Nestled within the heart of the continent, was the Selmore Forest, an ancient and enigmatic realm. Towering trees stretched towards the heavens, their lush canopy casting ethereal shadows upon the forest floor. Strange and beautiful creatures roamed freely within it's perimeter. Wild fruits and berries grew abundantly along with many fragrant flowers, making the air smell sweet and alluring.
It was a place of unrivaled beauty. But its terrain was most definitetly not made to be travelled into or inhabited by humans.
Many had tried ventured within its mysterious depths, driven by the thirst for power and conquest with their strong armours and large armies, but only a select few in all of history had ever returned. The Selmore Forrest soon became known as the forest that lured and consumed those who enter and lose their way into it, swallowing them whole and erasing their existence from this world. It didn't take long for humans to avoid the forrest. For one to venture into it, one would have to either be utterly crazy, or incredibly strong. Although strength never really made a differrence in the endings of the tales of their conquest
Tales from the survivors talk about the Great Beast that dwells in the deepest part of the forest—a nameless terror that strikes fear into the hearts of all who dare to speak of it. A creature of sheer malevolence, it defies description and comprehension.
The beast, a towering monstrosity, that loomed in the shadows, its massive form concealed beneath a cloak of impenetrable darkness. It moves with an eerie grace, every step a haunting echo that sends tremors through the souls of those who hear it.
No light can touch the beast's twisted visage, for its existence is veiled in perpetual darkness. Its eyes, voids of endless blackness, glow with an otherworldly malevolence that pierces through the thickest veil of night.
Legends tell of its insatiable hunger, its monstrous maw lined with jagged teeth that tear through flesh and bone effortlessly. The beast's presence is marked by an acrid stench, the scent of death and decay that lingers long after its passing.
Whispers speak of its terrifying roars, a cacophony of anguish that reverberates through the land, shaking the very foundation of reality. Each bellow of the great beast is a symphony of terror, freezing the hearts of even the bravest souls who dare to listen.
It is said that those who encounter the beast are forever scarred, their minds haunted by the memory of its monstrous form. To witness the great beast is to witness the unraveling of all that is familiar and safe, a descent into the abyss of primal fear.
However, some would whisper a different tale. Sometimes, young children would accidentally wander into the dark forest, chasing a pretty butterfly, or following a trail of pretty flowers or picked berries. Although it was uncommon, since most would keep away fromt he forest, it did happened. When the entire village would think of the child dead, everybody would be caught in disbelief to find the child walking along the edge of the tree line in a trance like state after being gone for a few or several days.
The child would often times be disheveled and become disoriented when broken out of their trance like state. One child in particular came out of the forest after wandering into it and disappearing for almost a month. Just as everyone began to believe she had been lost forever in the forest, she appeared from the depths of the forrest like a ghost reborn. Her parents rejoiced upon her return, and never let the child escape their sights. But soon after her return, they wondered whether it had been to early to be relieved, for the forrest seems to have messed with her head. Their child had changed drastically. What was once a bright and happy child had become anxious and often threw long tantrums through out the day. The only thing her parents could comprehend was that their child was looking for a man named Aza.
News of the child's strange circumstance spread far and wide so that the locals began to speak of the guardian of the forest named Aza in hushed tones, their voices laden with reverence and fear, but mostly fear. Some believed he was a druid or an elf. Others say that he was an ancient warrior cursed with immortality as punishment for trying to destroy the forest while others believed he was a deity watching over the balance of nature for he was merciful to the weak and the children.
None the less, their child's remurgence had cost the poor couple greatly, and they struggled to provide for the healing of their child. Rumor began to spread that their family had been cursed, and the townsmen drove them out in fear of the curse spreading to others.
More years went by, and this story too, became nothing but an old rumor.
And so the forest remained unventured, unmapped, and unconquered for another century.