Greenwood: The Sylvan Dominion

If Gallandor is the mountain and Silvermoon is the sky, then Greenwood is the earth itself. The third of Eldoria’s great kingdoms, Greenwood is not a land built of stone or crowned with towers. It is a realm grown — a living dominion of colossal trees, river-spirits, and druids bound to the heartbeat of the world.

To enter Greenwood is to pass beneath boughs that have stood since the Age of Ashes, where roots coil like serpents, where wolves of ember flame watch from the shadows, and where the very forest may rise in judgment. It is not merely a kingdom — it is a covenant with the land.


The Verdant Wilds

The Greenwood stretches across the heart of the Verdant Wilds, an endless forest where sunlight filters through golden canopies and rivers carve silver veins across the earth. But beneath its beauty lies power.

  • The Whispering Woods – Sentient groves said to carry voices of the dead. Travelers often hear names spoken on the wind.
  • The Golden Forest – Heart of Greenwood, its trees shine as if aflame at sunset, but their glow never fades.
  • Cursed Glades – Battlefields of the First Sundering, where shadows seeped into the soil. No flower grows there, and those who linger too long hear whispers urging them to despair.

The Greenwood is not a passive land. It remembers. It judges. And it does not forgive.


Thal’Emoras: The Living City

Hidden deep within the Golden Forest lies Thal’Emoras, Greenwood’s capital — a city not built, but sung into being.

Its halls are woven into the trunks of colossal golden-wood trees, spiraling upward in layers of vine-bridges and terraces lit by sap-lanterns. Roots form stairways, branches bend into arches, and flame-druids tend torches that burn with green fire, symbols of life and balance.

Notable Landmarks

  • The Rootspire – A monolith entwined with roots, believed to be where the first druids bound their lives to the land. Lady Myrialis guards it with unyielding zeal.
  • The Glade of Ancients – A circle of trees so vast their branches weave together like a temple roof. Here, oaths are sworn before the spirits.
  • Temple of the Verdant Eye – A sanctuary grown from a single tree, its heartwood glowing with emerald flame. Within, seers glimpse visions in fire and leaf.
  • The Golden Canopy – The highest level of Thal’Emoras, where the Queen’s council meets beneath branches that shimmer like captured sunlight, even in the blackest night.

Thal’Emoras is not merely a city — it is the forest dreaming in stone and song.


House Thalorien – Wardens of the Forest

The rulers of Greenwood are not kings in the manner of Gallandor or Silvermoon. They are wardens, chosen by both blood and the will of the land itself.

  • Warden-Queen Aerwyn Thalorien – Regal, fierce, and bonded to the Verdant Eye, she carries the Green Sight, hearing whispers of both past and future in the rustling of leaves. Her word is law, not because of crowns, but because the forest itself bows to her.
  • Prince Faelor Thalorien – Her only son, gifted with spirit-sight but brash and proud. He distrusts men, seeing them as destroyers of balance, and often rivals Iogro Merrybelly with open disdain.
  • Lady Myrialis – Aerwyn’s sister, Keeper of the Rootspire. A figure of dread and respect, more priestess than noble, who communes with spirits few dare approach.

House Thalorien traces its line back to Eldros the Verdant, the first druid to bind his soul to the Whispering Woods. They are less a dynasty than a covenant — the embodiment of Greenwood’s vow to protect balance at all costs.


The Culture of Greenwood

The Greenwood elves are distinct from their kin of Silvermoon:

  • Silvermoon → starlight, high magic, crystalline towers, scholars of fate.
  • Greenwood → roots, druids, torchlight, spirits, guardianship of balance.

Greenwood Traditions

  • Tree-Song Magic – Elves sing to shape living wood, raising bridges, halls, and even weapons from the forest itself.
  • Spirit-Binding – Some druids form lifelong pacts with river or beast, drawing strength from their bond.
  • The Ember Flame – Green fire that symbolizes balance; it is never allowed to extinguish within Thal’Emoras.
  • Shadowblending – Warriors slip into the forest’s essence, becoming one with shadow and green — perfect scouts and ambushers.

Their lives are not about dominion, but harmony. To Greenwood elves, to cut without blessing or to take without offering is blasphemy.


Greenwood in the Age of Ashes

During the First Sundering, Greenwood stood as the last barrier against Malakaroth’s eastern advance.

