Evontra'vir

Evontra'vir
Fan art of Evontra'vir, by Niko Vanhala.
Type	Non-Player Character
Actor	Matthew Mercer
Character Information
Name	Evontra'vir
Also known as	Great Tree of Atrophy
Creature type	Humanoid (originally)[presumed] Plant
Race	Tree spirit
Class	Druid
Age	Ancient
Place	Kalutha, Shattered Teeth
Connections	Gau Drashari
Profession	Oracle
Status
Status	Undetermined (alive as a tree spirit)
Appearances
First seen	"Roots Between Worlds" (3x74)
Stream	Campaign Three (1 episode)

“

There are no nobodies that come this far to see me.

”

– 

Evontra'vir to Ashton

[!h]

Evontra'vir, also known as the Great Tree of Atrophy, was a powerful Gau Drashari of Toramunda who became a tree spirit in the Shattered Teeth. As an NPC, he is played by Matthew Mercer.

Description

Evontra'vir looks like a massive tree of maroon-red bark, with weird thin branches full of black leaves and dangling vines, a stocky trunk, and long roots spreading in every direction, with skulls and miscellaneous items between them. When he is conscious, a heavily stretched face appears in the bark as if carved, with a big mouth and two milky white eyes.

The area surrounding the tree is a sinkhole of darkness among three mountains. The Great Tree itself is said to be rooted between realms, a window between life and death. Its nature draws undead shadow creatures toward it that inhabit the island and emerge at nightfall, causing necrotic damage to the living.

Biography

A long time ago Evontra'vir, a member of the Gau Drashari, became an archdruid, creating deep bonds with the forces of nature. He was one of the protectors of Toramunda who was present when Imyr Por'co convinced the druids there to allow Mount Ygora to be divided into the flying city of Avalir and the terrestrial Cathmoíra, before the catastrophic explosion that destroyed Domunas and created the Shattered Teeth at the beginning of the Calamity.

Evontra'vir was one of the few who survived the explosion and helped as many people as possible in the process. However, at some point during or after the Calamity, he took upon himself all of the sorrows and losses of that cataclysm and became the memory of the lost and their sacrifices, a vessel for the sorrow of others, and a window into the realm of death and beyond. Using the connection to the natural world allowed them to transform into something new, a tree spirit that took root in Kalutha, an island in the Shattered Teeth.

Evontra'vir is the only portion of his former name that the tree now remembers.

Legacy

It is said that his roots wind between the realms of life and death, and that he watches over the cycle of renewal. The tree can sometimes see a person's path to death and/or a key aspect of their fate, and not everyone can handle the honesty it provides (in fact, some of them end up visiting Jirana the Shore Shrew to deal with the harsh revelations).

At some point around the beginning of the 9th century after the Divergence the leader of the group that would become the Hishari, Efterin, claimed to have traveled a lot, and he boasted about having the blessing of Evontra'vir, something other people, such as Keyleth of the Air Ashari, found hard to believe. However, that specific story was true, for Evontra'vir was responsible for revealing to Efterin how to find a shard of the Empress of Earth in the Necropolis of Toramunda, knowing this relic would eventually destroy the Hishari.

Campaign Three: Bells Hells

Just as Evontra'vir had foretold, in 843 PD Efterin's child, Ashton Greymoore, visited Kalutha with his friends, seeking answers and power. The Great Tree of Atrophy shared its knowledge with Ashton, explaining the nature of his power, telling him about the spark of the Rau'shan, the Emperor of Fire in the Chynes Maw on the island of Igthuldus, and agreeing to use his Pipe of Remembrance so they could see Evontra'vir's most heroic moment in life. The party saw hundreds of small visions of people running, then caught, brought to the tree, and vanishing into it.

