Sylvaneth
Sylvaneth
Tom's words laid bare the hearts of trees and their thoughts, which were often dark and strange, and filled with a hatred of things that go free upon the earth, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning: destroyers and usurpers. It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet, ageing no quicker than the hills, the fathers of the fathers of trees, remembering times when they were lords. The countless years had filled them with pride and rooted wisdom, and with malice.
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
People of "Life"
The majority population group of the sylvaneth are the Forest Folk: Dryads and Branchwraiths.
Dryads are lead by the wraiths, who act as druidic spiritual leaders and chieftains. They are not a military caste. In the age of myth it was extremely rare for them to be called to war. The forest folk who were not capable of war were driven extinct more or less by the forces of nurgle, however. For many, life is very nomadic. Constant bouts of fleeing and hiding from the forces of chaos. They're VERY mercurial as positive qualities among the survivors, such as joy and cheer, faded as they fought to stay alive. Sing a lot. The more elitist of the clans look down on dryads quite harshly. They're considered by them to have ADHD, being petty. Most sylvaneth think this opinion is unfair.
Wraiths are explicitly matriarchal and maternal figures. They carry an element of the Noble Spirits within their soulpod. They're the primary "nodes" of the sylvaneth's song. a sort of mass communication method of the race.
Tree Revenants are sombre. They make up the primary Warrior Caste of the sylvaneth and are peace keepers, law enforcement, etc. They're generally lead in groups with a Treeman and a Branchwych.
Branchwyches are powerful druidic figures whose sorcery and combat skill is highly respected. They are short-tempered, but keep it in check towards higher ranking Sylvaneth and Alarielle (though most subordinates give them due respect so rarely experience this temper). They have a special relationship with Sprites; in the eyes of the wyches, the little creatures can do no wrong and the Sprites are very fond of the wyches, coming to their aid en mass.
Treelords make up the nobility of the clans. Treelords are the most well known of the Noble Spirits and serve purposes like Royal Guards, Librarians, lords and military captains. All sylvaneth love them as fathers/mothers and would only disobey one in extreme cases. Huge swarms of Sprites make their home among the branches of the Treelords, nestled in their bark hides. They're inherently compassionate. They have an extremely deep connection to the spirit song. They communicate with one another in songs made up of streams of colour and sensation, made into language.
Treelord Ancients are the Kings and Queens of the Sylvaneth. They're the most powerful mages, the masters of life magic, they have an inner serenity that persists no matter what it is they're doing, including while on the battlefield that they sing to other sylvaneth. They're extremely meticulous, every detail of their extremely long lives is committed to memory. They know the name of every sylvaneth they rule over and spend their lives amassing knowlege into their lamentiri to ensure that future generations can benefit from their experience.
Treelords are seen as youthful and impulsive by ancients. Though the youngest treelord is older than any mortal by several times. Treelords act as the hired muscle of the Ancients and are far more violent and dynamic as individuals.
Both of these noble spirits are extremely prone to deeply exemplifying the eccentricities of their glade. EG harvestboon treelords and ancients are very slight and lithe, but extremely passionate quick to rage and mirth. Ironbark treelords tend to have veins of ore in their wood that makes them glitter while being unreasonably stubborn. Dreadwood treelords are vicious and untrustworthy even in the eyes of other sylvaneth.
Free Spirits
The Free Spirits are much more directly administrated by Alarielle:
Sons of Durthu were sired from Durthu, live every day trying to meet his stalwart example, they act as personal agents and guardians of Alarielle. When they speak they carry Alarielles authority with them. Extremely determined and loyal. They have an innate understanding with each other son of durthu and it smacks of a shared consciousness. They're not slavishly loyal however, they're in fact trusted and valued advisors to Alarielle and the clans.
Another kind of "Free Spirit" Kurnoth Hunters are the "Hunter cult" of the Sylvaneth. While they're their own caste of treecreature (vast, hulking warriors much taller than a man) they worship Kurnoth as Alarielle's "Soul-Consort" and equal seeing themselves as embodiment of his wrath as the Sons are to Alarielle. They're the newest caste, they didn't arise until Alarielle picked up the spear of Kurnous well into the Age of Sigmar. Even the Spite Revenants are older than the eldest hunter. Hunters are purposeful, driven and almost single minded. They have none of the bipolar or capricious whimsy of other sylvaneth. They act as executioners for Alarielle. They're considered very strange creatures by other sylvaneth who have a hard time understanding their single minded and taciturn natures. Like treelords and branchwraiths the spiritsong is especially powerful in them and they reverberate with it. Most sylvaneth worship minor deities in addition to Alarielle, but Kurnoth Hunters are the only ones to do this openly in Kurnoth. This leaves other sylvaneth mistrustful of them. Alarielle says this is fine and that's enough for most sylvaneth. The heartwood clan does everything they can to accomodate the Hunters. The Hunt Master of Kurnoth is a recent addition to the Royal Moot. It's baffaling for non sylvaneth to try and understand his purpose. Some sort of hybrid position of Spy Master, Martial Advisor, High Priest of Kurnoth and Captain of the Royal Guard.
