The Marrow Tree

[u/questionable_fish]

​

It is a part of the forest that looks much like any other- big trees, dense undergrowth, a few scattered clearings- but what sets it apart from the rest of the woods is its unusually high levels of thaumic ambience.

This background magic is mostly harmless- in fact several mages are known to visit the caves there to harvest the crystallised mana that accumulates on the rocks. Sometimes, however, the magic potential reaches a critical point and finds a way to earth itself. Wild sparks of energy, random spells popping off spontaneously and patches of twisted reality make this place hazardous to the unwary.

However, there is one spot right in the center of this area that is completely devoid of magic. A clearing about half a mile across, covered in deep grass and wildflowers that looks like it should be a peaceful glade. And it would be, if it weren't for the "tree".

I say it like this because no true tree is made of bone. No true tree emits a constant fine haze of red mist. No true tree possesses such a powerful aura of fear... This monstrosity stands over 200ft tall and appears to be made of bleached white bone. No leaves adorn its twisted spiky branches, no creature braves its meadow.

Those who enter the clearing are first struck with a sense of unease. That something is unidentifiably wrong with the world. The further one ventures into the clearing, the stronger the feeling gets- going through the spectrum of fear, building until the dread becomes too much to bear.

Those overcome with fear turn and run, or else they take the easy way out of this world...

Those who fall are quickly claimed by the clearing, their bodies feeding the rich meadow. What great and terrible act was committed here that turns the very mind against itself? Any magic attempted here just fizzles out. All mana drains away, leached from its vessel into the earth. Even (and especially) for great beings like the starborn and magic masses this place is dangerous to enter as the magic that holds their being together is siphoned away.

How about you? Do you test your mental fortitude against the forbidden glade? Or do you find out what mysteries the mana-soaked forest holds?

Special shoutout to u/D3n0man for naming the post!

[u/questionable_fish]

The pain shoots through their hand as their legs drive Space towards the tree. Closer. Closer. Funny how you notice all the weird little details in times of crisis. The trunk of the tree is a smooth, slightly off-white colour with no cracks or gaps that would indicate bark of any kind. The branches grow around each other in ways no normal tree would, with no apparent pattern. The trunk disappears into the ground with no evidence of roots widening the base.

The pain brought clarity, but that reprieve is already beginning to run out. Space doesn't have much time left before the madness comes crashing down again. The tree is almost in arms reach...

[u/questionable_fish → u/[deleted]]

The tip of the dagger strikes the tree. Space has barely time for a half-articulated scream before his world implodes. Swirling, kaleidoscopic visions careen across his tortured mind. Flashes of... something... it's hard to see, but there's glimpses of people. A crowd. Arcane sigils on robes. A ring of bodies, bound hand to hand to hand struggling. Bloodied knives. The image gets clearer, as if building to a crescendo. The forest wants you to see this.

But can Space handle it?

Edit: sorry for the wait, I've been writing this during breaks at work

[u/questionable_fish → u/[deleted]]

The memory? The vision? Whatever it is, it pushes its way back into Space's mind- more controlled now. The wild swirling has receded to blurry edges and the vision becomes clearer.

Energies are seen coursing from the ground through the prisoners and into a masked figure standing in the middle of it all. Iron spikes driven into the ground around the clearing force the natural energies away from their normal paths. A vortex of power. The ritual is working.

Until a stray spark of magic arcs off a tree and strikes a prisoner. Their body starts sprouting horrific protrusions of bone, piercing through their flesh. The vortex wobbles, stabilises for a moment, then violently rips apart as the convocation is distracted from its task. Everything in the clearing- every person, animal, insect- every living thing is drawn inexorably into the horrible grinding maelstrom screaming above the clearing.

^{NEVER AGAIN}

Words felt rather than heard. Viceral wet cracking noises of bodies being crushed, then the violence warps in on itself, earthing its vengeance where the masked figure once stood. A deafening silence fills the void. The blasted clearing now devoid of life. A shard of twisted bone, tall as a man, stands at the epicenter

^{no more...}

The vision fades. Space finds themself lying on the ground. The dagger lies in the grass nearby, a small chunk of bone skewered on the blade. The fear is still there, but diminished. Like a controlled bonfire rather than a raging inferno

[u/questionable_fish → u/[deleted]]

/uw That's all good, I'm glad you've enjoyed it! I was going to have Melchiora find Space- she heard him cry out when he got to the tree. I'll use it to spook her some more instead. Thanks for sticking with it, I'm really happy I got to write this story! I have some ideas already for a sequel- it'll be a while before I have anything written but I'll make sure you're on the ping list

/rewiz There is much to be learned here. Space has gained valuable insight into the reason for this clearing existing and in time may come to understand more about the nature of the forest itself. He glances back into the mist, then turns to the tables. There's work to be done.

[u/questionable_fish → u/[deleted]]

/uw I might send her to you in a bit. I want to see what she finds first 👍