Spoilers / Main Information
The Ancestral Lumen
The Ancestral Lumen is the ancient, glowing tree at the heart of the Luminous Eldergrove. It's the source of all magic, power, and bloodline legacy in the world. Every family's abilities are spiritually and genetically tied to it. It's untouchable, unbreakable, and thought to be eternal.
World Structure
It's a living, mystical world. Towering, ancient trees reach the skies, their glowing blue leaves lighting the world like stars. The ground is covered in soft, bioluminescent grass that flows like water, giving the entire land a dreamlike, shifting beauty.
The rocks and soil glow in radiant hues of deep blue and violet, hinting at the magic flowing beneath. The terrain isn't static, it pulses and flows with the life of the forest, guided by unseen forces.
Civilization exists within the forest, not outside it. Villages and ancient homes are built high in the trees, connected by glowing bridges and rooted platforms. Everything is built to flow with the forest's energy, not against it. Every corner of this world breathes magic, memory, and legacy.
Power System
The Ancestral Lumen is the core source of all magic and power in the world, granting families their abilities and sustaining the forest. It distributes abilities via its deep roots, creating a connection between every living being, family, and bloodline in the forest.
These abilities span a huge array of concepts like Elemental, Temporal, Soulcraft, Biomorph, Mystic Thought, and more. Each of these types can branch into over 100 million combinations of powers, based on the family, lineage, and even the individual's affinity to the trees.
Bloodline Abilities
Each family tree holds unique powers inherited through generations. These abilities are passed down through the blood, making families deeply connected to the forest and the Lumen.
Power-sharing, stealing, evolving, and merging are possible between families due to their shared bloodlines. This creates a complex web of alliances, rivalries, and power struggles.
Branchless Individuals
Not all beings in the Eldergrove are born with powers tied to the tree. Some are Branchless, initially powerless, but they have a rare ability to absorb and merge other people's powers freely. These individuals can steal, combine, or even evolve abilities over time, making them wildcards in the power system.
Ancient Lineages
Families with deep ties to the Lumen's roots have access to the most powerful and primal abilities, including some that are long, forgotten or dangerous. These ancient powers may include unstable magic that can lead to unintended consequences if used recklessly.
The deeper the root a family is tied to, the stronger and more volatile their powers become, but they risk losing control or tapping into forces that even the Lumen cannot regulate.
The Hidden Truth – The Realmroot Connection
The Ancestral Lumen has been dying because its roots have broken through the fabric of reality, creating a connection to a parallel realm, a second forest world, similar in structure but fundamentally different.
This new realm is tapping into the Lumen's power, siphoning energy away from the Eldergrove. The roots connecting the two realms are incompatible, causing a magical imbalance. The Lumen's power is being stretched across two realities, leaving it drained and weak.
The beings in this new world are evolving faster and stronger, adapting better to the power they steal from the Lumen. Meanwhile, the Eldergrove's magic weakens, and its people struggle to maintain their connection to the dying tree.
The Twilight of Roots
This marks the beginning of the end for the Lumen. With its life force being drained and its roots stretching across dimensions, the Eldergrove is entering a slow decay, forcing the residents and power-holders to make choices, fight for survival, tap into forbidden powers, or find a new source of energy.
The Legacy of the Lumen's Powers
Elemental Powers (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) draw from the forest's natural energies, but now they're being distorted as the Lumen weakens.
Temporal Powers could allow individuals to travel through time, but as the balance falters, these powers may become unpredictable, opening rifts in the fabric of reality.
Soulcraft Abilities focus on spirit manipulation, allowing users to control life forces, communicate with spirits, or even steal vitality from others. However, this is becoming dangerous as the energies become unstable.
Biomorphing Abilities let individuals change or evolve their bodies, drawing upon the Lumen's primal forces. As the tree weakens, these powers could mutate, causing chaotic transformations.
This power system is extremely dynamic, with the balance of magic slowly tipping as the realmroots interact. The Lumen isn't just a source of power, it's the heartbeat of the entire forest and its magic. As it fades, new and dangerous powers rise, creating a volatile and unpredictable world.