Often times a completely random hunter will take his place with only Alarielle knowing if it's really the Huntmaster. It's unclear if the huntmaster is a spirit that temporarily possesses a hunter, or Kurnoth himself making individual hunters his avatar temporarily. The regents of the SYlvaneth are very distrustful of the Hunt Master, especially dreadwood who consider him a clingy upstart.
Outcasts
The Outcasts are unsettling. Deeply so for mortals, but almost as much for the Sylvaneth. The Sylvaneth don't know where they come from, don't know how they're made, don't even know if they're not a reflection of the Sylvaneth made dark by Alarielle's vengeful desires.
Many believe them to be Sylvaneth who caved into despair during the war in Ghyran against Nurgle.
The first outcasts cropped up during the "Shrouded Season." a period of time Alarielle has purposefully deleted from the Sylvaneth memory on a racial level, including the Outcasts themselves. No one knows why but her. It makes them uncomfortable to think about across the board.
Outcasts are insane, literally. They're deaf to all but the darkest and most malevolent parts of the sylvaneth's song. They dwell in gloomy and unsettling glades. Some Sylvaneth fear the outcasts madness is infectious. Where Dryads and other Sylvaneth sing, Spite Revenants "Scream a sawing, nerve-shredding cacophony of horror and hate fit to drive mortal minds beyond the brink of sanity."
Murderous butchers, they commonly soak themselves and their roots in blood.
Drycha is basically the only Sylvaneth that hangs out with outcasts purposefully. Alarielle held onto Drycha's soulpod but refused to plant it, fearing Drycha's madness and the harm she might wreak if freed. During the Age of Chaos, at her lowest point, Alarielle headed to a hateful chasm and planted Drycha's soulpod there. Drycha emerged with a body of vines and thorn-root, torn between rage and depression. She considers herself to be their regent, like the Willowqueen is the regent of harvestboon or the Old King is of Gnarlroot. Drycha and the Outcasts are far more than just racist. They want to purge all non Sylvaneth. The malevolent and cruel sprites love them. She and the spite revenants are warrior caste.
Quick Facts
There are more Sylvaneth than just the treespirits, sprites (spites in AOS) are Sylvaneth, the spirits that possess deadwood to forge bodies out of it (treekin) are Sylvaneth, the ghosts and fae creatures of the glades are Sylvaneth . The disparity in sentience can be pretty huge between different castes. These days most castes are warrior castes.
Most Sylvaneth do not like mortals.
All Sylvaneth are unfathomably long lived. It is likely they only die due to violence or specific diseases.
Sylvaneth build cities, work metal and stone and create artworks, tapestries and furniture.
The song of Sylvaneth helps bind them together as a united people. It stops them struggling against one another not based on oppression but genuine feelings of unity.
Sylvaneth in general don't care for glory, expanding borders or making money. They're more or less solely concerned with ensuring the safety and cycles of the natural world are upheld.
They're difficult to interact with, not just because of the language barrier. They do not like you, they don't think like you and they don't live and die like you. Your concerns are extremely alien to them just like they are to you.
They consider "Quickbloods" (mortals/demons/non sylvaneth in general) to be short sighted, flippant, brief and unable to comprehend the importance of their extremely long term plans and the real meaning of everything.
They ARE good people. With noble desires and despise chaos. it's just that they're so alien to us that the alliance is always quite strained.
There are tribes of humans that worship sigmar and alarielle living in ghyran that are tolerated by the Sylvaneth. There are also elves and dwarves.
Wanderers are HATED by the Sylvaneth. They're essentially living out a mission of repentance to Alarielle, planting waystones so that the forests of Ghyran can sprout in other mortal realms.
Not all sylvaneth sprouted in Ghyran, they hail from almost every one of the mortal realms, even the realm of metal.