The Savalirwood (from the Elvish savalir, which means "guilt"), is a cursed woodland in the Greying Wildlands,[8] historically known as the Veluthil Forest.[9]
Description[]
The Savalirwood is a cursed forest in the Greying Wildlands. Formerly green, the vegetation the Mighty Nein saw within is an ashen grayish-purple color that gives off a sense of decay, and the source of its life and color is unnatural. Though the forest appears to be dead, it is still living and "brims with health" in an off-putting manner,[10] with the wood of the trees moving and shifting slightly even after being cut, if only for a short time.[11] The ground seems dead, but there is wildlife, which seems to be in a symbiotic relationship with the forest.[12] The Savalirwood is dangerous, increasingly so as one travels deeper into it.[13]
Members of Bells Hells, entering the forest from the north instead of the south, saw a variety of trees with bark and leaves in other dark colors—brown, red, and blue—in addition to deep purple and gray ones, and the leaves had jagged edges; the dense stands of trees and their low-hanging branches and roots were knotted and tangled, jutting like brambles. The forest was enveloped in thick fog even at midday.[14] Mostly in central areas of the forest, there are cracks that emanate a strange dark miasma of black, purple, and red hues, like a smoke that could be connected to the corruption of the woods. Those who are affected by it become suddenly exhausted, their health diminished as if they were affected by a curse.[15]
When Caduceus saw his Light spell's brightness gradually diminished in the King's Cage, he recalled that a similar phenomenon happens in the depths of the Savalirwood.[16]
Traveling through the forest during daytime on the Boreal Omen River, the forest was oddly silent: it lacked birdcalls and the sounds of woodland critters.[17] The sounds of the forest came alive at night.[18]
History[]
Previously known as the Veluthil Forest, the forest came to be known as the Savalirwood after the corruption of Molaesmyr and the rest of the forest[19] in 585 PD, becoming cursed for many centuries.[20] The city had been built within the forest on "a powerful natural magic font, a deep-set well of power" which its inhabitants did not entirely understand. At the time of the disaster, explorations beneath the city were uncovering an increasingly deep series of caverns from which the power seemed to originate,[21] a crystal well of chaotic and expanding magical potential, and while some saw it as a divine blessing of the Arch Heart, others thought it might have been an arcane creation that fell from a pre-Calamity floating city.[22]
At some point before the disaster of 585 PD, Ludinus Da'leth marked three miniature fanes within the Veluthil Forest connected to fey bound to nature in order to "feed the root" and empower a special harness with the magic of the area.[23]
The superstition and mythology around the Savalirwood have allowed the city of Shadycreek Run to prevent the Dwendalian Empire's encroachment by using the forest as a defensive position against incursions. Eventually the Empire just gave up, and let the region stay independent.[24]
The skull of Jourrael was entrusted to the elves of Veluthil.[25]
While they were exploring the ruins of Aeor, the Mighty Nein noticed that the corruption of trees in the aboretum found there was very similar to that of the Savalirwood, although Caduceus was reluctant to investigate further.[26] Though Caduceus did not feel the two were related,[27] in fact, relics of an Aeorian experiment were brought to Molaesmyr, where it was accidentally detonated and corrupted the wood. Sentinel and druid refugees from Molaesmyr, now living in Bysaes Tyl, cut back the forest to prevent the corruption from spreading. Though they are researching a means to return the forest to its former state, progress has not been made because of a combination of lack of funding and interest in the Empire.[28] The forest is full of ghosts of explorers who died within its territory, and now have become corrupted and unable to move to the afterlife;[29] at night, pale blue motes could be seen floating through the forest.[30]
Immediately after the apogee solstice of 843 PD, the members of Bells Hells who were transported to Wildemount traveled through the Savalirwood to the ruins of Molaesmyr, via the Boreal Omen River.[31] They saw pixies irritating a bog wretch, a creature with many long tendrils and covered in moss and vines.[32]
Umudara the Sentinel Beast was one of the Great Beasts of Veluthil, the former protector spirits of the Veluthil Forest long ago in the time of Molaesmyr, before the forest became corrupted into the Savalirwood. At some point during or after the fall of Molaesmyr in 585 PD, Umudara was petrified and was not aware of the extent of the corruption. After the elven survivors joined the dwarves of Uthodurn, the Sentinel Beast, now seemingly just a statue, was found by explorers, recovered, and displayed in the city.[33][34] During the apogee solstice of 843 PD, the enchantment holding the beast was broken, and in its confusion, it attacked. Bells Hells convinced Umudara to let them guide him outside,[35] where he eventually found his way back to the Savalirwood and became another source of healing for the cursed forest.[36]
Points of interest[]
- The Sour Nest: Iron Shepherds's stronghold two hours northeast of Shadycreek Run.[37]
- The Blooming Grove: The home of Caduceus Clay, also known as the Bone Orchard, it is an ancient burial ground.[38]
- Ruins of Molaesmyr: The ancient home of the northern elves of Wildemount. After its fall and the resulting corruption of the surrounding Savalirwood, the elves divided into two groups, Uthodurnian and Western Wynandir (including Bysaes Tyl).[39]
A high-level adventure hook in the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, set in 835 PD, involves portals to the Lower Planes scattered around the forest, created by the Savalirwood's curse.[40]
Trivia[]
- "Savalir" is the Elvish word for "guilt" and was likely derived from the name of the city of Avalir due to its impact in the coming of the Calamity.[41]
- While not part of the Critical Role canon, savalir is also an Elvish word in Eye of Justice, a novel set in the Forgotten Realms. In that setting, the term means "murderer".
