Fan art of The Arbor Exemplar, by BlackSalander.[art 1]
The Arbor Exemplar is a lone, giant tree that grows in the midst of the barren wasteland that is the Barbed Fields. It is four to five hundred feet tall, about 30 feet in diameter and the lowest branches are approximately three hundred feet from the ground, with a lush, leafed canopy defying the desolate barrens surrounding it.[1] It is surrounded by verdant grass about ten to fifteen feet from it, which grows out a hundred feet or so during the night and then retracts during the day.[2]
Background
Following the final confrontation and the banishing of the Betrayer Gods, towards the end of the Calamity and the following Divergence, before all of the prime deities left Exandria to go beyond and construct the Divine Gate, the Wildmother buried this seed within the most desolate land at the time, to leave behind a beacon of life and hope in a place in which absolute destruction, at that time, reigned. It is considered the sister tree to the Seed of Rebirth, which is the tree that resides in the center of The Abundant Terrace of Vasselheim.[3]
"Chases and Trees" (2x65)
Fan art of The Arbor Exemplar, by BlackSalander.[art 2]
The Mighty Nein happened upon the tree as they were following their target North through the wastelands.[4] Beauregard, Fjord and Jester climbed the tree. Yasha and Caduceus elected to remain on the ground with the moorbounders.
Beau had little to no problem ascending due to her monk skills, but Jester fell. Fjord immediately jumped after her and - once he had a firm grip - cast Thunder Step in order to get them both safely into the branches. After they made it to the lowermost branches of the tree and were joined by Caleb and Nott, Caleb having transformed into a giant eagle so he could carry Nott up, they discovered that it was the nesting site of a Roc.
"Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66)
Having been discovered by the Roc, the Mighty Nein were forced to beat a hasty retreat from the tree and hide in a nearby cave. This was accomplished after a comedy of errors involving feather falling, an impromptu rodeo by Fjord which was cut short when Jester transformed the Roc into a bat, and then making their escape on Yarnball, Jannik and Clarabelle.
References
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 1:44:57.
- ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 1:16:59.
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 2:41:48.
- ↑ See "Chases and Trees" (2x65) at 1:44:57.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of The Arbor Exemplar, by BlackSalander (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Fan art of The Arbor Exemplar, by BlackSalander (source). Used with permission.