Forest Wraiths have no natural niche or place in the world. These undead abominations roam the vast forests of the Everwood, hating the light and moving about in the shadow of the deep groves and thickets of the forest. These creatures are the ravaged, sorrowful souls of once living danarai who were cursed by their ancient king Palladius when Elysia fell during the Blood War. They despise life and seek to destroy it whenever possible and especially despise living elves, whose magical light shines brightly to them and reminds them of the life they once had. They protect their area of the forest fiercely and jealously hoard riches, armor, and weapons, in hopes of one day reclaiming a mortal life using the spoils of their victims.

Forest Wraiths are most dangerous at night, when they can attack virtually undetected and surprise their victims. They do not rest during the daylight, however, preferring to haunt a place where no light can get through the canopy of the Everwood. Because of their abhorrence to the light, they are usually found only in the deep forests.

When a forest wraith is created, its tortured soul becomes bonded with a particular tree and that is where they lay at rest and recover their energy. Often, if there is only partial light available, a red glow can be found at the center of the trees' trunk where they live and is often the only clue to the creatures existence. If the tree is cut down and burned, the forest wraith's soul will be released from its curse and it will be destroyed forever. The wraith will do anything in its' power to avoid this happening however and will fight to the death to protect its tree.

Whenever possible, a forest wraith will attempt to reach out and grab victims who lean against or sit next to their tree. If a living creature touches the tree, the wraith can reach out from inside the tree and drag their victim inside of it to drain their life away.

Forest Wraiths prefer to surprise their victims using their Shadow Walk ability during the night, but their eyes can still be seen because of the vengeance that burns within them, but only if looked into directly. In the darkness, they are nearly impossible to detect unless the victim is in near daylight conditions. They make no sound when they move unless they want to (to frighten their victims) and do not leave footprints, making them impossible to track. They enjoy employing their Energy Drain attack to try and steal their victimes life energy. If this attack is successful, the victim loses 2-12 Life and 2-12 Mana. If a victim loses all of their Life OR Mana, they will die becoming a gaunt husk of their former selves, having had their life energies drained by the wraith. Any soul taken in this manner will become one of the wraiths within seven day unless their body is consecrated by a druid or protected with Aetis magic. This can also be done if a victim is lured too close to their home tree (see above).

If engaged in combat, the wraith can use it's skeleton like hands to claw and rend at their victims. They can use weapons, but only if it is in their advantage to do so. They are incredibly fast and attack with lightning accuracy, making them difficult to attack head on. They can climb like spiders among the trees and vines of the forest, using this to attack victims unsuspectingly. They will attack in numbers if possible, but they are expert hunters and trackers, able to literally smell living beings from nearly a mile away. Often, if their enemies are in great numbers, they will wait until they are sleeping to roam from victim to victim and stealing their life away.

If killed in combat, a wraith's soul will return to its tree to reform itself within seven days. The only way to destroy them is to destroy their tree. If any part of the tree roots remain in the ground, the tree will regrow to full stature within a week and the wraith will reform along with it.

Forest wraiths often communicate with one another if their existence is part of a common goal, such as in the Everwood. In Everwood, the wraiths are cursed into destroying any living thing that roams in the forest if possible, usually ignoring such things as insects. They will never harm another plant however, but their presence alone prevents the growing of anything of beauty and plants that flower or bloom cannot grow within 1000 feet of a wraith or his tree.

There is an ancient ritual that exists that describes the creation of a forest wraith and can be used only by the Netheril. The curse that was used on the Everwood is a more powerful version of this ritual, but its secret died with Palladius. The spell is an 8th Mastery Negative Energy spell called Conjure Forest Wraith.

Updated: 9/5/04

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