The Silvanesti Shield was raised by the combined efforts of the woodshaper elves of House Woodshaper. The source of the Shield comes from the Shield Tree, located in the Garden of Astarin, near the Tower of the Stars. Cyan Bloodbane in the disguise of a Silvanesti Elf named Glaucous, served as a politician to Governor General Reyl Konnal, convinced the elf not to ever tear down the tree even though it was destroying Silvanesti.
Raising of the Shield[]
Rillion Dawnbringer, head of House Woodshaper at this time, came to another woodshaper Elf named Padarrin Oakbranch and told him he would be able to seal away Silvanesti from the rest of the world. Padarrin agreed to help and six other woodshapers were gathered up for a ceremony, where they all joined hands around a luminescent tree on the ground of the Garden of Astarin in 394 AC. The significance of this one tree was that the tree had grown up since the Chaos War, surrounded in its own personal shield. The eight woodshapers then had some sort of amulet draped around each of their necks by Rillion and stepped up to the shield around the tree. The shield dropped, allowing the woodshapers to enter, and then raised back up once they were through.
Once the woodshapers were through the shield, they each place both of their hands upon the tree trunk. Through concentration, each of their minds linked and the wish was known to the tree. They asked that the shield encompass the entire elven nation. After only a few seconds, the tree agreed to do what they asked and the woodshapers put sprigs on the tree's roots. The sprigs immediately wilted to dust, and the woodshapers then realized too late what the price the elves were going to have to pay. The tree fed on the essence of life rather than upon the sun, moon, and stars as first was thought. The tree spread the shield around the Silvanesti Forest rapidly.
The woodshapers at first thought that the tree feeding off the land was a small price to pay for their freedom and isolation from all other races and dragons outside of their lands. As dragons, humans, and other races attempted to break through what was now termed the Silvanesti Shield, the tree consumed more and more life from the Silvanesti Forest in order to keep the shield up.
As more and more of the plant life of the Silvanesti Forest died and turned to ash, the woodshapers again came before the tree, linked with the amulets around their necks, and laid their hands on the tree trunk. They asked the tree to draw upon animal life as well in order to maybe allow the forest to replenish the lost forest life. The tree agreed to do this and the woodshapers cut their hands and pressed them on the tree's trunk.
From that day forward, the woodshapers slowly withered and died of a wasting sickness until by 408 AC only Padarrin Oakbranch was still living. Eventually he too died of the wasting sickness.
Shield Tree[]
The Shield Tree turned into a very disgusting tree as it aged. It had leaves the color of a green dragon's scales, a spindly trunk that was completely covered in blood that seemed to ooze blood straight from the tree trunk. The limbs were all contorted and wriggled like live snakes. The thought behind it was that the tree might have been a Thread of Chaos, and the reason it grew up following the Chaos War.
War of Souls[]
During the early part of the War of Souls, the shield around Silvanesti stood as strong as ever. Until one evening, the shield expanded where a young Silvanesti Elf name Silvanoshei Caladon happened to be lying on the ground. He was ensnared back into the elven nation, and made his way to Silvanost, seeing the destruction all around him from the Shield. From that point on he resolved to destroy the Shield.
On the same day that Cyan Bloodbane was killed, Silvanoshei made his way into the Garden of Astarin. When Silvanoshei confronted the Shield Tree, the tree sent vines and dead branches at him to try and stop him. Silvanoshei defeated them all, and was able to rip the tree straight out of the ground. This then broke the shield around Silvanesti and allowed for the eventual invasion of Silvanesti by the Minotaur Empire.
References[]
- The Odyssey of Gilthanas, p. 234-236
- City of the Lost (Novel), p. 15
- Dragons of a Fallen Sun (HC), p. 196, 200, 539
- The Sylvan Veil, p. 0, 89, 94