Ku’Than crest

Ku’Than

Elden Wood’s Theocracy — witches bound in pairs, forest-bound in vow

Elden Wood — realm of Ku’Than

Overview

Ku’Than—“where Than dwells”—is an unwavering theocracy nested in the living maze of Elden Wood. Authority springs from ritual endurance and spiritual merit rather than lineage. Witches are forged by brutal trials and bound in sacred pairs: death for one means death for the other. Some whisper the covens serve both as Than’s clergy and as wardens over a sleeping malice at the forest’s core.

The realm is not built on towns but on isolated coven halls, grown from living wood and hidden among breathing trunks and moss-soft floors. Familiars—devoted non-witch aides—tend herbs and wards, while the Council of Than sits in shadowed arboreal chambers, its edicts rustling like leaves on still air.

For outsiders, Ku’Than is mostly rumor and warning. The forest itself seems to think, shifting paths to mislead intruders. Trade, if any, happens at the margins: whispered bargains under watchful boughs.

Covens & Bonds

  • Twelve hidden covens act as the realm’s “districts.”
  • Witches are paired by the rite of Than’Dva; thoughts and fates interlinked.
  • Familiars serve as gatherers, ward-tenders, and messengers.

Edicts & Approach

  • Uninvited entry is perilous; paths confound the ill-willed.
  • Petitions to the Council require ordeal, humility, and sponsorship.
  • Edge-trade only; relic-seeking is forbidden and punished.
“The Wood remembers, and it chooses.”

— Whisper at the Sentinel’s Edge

Trade & Taboos

  • Clandestine barter at forest margins; no coin beyond courtesy.
  • Herbs, salves, and ward-charms exchanged for safe passage or news.
  • Desecration of sacred sites incurs ban and blood-price.

Rumours & Hooks

  • A bioluminescent cave murmurs riddles during solstice rites.
  • Vodnik fey from the Weird Wood tempt scouts with mirrored paths.
  • A sealed coven hall beats like a heart—something waking beneath.

Places of Note

Sanctuary of Revelations

Sanctuary of Revelations

A sacred water cave deep within Elden Wood, where the ritual of Than’Dva unfolds. Two witches enter and emerge telepathically bonded, sharing secrets, fears, and visions through thoughts alone. It is said the cave walls pulse with faint bioluminescent runes—and the spirits of the forest linger in the mist.

The Weird Wood

The Weird Wood

A twisted, sickly section at the forest's edge, overrun by Black Oak druids and their progeny, the ebony-skinned child-like fey known as Vodnik. Their domain floats above caverns cursed by Dark Elves, and the forest here bleeds with strange magic and grotesque beauty. Entrance to the Weird Wood is forbade.

The Shifting Grove

The Shifting Grove

A labyrinthine glade where paths rearrange as if alive. Mist coils and roots braid overhead, preventing navigation. Only the initiated—those with latent forest magic—can pass through unlost. Many who dared enter seek the Heart-Tree, rumored to stand at its centre, alive with faint thrum of Than’s will.

The Midnight Clearing

The Midnight Clearing

A circle of moonlit stones ringed by ancient trunks in which nocturnal rituals are held. Here, under twin moons or solstice dusk, witches invoke Than’s fury or blessing in rites of silent communion that twist reality into uncanny unity with nature.

The Sentinel’s Edge

The Sentinel’s Edge

The forest's outer boundary where towering trees arch inwards like guards. Sightings here include witches flanked by animate wooden guardians—eerie, gnarled creatures half root, half bone—that fade into the mist after ensuring the forest’s safety. It is said that those who approach the Sentinel's Edge can hear strange voices that can send those will ill intent insane.