Forest of Arden
Spreading over the hinterland of Bretonnia, the Forest of Arden is a huge oak forest that extends up the slopes of the Grey Mountains. [4a] It covers almost a quarter of Bretonnia, and reaches from the Pale Sisters almost to the shores of the Great Ocean. It contains numerous marshes and lakes, and is filled by dense, thorny underbrush. [5a]
Because of its location, it is often invaded by Orcs, Goblins and worse enemies descending from the higher peaks and passes into Bretonnia. In the depths of the forest they are able to hide and organise raids on the surrounding countryside. The many marshes and lakes within the forest as well as dense thickets, make it very difficult to track down the raiders when they are pursued. [4a]
Human settlement in the forest is sparse, and consists chiefly on isolated villages of foresters and woodcutters. Many of these settlements are only dimly aware of the world outside of them, and regard leaving the safety of their immediate surroundings as suicide. Most newly-founded villages are destroyed within a few years by monsters or raiders. [6a]
Flora and Fauna
The dense trees and hidden caves of the forest provide refuge for many dangerous creatures. Beastmen are the most common monsters in the forest, and periodically attack the villages of foresters. A breed of boar, known as the Artois Boar, is common in the forest, but has never been seen outside of it; these creatures, which are unusually large and exclusively carnivorous, are believed to have been touched by Chaos. [6a] Large monsters such as Dragons, Ghorgons, Jabberslythes, Cockatrices, and other savage beasts are all known to live in the depths of the forest. [5a] Other creatures known to dwell within the forest include the Preyton. [3a]
These creatures attract Knights Errant and Questing Knights eager to hunt them down, slay them, and thereby win honour. Most of these knights never return, while the remains of others are sometimes found centuries later, their rusting armour and bones scattered around the lair of some hideous beast, or glimpsed through the visor of a great helm, while swords lie embedded to the hilt in the bark of great oaks that have grown around them.[4a]
History
The Vampire Lord Malvous fled into its depths, Duke Hagen and his knights hot on his heels and there he discovered a great source of power in its depths within ancient cairns. He summoned monsters from the forest, awoke the predatory trees and the dead to aid him, but was defeated and destroyed by the Duke with the aid of the elves of Athel Loren. [2a]
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 310, October 2005
- 2: Storm of Magic
- 2a: Legends & Legacies, pg. 12-14
- 3: The Imperial Zoo (book)
- 3a: Preyton, pg. 60-61
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Bretonnia (5th Edition)
- 4a: The Land of Bretonnia, pg. 5
- 5: Arcane Journal: Kingdom of Bretonnia
- 5a: The Great Forests, pg. 8
- 6: Knights of the Grail
- 6a: Artois, pg. 51
