Lalaith

The place where everything is eerie and uncertain. Where marsh fires light up the night and strange auroras grace the day. People took to calling Lalaith's inhabitants "Fae", since the land is populated with faeries, pixies and other creatures that belong to other countries folklore, thought to belong only in children's bedtime stories.

History

 * Alghest, the place where the previous Age dawned. Hextech, the Soul Well… I have many questions but I fear I shall find no answers here. This place makes my skin crawl… if I ignore the vegetation, I can still see this city bustling with activity and progress, yet an invisible mist is in the air, its sweet aroma welcoming visitors in this oasis in the middle of the swamps. I feel eyes on me… they are not aggressors, or experience would warn us… yet they terrify me. We should not stay here.

Elliot's Journal, Day 15 of Contract #26

It was in Lalaith that Cain the Archmage completed his device, now known as the Soul Well. Although documentation shows where it should've been located, it's location is currently unknown. Even so, the mix of Arcane and Primal radiation leftover from the Well's usage left indelible scars in both the land and its inhabitants. The forests, marshes and swamps are aberrant, some would say "corrupted". Normal botanist rules don't apply there, and species have been touched by magics that altered both fauna and flora. Countless efforts have been made to study these mutations, but the ever-changing ecosystems don't lend themselves to easy documentation.


 * Wilberwind walks cautiously in these forests… she is usually so assertive and yet here she uncharacteristically cowers. She is used to stand at the top, but I get the impression that she does not know her place here… I can’t blame her, I am not sure myself. The whole forest is eerie; James, who joined us last month as a mage, has been sending warnings constantly, and we still haven’t faced any imminent threat. I’ve seen him in spars and I’ve listened to him: he is clearly gifted, yet he seems fidgety…

I won’t even mention the crew that was sent with the band to “assure the necessities of the employer”. Such a burden in this terrain is certainly not welcome. This is my last day in the air, we will need to leave the wyverns behind at the next settlement, I shall see this pressure the forest exudes for myself.Elliot's Journal, Day 9 of Contract #26





























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Population
Lalaith's inhabitants, also called Lalairs, have slowly been changed by their environment. Be it Elves, Dwarves, Humans or Giants, if they live enough time in the Laughing Forests, they are bound to be slightly marked by the forests' contagion. Shimmery skin, radiant auras, mossy hair and other symptoms are not uncommon. For families who have lived there longer, the symptoms are much more accented: there are even rumors of Elves who have developed translucent, insect-like wings.

[Percentages Undocumented]

On the 20th day, the overseers started snickering among themselves. I discarded it as yet another foolishness, yet by middle afternoon some were running out of breath. By the time the end of the line arrived, we noticed that 2 of them had lost their way through the dense jungle. The locals, it seemed, were right…''<p style="text-align: right;">Elliot's Journal, Day 25 of Contract #26
 * ''I must admit I almost discarded it as no more than rumors and folk tales. Nevertheless, I decided to hear the local advice and stock up on the herbs they use as an ointment for the body. The concoction stinks, and so did the animosity of the band as I advised the use of the ointment to Lorel. They were grateful in the end, though.

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Government
Nowadays, not many rules exist in the government of Lalaith's outposts and cities. The latter are few and far between, not sharing a common leader, although outsiders often claim that a being called the "Lady of the Wisps" controls life in Lalaith, and rules over wilderness and civilization alike.

Capital
The capital of Lalaith is Urwen, stationed where the rivers meet. Another city of importance is Alghest, ancient residence of Cain the Archmage. Other outposts and marsh towns can be found along the rivers, but such a sight is very rare within the forests.



The Jester's Fever
Lalaith's titles, "The Land of the Laughing Forests" or "The Land of Laughter", come from an inexplicable condition that often afflicts outsiders who visit the deep of the forests. Known as "Jester's Fever" outside of Lalaith, its inhabitants have a name for those who suffer from the condition: "touched by the faeries". It causes the afflicted to laugh uncontrollably: mild at first, it becomes violent over the course of few days, after which all sanity is abandoned. After that point has been reached, any unsupervised patients will wander into the forest, never to return. It is said they join the faeries, or serve the Lady of the Wisps. Any return from this state is currently undocumented and unheard of.


 * The Jester’s Fever… I didn’t think it could be true, still it made the stinking concoction and angry gazes worth it. I’m glad Lorel backed me up in this, yet obviously she could not direct the overseers. The fat one is far gone and most of the others are already showing symptoms… the locals told us that by then it would be too late. As cold as it is, information is necessary and I proposed a study overseen by me instead of abandoning them… I don’t think they like the second option either.

Subject A, day 3 - The Subject now wears a stupid grin on his face. Every hour or so,a short burst of histerical laugher comes forth… it’s hard to capture his attention. Subject A, day 5 - The Hysteria attacks are beginning to... disturb me. The subject now laughs to near suffocation and is sprawled on the ground in fetal position. It is now hard to even communicate with him, as his attention seems to drift to the woods every time.''
 * ''Subject A, day 1 - A small snicker with spaced out laughs… one would assume he was just amused, if he wasn’t for his terrible personality, capacity to react to stimuli diminished.

''<p style="border: medium none; padding: 0cm; text-align: right;">Elliot's Journal, on the case of Jester's Fever
 * ''Subject A, day 6 - The Subject went missing; no effort was made to recover him.

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