When the Dread King’s armies marched, Aerwyn’s ancestors called the forest to war:

  • Oaks tore their roots from the earth, crushing siege engines.
  • Wolves cloaked in emerald flame hunted cultists through the night.
  • Rivers rose in living torrents, drowning entire battalions.

The land itself fought beside Greenwood. But such power came with scars. There are glades that still bleed shadow, and rivers that whisper with voices of drowned soldiers. Greenwood carries those wounds like a crown — a reminder that balance must always be guarded, or it will shatter.


Prophecy in Greenwood

The druids believe the scars of the Brothers Three are not random. They say the Whispering Woods spoke of them long before their birth — three wounds upon the land, born as sons, who would either restore balance or break it forever.

Some claim the markings on their flesh mirror carvings found in the Rootspire itself. Others whisper that one of the Brothers is destined to fall, his death the price of balance.

Whatever the truth, Greenwood watches them with both hope and fear.


Songs of Greenwood

“Beneath the golden boughs we sing,
Of fire’s gift and shadow’s sting.
The forest wakes, the spirits cry,
Balance holds, or all will die.”


Behind the Writing

Greenwood has always been, for me, the “soul” of Eldoria. Where Gallandor is weight and vigilance, and Silvermoon is mysticism and prophecy, Greenwood is life itself. It’s the reminder that the world is not just kingdoms and crowns, but roots and rivers and spirits older than men or elves.

I wanted Greenwood to feel as dangerous as it feels beautiful. A kingdom you would long to see, yet fear to offend. A place where nature does not serve you — it tests you.

It also reflects my love for being outdoors, for forests that feel alive. Greenwood isn’t just a fantasy forest — it’s what forests feel like when you’re standing in them, listening to the wind and realizing you are very small.


Until Next Time…

Greenwood is the third of the Seven Kingdoms, and one of the most primal. In the weeks to come, we’ll sail the storm-lashed cliffs of Stormwatch, delve into the fiery forges of Ironclad, and walk the frozen halls of Durhaven.

But for now, we leave Greenwood — a realm of druids and spirits, where the forest itself remembers the Age of Ashes, and where balance is both gift and burden.

Gallandor: The High Kingdom of Eldoria

Every world has its crown — the place where history, destiny, and power converge. In Eldoria, that place is Gallandor. Known as the First Kingdom, Gallandor was born out of victory in the First Sundering, and for a thousand years it has stood as the guardian of prophecy, the jewel of Arathia, and the seat of the High King and Queen.

It is more than a kingdom. It is the beating heart of Eldoria.


The Land of Arathia

Gallandor lies in Arathia, the fertile heartland of Eldoria. Its rolling plains are rich with crops, its rivers glimmer like silver threads, and its roads carry travelers from all corners of the realm. Yet at the center of this abundance rises something far greater — Ashrathal, called Emberhold in bardic songs.

This mountain was not born of nature alone. It rose from the scar of the First Sundering, a peak forged in ash and fire when Malakaroth, the Dread King, was defeated. To the lords of Gallandor, it is Ashrathal, the Throne of Ash. To the common folk, it is Emberhold, the Keeper of Embers. Both names are true. Both carry weight.

Upon its slopes and around its base, Gallandor was built — a kingdom of stone and memory. But beneath the mountain lies a darker truth.

The mountain itself is a tomb.

At its core rests the chained body of Malakaroth. Gallandor is both protector of the world and reminder of its greatest wound. To live in Gallandor is to live in the shadow of vigilance, knowing that peace is not guaranteed but guarded every day.


The City of Arathia

At the mountain’s foot sprawls Arathia City, Gallandor’s capital and the jewel of Eldoria. Its white-stone walls gleam in the sun, its spires rise toward the heavens, and its streets hum with knights, scholars, merchants, and pilgrims.

Notable Landmarks

  • Caer Thalion – Royal citadel of House Galanor, where the High King and Queen sit the throne. Its banners fly high above the city.
  • The Great Library of Eldoria – Vault of prophecy and history, where the Whispering Stones are kept under guard of the Keepers.
  • The Hall of the Dragon Riders – Monument to Gallandor’s proud order of dragon riders, now faded but never forgotten.
  • The Spindelum Vault – Hidden deep beneath the city, where the Spindelum of Time was once locked away.
  • The Whispering Stair – Tower where seers climb to glimpse visions. Its steps echo with voices not of this world.