Evontra'vir also answered some questions from the other adventurers, telling them that their enemy, Ludinus Da'leth, should be defeated, and that their chaotic team had the potential to undo the archmage's plans and decide the fate of the gods. Soon after, the Tree detected a presence, and revealed that someone was Scrying on the group, so after dispelling that magic it opened itself and created a portal which transported Bells Hells to Igthuldus immediately.

Relationships

Matron of Ravens

Despite not being directly connected, the Great Tree of Atrophy and the Matron of Death are aware of each other, since their portfolios overlap and they both exist in a similar place. They generally have a sort of frustrating mutual respect for each other, with Evontra'vir being able to ride between the threads of the fate skein the Raven Queen holds. However, their relationship varies depending on the era, and there have been moments in history when both have been formal allies.

According to Matthew Mercer, Evontra'vir might have known the Raven Queen before her ascension.

Character information

Abilities

• Predictions
• Transport via Plants (apparently)
• Truesight (apparently)

Appearances and mentions

• Campaign Three
  • "For The Tempest" (3x68), mentioned only (first mentioned)
  • "Nice" (3x69), mentioned only
  • "Embattled in Bassuras" (3x70), mentioned only
  • "Mist and Whimsy" (3x71), mentioned only
  • "Kindling the Spirits" (3x73), mentioned only
  • "Roots Between Worlds" (3x74) (first appearance)
  • "An Ancient Flame" (3x75), mentioned only
  • "A Gathering of Heroes" (3x76), mentioned only
  • "Fractures" (3x78), mentioned only

Quotations

“

You are the son of Efterin, a broken man of burning purpose, who endured an odyssey to walk under my boughs and ask for the golden purpose they felt they were owed by the world. He claimed visions throughout his life that promised greatness, a fated path that would leave his mark on history. He was not wrong. I let him gaze into his future and showed him the relic he was fated to own, that he would use to usher in a renewed ancient power. I showed him the way to the necropolis of Toramunda, where this relic lay uncovered and waiting. His ambition met his destiny, and he recovered his artifact, this remaining shard of Ka'Mort, the primordial Empress of Earth, a lingering remnant of her power. He thought his destiny was his to embrace. He was wrong. I granted him this knowledge because he was meant to take it, meant to create and destroy the Hishari, meant to destroy himself, meant to create you. You were his destiny, but in his arrogance he could not see beyond his own aspirations, as it was fated. And now, you return, as I have foreseen, to find another piece of history's sorrow, the unity that twice brought judgment to Exandria's children.

”

– 

Evontra'vir explaining Ashton's history and destiny.

[!h]

• "I am the gate and the boundary. I am one of numerous passageways into the realms of death and renewal. My roots reach into the skein of destiny, and I see what paths can be taken, some harder to deviate from than others. I am balance to the enemies to the natural cycle of life, and one of the many caretakers of the fate of Exandria itself. Some come to seek a meeting with ones they've lost. Some come to see their own death. Some come to seek direction, a glimpse at their fate and hope for opportunity. Not all find what they want. Many find what they are meant to."

Trivia

• Laudna theorized that the dark sinkhole where the Great Tree of Atrophy was might be connected to the Shadow Realm. This theory is supported by the fact that, according to the Tree itself, its roots reach the skein of fate and the threads of destiny, part of the portfolio of the Matron of Ravens, whose realm is in the Shadowfell. This connection between the Tree and fate grants it its prophetic abilities.
  • Matt Mercer confirmed that Evontra'vir and the Matron of Ravens exist in a similar place, suggesting that the shadowy space around the tree is, indeed, connected to the realm of the goddess.
• In the cosmic and magical domain that is fate in Exandria, there are three entities connected to it and aware of each other: the Matron of Ravens is considered the weaver of its threads, with the Great Tree of Atrophy growing in the middle of them in a way that allows them to watch destiny very closely, and the Fatestitcher being an observer that likes to touch and change small details of the skein whenever she pleases.
• Many of its visitors are from the Ossended Host, but the offerings left by visitors among the roots of the tree are from many different cultures.

References

Art: