From publisher blurb:
The Forest of the Wode Hound
While the swarming hives of the Vesper Queen infest the Westen groves of Brythani, the Eastern lands have long been under the dominion of the legendary Wode Hound.
At the Dawn of Mist, which marked the origin of Gwydion, the Cauldron of Creation poured forth all of existence from its fathomless depths, blanketing the unshapen world in a miasma of infinite potential. From towers of fog did sprout the precursor trees, some of which still stand today, and in their wake, more green spires rose, forming the first forests. So beautiful and bountiful were the woods that both Gods and Mortals alike coveted them and contested each other for the green realms. Once majestic and unspoiled, the wilderness became a gruesome battlefield soaked by the blood of the supernal and the sublunary.
This blood spilled on a yet unformed and still evolving world gave birth to new primordial urges and furies that cast emergent shapes amidst the roiling fog. The pained woods themselves spawned forms befitting their imperiled state, beings of flesh-hunger and territorial rule; Dread Beasts, far larger and more ferocious than any animal seen before or after them. Chief amongst them was the Wode Hound, the primeval avatar of the Hunt and a manifestation of both the beauty and terror of nature’s fundamental being. The Wode Hound and its fanged children retaliated against the invaders, scouring the land and preying upon Gods and mortals. So horrific was the Wode Hound’s wrath that the Gods themselves withdrew from the woodlands, seeing the error of their ways and recognizing nature’s sovereignty.
Mortalkind, however, would not act so humbly nor so wise. Seeing the Gods retreat from these verdant territories, the armies of living Gwydion took this as their opportunity to claim the wilds and rallied against the Wode Hound and its pack. Led by an ambitious and cruel warlord of mythic strength, soldier and wolfkin fell upon each other in a roar of violence (which history titled “The War of Steel and Claw”), culminating in a climactic skirmish between the Wode Hound and the Warlord. The brutal skirmish left each maimed and at the brink of destruction, the Wode Hound losing an eye and a horn, the Warlord’s arm wholly torn from his body. With leaders on both sides wounded and depleted, the showdown resulted in an uneasy stalemate, forcing a halt in hostilities throughout the land.
This deadlock became the basis of the razor-thin truce between beast and mortal that still holds today; both are free to live in the woods, but only if they prove their worth. Nothing is given for free. You either earn your place there, or your corpse will feed the earth you so foolishly believed yourself worthy of. Kill or Be Killed. Hunt, or be Hunted.
The Present Age of the Wood
Though the arrival of the Righadharach and his graven scourge has been disastrous to all of Gwydion, few regions have suffered worse fates than East Brythani. The outpouring of undead raiders on the southern shores is constant and relentless; for every soulless warrior felled or ghost ship sunk, two more are at their back. What’s worse, the dread presence of these cursed husks seems to have adverse effects on the essence of life within the Wode Hound’s Wood, blighting the land and setting rot into the ages-old, towering trees. Their tireless assaults and corrupting influence combined have also forced natural inhabitants of the forest, not only common animals but far more substantial threats such as Dread Beasts and sylvan monsters, to vacate their usual hunting grounds and territories, leading them into the paths of homesteads all across East Brythani. This mass migration north has pushed folk into bloody conflict with these creatures, resulting in many casualties, and now the horde presses against the legendary Elderwood Ramparts of Timberwood County, the last bastion of defense sequestering the wild horrors lurking in the Wode Hound’s Wood from the rest of Gwydion.
While the Righadharach has not declared why so much of his fury has been levied at the southeastern region, many speculate that it is due to a timeless malice the reanimated Warlord holds for the Wode Hound. During the War of Steel and Claw, legends say the Fyenthi Avatar of the Wild clashed with the living Righadharach and battled him to a draw, which pressured the realms of Mortals to retreat and relinquish complete control of the coveted wood. Why precisely the forest itself is so important to the Righadharach, living and dead, is also a point of mystery and contention; some say it is a matter of unholy dominion, a land the Righadharach is obsessed with plaguing and claiming, as his armies do now, to own and drain of vigor to prop up his power. Others wonder if there might be more to it; after all, the Forest of the Wode Hound was once a battleground for the Gods, and as the people of Gwydion well know, where the Gods have tread, so too might their relics remain. These titanic artifacts contain cosmic knowledge, which could prove invaluable if captured, and one such long-lost memento might have been why the Warlord marched against the wood in eras gone by and again, today.
Whatever the reason for the Righadharach’s reemergence, one thing is certain: Brythani, and indeed all of Gwydion, cannot hold out against his wrath forever. The wood spoils and buckles under the weight of his armies, and the feral things of the forest storm across the countryside in a desperate frenzy for survival. It will take Wanderers who are strong of arm and stout of heart to march into the perilous groves of the Forest of the Wode Hound and conquer its dangers, for if there is one truth there, it is to misstep within the Wode Hound’s domain is to become its prey.
Welcome to the Wood
East Brythani welcomes a ton of new lore and characters into the narrative of Gwydion's history, delving even deeper into the history of the Wode Hound themselves. This ancient adversary of the now-resurrected Righaradrach took to the southlands, and here the wolves of its ilk dwelt within the deep woodlands. Now, the Timberwall protects the mortals of the realm from both the bog mummy hoards, and the dangers of the Vesper Queen.
Containing five detailed sections of the different counties of East Brythani, this book also contains six new careers and six new factions: ranging from beserker knights to monster hunters. Wolfe built an amazing mythos for this expansive region of the world! Cara, Meegle, and Raph's amazing character and scene work throughout the book lend to the dark and mysterious histories of East Brythani, with the stark landscapes of Ryan's design truly showing how brutal the wilds are.