Arathia City is not only the seat of kings. It is the memory of the First Sundering, the guardian of prophecy, and the heartbeat of Eldoria itself.


House Galanor: Blood of Kings

At the center of Gallandor’s story stands House Galanor, the ruling family whose line stretches back to the Age of Ashes.

  • King Alric Galanor – A wise and battle-hardened High King, patron of the Keepers and defender of prophecy.
  • Queen Elenara Galanor – Regal and compassionate; scarred forever when Morgathra, sister of the Dread King, attacked her during pregnancy.
  • The Brothers Three – Torin, Kael, and Eadric. Triplets born in a single breath of fate, scarred in the womb by Morgathra’s curse. Each bears a fragment of shadow, and each is bound to destiny.
  • Galen Galanor – Brother to Alric, a retired general and secret leader of the Keepers, sworn to guard the Spindelum of Time.

House Galanor is not just a royal bloodline. They are guardians of the world’s hope. The fate of Eldoria itself is tied to their scars.


The Burden of the Crown

Gallandor’s rulers carry more than crowns — they carry the weight of a tomb. Every monarch of House Galanor swears the same oath:

“As long as Gallandor stands, the tomb remains sealed.”

It is their glory, but also their curse. To be High King or Queen is to watch over the wound of the world, never free of the shadow it conceals.


The Culture of Gallandor

Gallandor’s people are proud and resilient, shaped by both plenty and vigilance.

  • Farmers tend the fertile fields of Arathia, their harvests feeding much of Eldoria.
  • Knights uphold ancient codes of chivalry, carrying lances and banners that trace their lineage to the First Sundering.
  • Scholars of the Great Library dedicate their lives to understanding prophecy and recording the lore of the past.
  • Common folk live with quiet pride, knowing their kingdom is the shield of Eldoria.

Gallandor is also haunted by memory. Every festival, every song, every monument whispers of the war that shaped the world. Its people live with hope, but also with scars.


Legacy of the Dragon Riders

Gallandor was once home to the legendary dragon riders, warriors who forged bonds with dragons and carried fire into battle against Malakaroth’s legions. Their order has all but vanished, but their spirit remains.

The Hall of the Riders is lined with statues. Songs still tell of Riven and the others who rode flame across the skies. Some believe their bond is not gone — that when the world needs them most, dragons and riders will rise again.


Gallandor in the Brothers Three

For the Brothers Three, Gallandor is not only their birthplace. It is their burden.

Born in Caer Thalion, beneath the banners of House Galanor and above the tomb of Malakaroth, their scars tie them to Gallandor’s destiny. Their journey stretches far across Eldoria, but all paths lead back to Ashrathal — to Emberhold — the mountain that holds both ash and ember, ruin and hope.

If Gallandor falls, all Eldoria falls with it.

“The crown of Gallandor guards the tomb,
If the crown should fall, the world is doomed.”


Behind the Writing

Gallandor has always been one of my favorite creations. From the beginning, I knew I wanted a kingdom that felt both majestic and haunted — a place of light and glory, but one forever built upon scars.

Tolkien’s Gondor inspired me, but Gallandor became something heavier. Not just a city of stone, but a city built on a tomb. Not just a line of kings, but a bloodline bound to prophecy. For me, Gallandor embodies the tension of fantasy itself: light built over shadow, hope born of ruin.

Crafting Gallandor has been my escape — a place to explore, to build, to return to when life demanded too much. It’s been years of sketches, notes, maps, and songs. And now, opening its gates here is a joy, letting you step into the world that has lived in my head for so long.


Until Next Time…

Gallandor is the First Kingdom, but it is only the beginning. Soon, we’ll step into Silvermoon — the hidden realm of elves — and Greenwood — the torchlit dominion of druids and forest spirits. We’ll descend into Ironclad’s glowing forges, sail with Stormwatch’s storm-driven fleets, march across Durhaven’s frozen plains, and walk the haunted halls of Barakthûn.

But it begins here, in Gallandor.
The First Kingdom. The guardian of the tomb. The heart of Eldoria.

If the crown of Gallandor falters, so too does the world.