[Army FLuff] The Guardians of the Hex Glade....

[YourMumRang]

Right. The basic idea comes from a local legend in my UK county of Staffordshire which was taken on by a local theme park. Essentially the legend is about a Lord who was confronted one say by an old hag who asked him for some coins whom the lord laughed at. She then told him that for each branch which fell from the tree in his grounds a member of his family would die.

So: He had the Tree Chained up.

http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/rides/hex/oaktree04.jpg

****************************************************

I decided to draw on this image for my army. The tale goes something like this:

The forest spirits which inhabit Athel Loren are not restricted to the realm of the Wood Elves. They can be found in forests all over the world stemming from the time when most of the land was covered in one huge forest. Treemen, Dryads and all other forest spirits are known across the worlds under differednt name from Djinn to Bugger-Men.

Many of these aincent Treemen are often found in slumber. Cut off from the once great, sustaining forest they lapsed into sleeps which span scores of centuries and rarely waken.

One such Treeman was Jehnannum. He slumbered within the land of a Prince Mordant, a land owner within an area of the Empire known as The Border Princes. Mordant was a pathetic man obsessed with power. His low status within the Heirachy of the Empire frustrated him to the extent that he took out his rage on those who lived on his lands. Many tales tell of his charging into a village in full armour and trying to kill all who he was but more often than not merely falling from his horse to be laughed at by his "subjects".

Upon vsiting the Great Library in SOMEONE PLS HELP HERE Mordant discovered a book which told of powerful and ancient spirits which resided int he forests of the world. The book spoke of a method of binding these spirits and using their power to perform great feats and mighty deeds. Needless to say, Mordant was ecstatic.

The book spoke of the various characteristics of these spirit and, most importantly, how to locate them. It was this that led him to the great oak on the borders of his land. The signs screamed that this was a being of great power. Following the instructions of the book Mordant travelled to Araby in seach of the magical chains which would allow him to bind these great spirits.

Upon returning to his land Mordant's carriage ground to a sharp halt and Mordant was thrown to the floor. His scouts had not spotted the old Hag who now stood in the centre of the road. She was clad in old rags made of twigs and branches and her hair was a matted mass of leaves and mud. Her ponted ears were shrivelled and her back was bent like a scimitar.

She said to him "What you plan is a great evil. Do no expect it to go un-punished." In fear Mordant had his soldiers behead the woman right there on the road. Thinkign himself safe Mordant continued ont o his home.

After two weeks of preparation Mordant was ready to awaken the spirit of the tree and had bound it in the thick, magical chains to control the spirit. He began the ritual.

*

Jenhannum was slowly drawn to consciousness and finally awoke to face a small man in a rapture of excitement and expectation. He was chanting clumsy words which caused great pain in the old Treeman. The ritual went on for 6 days and 6 nights and on the morning of the seventh day Jehnannum has lost any shred of sanity and was raging against his chains in an effort to strike down the man torturing him.

Then, the darkness around them coalesced into a host of etherial shaped. Some in the form of great horses and some like smaller versions of the Treeman himself. Above these strode a giant being almost the size of Jehnannum himself.

In terror Mordant turned to run and found himself face to face with the hag. Her eyes glowing the colour of fresh soil. As roots sprang from the ground and began to wrap themselves around him, crushing out all his breath Mordant heard the words,

"You were warned. Now the forest will have its revenge"

The last thing Mordant saw was the chains being removed from Jehnannum and the great Treeman turning its hate-filled eyes towards him.

****************************************************

SO! Thats my poorly written, overblown fluff out of the way. here's the unit run-down.

The Hag: A spellweaver who wanders the earth in order to study the different beings of the forests.

Jehnannum: A Treeman who will be modelled with chains around him and forced into his bark.

Hex Dryads: The Dryads summoned by the Hag whenever she feels the need to dish out the wrath of the forest. These wear the chains which they took down from Jenhannum and count as Wardancers with the magical chains giving them the ward save and various dances.

Centaurs: Forest spirits from elsewhere in the world which answer the Hag's call wherever she is within minutes. They hear her call days before she even issues it and this allows them to reach her at the right time. These count as Wild Riders/Glade Riders.

****************************************************

Also if you have read any of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant you may recognise a few names/themes here (IE Centaurs > Ranyhyn). Love those books.

[Raziel]

Its a good idea, it gives you a strong connection to the forest and gives you some areas where you can expand on the story well done.

[Schmeag]

Upon vsiting the Great Library in SOMEONE PLS HELP HERE Mordant discovered a book which told of powerful and ancient spirits which resided int he forests of the world.

When you mention Great Library, you could attribute it to the Great Library of Lahmia. Even though it's non-existent now, you could possibly pull back your army fluff in time.

Otherwise, it sounds very fluffy, with a rather extravagant layering of humour. ^_^