Court of the Evergreen

Alliance mission, trial, investigation, and wilderness journey

Court of the Evergreen

Lvl 5-73 to 6 characters3 or more sessions, approximately 12 to 18 hours of play depending on travel, roleplay, and the length of the trials.· Medium, with social and exploration challenges that become hard if the party rushes, ignores local customs, or destroys living guardians.

“To win the forest’s trust, the heroes must prove that wisdom is stronger than power, grace is sharper than steel, and compassion can survive beneath corrupted roots.”

— Hook · Alliance mission, trial, investigation, and wilderness journey

Alliance mission, trial, investigation, and wilderness journey

D&D 5E, using the 2024 Player’s Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide where applicable.

Medium, with social and exploration challenges that become hard if the party rushes, ignores local customs, or destroys living guardians.

Lvl 5-7

3 to 6 characters

3 or more sessions, approximately 12 to 18 hours of play depending on travel, roleplay, and the length of the trials.

4 NPCs

3 encounters

The Opening

“Archmage Cindreth has summoned you to the Citadel of Dawn, where Lathiras Starsong of the Sylvros Evergreen Court waits beneath a canopy of living branches. She offers a path to Heartwood Bastion, but the Court will lend its scouts and living guardians only if you survive ancient trials of wisdom, restraint, and compassion. The forest road opens at moonrise, and something beneath the roots is already listening.”
— Hook · Alliance mission, trial, investigation, and wilderness journey

Set the Scene

At the Citadel of Dawn, evening light pours through high windows and turns the polished floor gold. A living branch has grown through the council chamber’s northern arch, its leaves whispering despite the still air. Lathiras Starsong waits beside it, bark-patterned robes damp with mist, while Archmage Cindreth places a sealed letter bearing the mark of Heartwood Bastion into the party’s hands. Before anyone can break the seal, the branch shudders, and a single black leaf falls into the fire.

Patron

Questgiver

Lathiras Starsong

Archmage Cindreth introduces Lathiras during a formal council meeting at the Citadel of Dawn. Lathiras presents the invitation as both an honor and a warning, making clear that the Court may withdraw its support if the party treats the trials as a simple combat challenge.

On the Streets · In the Books

Rumours

d6 · table

01
The Moonlight Riddle Trial has never been passed by a group that arrived carrying drawn steel.
02
The Heartwood Bastion’s living walls remember every promise made within their shade.
03
A wounded courtsperson was found beneath the infirmary grove with black veins running through the bark around them.
04
Some elders believe the Nova’s Heart is not a source of power, but a sleeping will searching for a worthy master.
05
Thalion Swiftleaf has doubled patrols near the southern passes after owl messengers began vanishing.
06
A Tribunal magistrate was seen purchasing moonstone dust in a village beyond the forest border.

Stakes

If the party succeeds, Sylvros becomes a vital ally in the race to recover the Nova’s Heart shards, providing scouts, living guardians, intelligence, and safe routes through the Old Wood. If they fail through arrogance or violence, the Court withdraws, leaving corrupted forest routes exposed and allowing the Obsidian Tribunal to deepen its influence near the shard sites.

Ticking Clock·The planar breaches worsen with each passing week, and the Court’s corrupted moonwell channel will become permanently tainted after three nights. Azkhar’s ascendancy remains projected within six months, making the Court’s decision urgent even if the trials are ancient.

Background Lore

The Sylvros Evergreen Court has guarded the primal shrines of the Old Wood for centuries, but the shattered Nova’s Heart has stirred old fears. Leyline tremors now ripple beneath the forest, disturbing moonwells, awakening living-wood guardians, and driving spore-born creatures from their ancestral beds. The Court will not commit scouts or constructs to the wider crisis until the heroes demonstrate wisdom, restraint, compassion, and respect for the living forest.

What the World Knows

The Sylvros Evergreen Court is reluctant to involve itself in the struggle over the Nova’s Heart. Its elders believe outsiders must first demonstrate wisdom, restraint, and compassion through a series of ancient rites at Heartwood Bastion. The party must travel through an enchanted forest, solve the Moonlight Riddle Trial, face a living-wood guardian without destroying it, aid an injured courtsperson, and persuade the Court’s council that their cause will protect rather than exploit Sylvros. Success earns elven scouts, living-wood support, and a route toward future shard sites.