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Magical Groves

"Regardless of place or time, in a totally unpredictable way, an abundance of plants sprouts anywhere, on the street or in someone's home."

The most visible supernatural phenomenon in Cadwallon — and the most misunderstood. Magical groves are sudden eruptions of impossible vegetation that appear anywhere, anytime, unpredictably. Cadwës treat them as good omens of Nature. They are, in truth, shoots from Desire's prison — living portals to the Garden of Desire, each one a thread of a sleeping god's dream surfacing in the streets.

What Cadwës See

To an ordinary Cadwë, a magical grove is a wonder and a blessing:

  • Plants sprout in a totally unpredictable way — in a shady courtyard one day, on a rooftop the next
  • They're a good omen of Nature, especially for the Sessairs, the orcs, and the Wolfen
  • Destroying a magical grove is a crime in the city
  • They're a source of inspiration for the Guild of Tailors and Guild of Dressmakers — the vegetal fashions of the Cadwë nobles reference them directly
  • The Day of Flowering (12th of Privime) celebrates the first groves that appeared after the Dogs of War's "deforestation"; the orcs observe it most carefully, with shaka ceremonies in the groves

What They Actually Are

Each grove is a shoot from the prison

A magical grove is a shoot from Desire's prison — a literal extension of the Garden of Desire (the Unfinished Realm his dreams have grown inside The Labyrinth) breaking through into Cadwallon. The vegetation of the Garden has, over eras, found its way up through the maze and reached the surface.

Each grove is therefore a bond to Desire's Realm and a two-way portal:

  • It carries the influence and dreams of the god up into the city
  • It carries the aspirations and whims of Cadwallon's inhabitants back down to Desire, reinforcing his grasp on the Creation

This is the engine of the Cadwë Dream: the city dreams, Desire feeds, Desire dreams, the city blooms.

The Danger

Groves are not safe:

  • Each grove is a portal. Following one down (especially in the Garden of Desire proper) can lead, via the mother-roots, to a portal into The Labyrinth and Desire's prison itself
  • The elegratia — the "flower of desire" — is an addictive narcotic that grows in the groves. Those who give in to it are drawn irresistibly underground, to fall asleep forever beneath the mother-roots or join the tribe of Desire, their memories broken. The Guild of Ferrymen secretly controls the elegratia trade.
  • Anyone who falls asleep in a grove is influenced by Desire's troubled dreams; their behavior becomes erratic
  • The Fayrees and mystics drawn to groves are not always friendly

The Warning Sign

The rate is climbing

Magical groves appear when Desire's dreams are particularly agitated — when the Creation is most altered by his stirring. So the frequency of groves is a barometer of Desire's state. And since 999 — the year the Coiling Emissaries first appeared and the Tractor was begun — grove activity has measurably increased. The Guild of Birders' Provosts on Immobilis have the data. The senior Dressmakers who harvest the groves have noticed. Desire is dreaming harder. The groves are the most public sign of the least public truth in Cadwallon. (see Desire, Cadwallon/06 History/Timeline)

Where They Cluster

  • Garden of Desire — the great magical jungle on the lake; the densest concentration; site of the mother-roots and a Labyrinth portal
  • Immobilis archipelago — every island is grove-grown; the Guild of Birders' domain; the Sea of Roots nearby
  • Petropolis and Arcadia (Ghieronburg) — magical-creature districts thick with grove activity
  • Anywhere at all — that's the point; a grove can appear in your kitchen

Relations

The grove in the parlor

A magical grove erupts overnight inside a noble family's upper-city parlor. By law it can't be destroyed. But this one is growing elegratia, and the family's youngest has already started sleeping beside it and waking confused. The family needs the grove gone — quietly, illegally — before the addiction takes hold or the law notices.

See Also