Races of Avendar, Chapter VI: The Ethron

An excerpt from the Races of Avendar, an in-game text found in the school of heroes, this chapter covers the ethron.

Ethron: Section 1

The ethron arose during the age following the Sundering.  According to
legend, they were born from the earth and grass, and their early form was
less animal than plant, and less humanoid than golemic.  These young
sapients attracted the attention of a new goddess, who appeared to them in
their forest home.  She shaped and guided them, transforming them into
creatures beautiful, wise, and strong.  She brought to them language, and
they named Her Elar, All-Mother.  

The srryn warlords had not yet risen in their mires, and magic still
remained a difficult and unruly series of forces.  Elar nurtured in Her
children a spark of this magic, which had infused all life on the Prime. 
She imbued an ancient tree, in whose shade She had found the first ethron,
with Her divine power.  She called this tree Firiel, the Tree of Life, and
bound all of Avendar's forests far and near to it.  With this blessing, the
ethron were free to travel without fear.  

The earliest known contact with the ethron occurred in the Dantaron river
valley, with the Earendamian hero known as Truna.  He was considered a great
hunter, and is reputed to have traveled further and longer than any. 
According to ethron legend, he followed the white arrow of the ethron
goddess, Nariel, and discovered the settlement in western Lithling Valley. 
He made peace with them, taking an ethron wife, and fostered ties before the
trials of the War of Fire.  

Ethron: Section 2

Firiel's power allowed the ethron to avoid much of the destruction of the
War of Fire however, their beloved forests were not so fortunate.  The
wastelands created by the rampaging srryn and human warlords left them with
few places in the region to go.  The human and aelin empires, recognizing
the ethron affinity for nature, sought them out to restore the great
forests.  Eqiril, a powerful druid, spent many lifetimes renewing the fallen
kingdom of Caal, transforming it into the great forest of Qilarn.  

The need to restore led the ethron to the far corners of Avendar, where they
were largely responsible for renewing the earth back to fertility.  As the
human empire of Earendam grew to encompass more and more territory, the
ethron, almost by necessity, had to fortify their position within Qilarn. 
They arranged into clans, headed by a powerful chief who directed them. 
This would serve them well during the War of Night.  

The ethron ranger-king, Ilciryas, was both cunning and well-informed.  His
trackers made him plainly aware of the advances of the shuddeni legions, and
with this knowledge, he united the many ethron clans of Morn, Qilarn, and
elsewhere.  He assembled a great host within the forest, and his archers and
druids prepared for battle.  When the shuddeni arrived, they were besieged
by invisible foes, hails of arrows, and attacking plants.  Their forces
decimated, what few shuddeni survived staggered out of the forest, never to
return.  

ethron: Section 3

With the end of the War of Night, the ethron largely returned to their
previous lifestyles.  They live in harmony with nature, and are considered
the stewards of the wild.  They are often hunters or druids, although they
have taken on a more citified flair in settlements such as Eril.  ethron
tend to be short and stocky, averaging about five feet in height.  They all
have notable green skin.  

As a race, they are known for both bravery and pleasantry.  ethron
hospitality is also particularly famous, and they are credited for being
exceptional cooks.  They are always most at home in the forest, which is
where the vast majority of their race lives.