- Somewhere within the forest or the ruins of Molaesmyr lives the Wolf-King, feared by common beasts.[42]
- Some monsters affected by the corruption of the forest are able to produce the same type of miasma by themselves.[43]
References[]
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:37:32.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:37:50.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:37:50.
- ↑ The massive warthog Chetney had seen had one eye, a single long foreleg and a single hind leg, and leapt like a deer. See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:38:07.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:49:34.
- ↑ Adventurers hear the heavy hoot of owls and hear other birds' flapping wings. See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:49:27. See also the black birds just outside Molaesmyr at 3:52:31.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:56:03.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:16:50.
- ↑ See "Between the Lines" (2x78) at 3:04:13.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:16:50. See also at 2:19:39.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 3:04:00.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:20:44.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:17:34.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) from 1:34:14 through 1:37:41.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) from 3:31:45 through 3:34:42. Fearne and Deanna gained one point of exhaustion each, and their hit point maximums were reduced by 5 points.
- ↑ See "Beyond the Eyes of Angels" (2x67) at 0:27:04.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:39:21.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:49:02.
- ↑ See "Between the Lines" (2x78) at 3:04:13.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:16:50.
- ↑ See "Hope Within History" (3x55) at 0:52:20.
- ↑ See "Escape From The Past" (3x58) at 2:31:32.
- ↑ See "Escape From The Past" (3x58) at 2:23:26.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:17:05.
- ↑ See "Between the Lines" (2x78) at 3:01:43.
- ↑ See "Malice and Mystery Below" (2x119) from 3:07:30 through 3:09:08.
- ↑ See "Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained" (2x122) at 0:19:59.
- ↑ See "Critical Role Campaign 2 Wrap Up" (Sx56) from 2:51:57 through 2:57:01.
- ↑ See "Hope Within History" (3x55) at 1:29:05.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:51:19.
- ↑ See "Hope Within History" (3x55) at 2:58:26.
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 1:53:45.
- ↑ See "Hope Within History" (3x55) at 0:37:07.
- ↑ See "Ripples" (3x53) at 3:30:18.
- ↑ See "Ripples" (3x53) at 3:46:57.
- ↑
Fireside Chat LIVE With Matthew Mercer | Campaign 3: Bells Hells Finale at 48:57 (subscription required).
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 1:32:30.
- ↑ See "Converging Fury" (2x27) at 2:48:34.
- ↑ See "Clay and Dust" (2x72) at 2:01:34.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 116.
- ↑
Matthew Mercer (@matthewmercer) on Twitter: ";)" (2022-05-27) — in reply to @dodecaTHEYdron: "So if the city Avalir is the beginning of the calamity and "Savalir" means "guilt" in elvish, does this mean that the ensuing calamity caused the name of the city to represent the guilt the elves feel?"
- ↑ See "By Goat or By Boat" (3x56) at 3:15:28.
- ↑ See "Escape From The Past" (3x58) at 0:46:30.
Art:
- ↑ Official art of the Savalirwood, by GalacticJonah (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Official map of the Greying Wildlands, with the Savalirwood in the lower left, by Deven Rue (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.