Trees

Among the elves, and within the ethos they pass down to their human adherents among the Fardach Sidhe, trees are considered sacred. The egalitarian elves might not wish to admit as much, but trees are elevated even higher than animals and other plants. Trees are nearly the equal, in their most sacred teachings, of the rocks and soil of Erda itself.

The reasons for this worship of, and affinity with trees, need not be captured in words and written down for the elves to understand. Trees are of Erda. Connected deeply to the soil through their roots, they draw from Erda’s sustaining essence. The tallest trees also reach upward to the sky, far above the heads of man and elf. They therefore serve as a bridge between the tangible world of our daily existence and the spiritual world beyond us.

There are uncountable varieties of trees—beyond the ken of most humans. Even as the elves would acknowledge that there are greater and lesser creatures of the wood, from the hart to the vole, there are also trees of differing stature. Some trees have the bearing of owls and project a sense of wisdom. Other, fast-growing, shrub-like trees bring to mind mice. In the darkest depths of the most ancient forests, there are even trees that seem to lie in wait like wolves or weasels.

But it is widely accepted that the noblest of all trees are those that comprise the elven city of Aoilfhionn. Taller than the highest cathedral tower built by man. The spread of each tree's branches as broad as a small city. And they are old. Tales of their green and grey bark exist from the personal retellings of Mirren, as he described his first days on Erda, coming down from the mountains to discover what had lain hidden in the mist.

Before entering the forest surrounding Aoilfhionn, elves leave an offering of herbs for the sentinel trees which mark the edges of their territory. The herbs, which grow and die off in a single season, symbolize the transient. Just as even the long-lived elves exist for but a passing moment in the lifetime of Aoilfhionn's trees. The offering is an acknowledgment of the elves’ insignificance. An act of humbleness and respect. And a sacrifice made to the trees for their forbearance in permitting the elves to live among them.

Book Three of The Crafter Chronicles brings the reader back to Aoilfhionn. To the famed city-among-the-trees. Where we will soon learn the fate of your favorite characters.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!