grass was meant to be where it was. To chop down trees damages Terra's world. It can disrupt the balance, the natural order of things. There are exceptions to this, stone has more tolerance to be altered, and thus stone outcroppings often become the few true buildings and the stonemasons of the Golden Wood are quite skilled indeed. Only after consulting Domina Terra may plants be chopped down or altered, but exceptions are terribly rare.
During the ancient days the Benelim tried to instill these values in their humans brethren, guiding them in the ways of Terra like an older sibling. But after communication was cut off following the Second Novalim War, the humans abandoned the creeds, chopping down forests to build new structures. Even when relations improved, such as during the time of Ruth the Uniter, they never saw eye to eye on this issue ever again.
The Backbone of
the Mortal Realms
Time and again the Golden Wood has proven to be the unappreciated rock for the Mortal Realms. Before the Godshards, it was the Golden Army that would save the humans in times of trouble. While there were human kingdoms who could defend themselves with skill, their forces were but rabble compared to the Golden Army. At its height the Golden Wood was the mightiest kingdom, besting Maelim armies, relagating Harpies to the mountains and dutifully guiding humanity into the light of civilization.
Yet the state of affairs would change abruptly. Perhaps centuries of peace made them arrogant and lethargic. The Second Novalim Wars saw the Realm of the White Birches abandoned and the northernmost lands of the Golden Wood ravaged and mutated.It is said half of all Novalim died in the Second Novalim War, but the Realm of the Golden Wood was particularly decimated, even with refugees from their northern neighbor. Their bond with humanity was cut.
Decades passed before they could reestablish contact. The meeting didn't go well with the humans straying from the Benelim teachings and harboring resentment for the Benelim for seemingly abandoning them. Only after Ruth the Uniter brought them back together during a great Maelim incursion did relations improve. The Golden Wood saw the humans blossom into their own civilization with their own values and ideas. A great cultural exchange point grew, a symbiotic relationship that lead to the enrichment of both peoples.
However, slowly but surely things turned sour once more. The Twisted War put a strain on their affairs once more. While the Imperium of Primus grappled from plague and Horrorlim, the Golden Wood had problems of its own. Far from human eyes, the Golden Wood in part of an alliance of nearly all Benelim realms, marched their forces deep into the ruins of the abandoned White Birches realms, and took the fight straight to the Twisted Gods.
The nefarious deities didn't expect the humans to hold off their monsters so well, as a result they found their forces spread thin by the time the Benelim showed up. The evil deities fled and the Twisted War was over. While the Benelim explained the situation promptly, a dangerous creed began to spread all the same; Mortal Realm for Mortals. The belief that all of humanities problems came from beings of the heavens and the underworld. It condemned all entities of those domains AND their works. While there were variants of the creed that saw the Benelim as an exception, most viewed them as part of the problem, what with them being created by the Gods, and thus one of their works.
The tension would build until 1798 AGF. With no Maelim tribes within reach, and the Dogheads driven to extinction, the legions of the Imperium Solis marched in several directions. Some would attack the Realm of the Sun, but most would cross the mountains. Initially they claimed they were there to fight a marauding tribe of Maelim that was hiding in the Hinterlands. And indeed a great massacre would soon follow here. But the bulk of the legions laid siege to the Golden Wood in a tragic reversal of the liberation seven hundred years prior. Taken aback and confused, the Benelim parlayed with the humans. Perhaps they had grown arrogant once more, perhaps they under estimated the legions.
They didn't know about gunpowder.
The newly introduced cannons and guns pierced right through Benelim armor and tore down the wooded walls. Thus began the Imperial Terror. Anmisos would fall for the first time, as did Consilium and Reuelium. For weeks countless Benelim were slaughtered, including Leela and Katherina, the adoptive parents of Ruth the Uniter. King Christoros, who was in the north was outraged and rallied the vast northern armies to deal with these maurading humans. At the same time, many legionnaires deserted. These humans hailed from Murex, a kingdom turned province that held its own cultural idenity. They held a bond with the Benelim like no other humans and they deserted in outrage and protest.
The humans were driven out soon after and the vengeful Benelim pursued them. When the forces of the Golden Wood crossed the mountains, they found the Imperium shattered in the wake of the invasion. While some wanted to slaughter the humans at their weakest, cooler heads prevailed. A coalition was formed between the post-Imperial humans and the Benelim. Primus would eventually fall and a new status quo was formed.
A sizable chunk of the northern most territory of the Cradlelands would be ceded over to the Benelim, which included the town of Rutherna. The Benelim reasoned they didn't deserve the town where Ruth first appeared anymore. Furthermore the newly formed enclave along with a southern one belonging to the Realm of the Sun, would serve as a buffer. They wished to declaw the human realms, to ensure no Imperium could ever rise again. While the Sacerdozio would try to mend the relationship between humans and Benelim, tensions are still heavy and their relationship just hasn't been the same. For a new rallying cry has risen in the wake of the Terror, a symbol of anti-human hate. An answer to the Mortal Realm for Mortals creed; Never Again.
But times are changing, and like it or not, the two races must put aside their differences once more. Before a foul alliance destroys them both....
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