Everything

Embodied in both the mortal realm and the Penumbra as a titanic tree at least 150 feet tall and 20 feet across at the base, a forest-heart entity personifies the spirit of old-growth wilderness. Every primal forest has at least one such spirit, and vast woodlands have several of them. Depending on the region, a forest-heart spirit could manifest as an ancient pine, sequoia, birch, willow, oak, or other form of tree indigenous to that area. If such a tree burns in its Earthly aspect, its ashes and remains disperse to form new trees that can hold its spirit. If that tree gets cut down in the mortal world, however, its spirit is destroyed – trapped, some folks say, in the bits of tree that get cut up, shipped far away, and transformed into furniture, ships, houses, and other wood-based constructions. And if that should happen, the forest literally loses its soul… at least for a time.

Though essentially anchored to its tree, a forest-heart spirit sees and hears everything that happens within its woods. The whorls and contours of its bark and inner rings preserve its memories. Using animals and other spirits as its eyes, ears, and hands, this entity recalls, guides, and, to a degree, defends its territory. Although its senses and priorities are not those of a

lesser-lived entity (like a human mage), a forest-heart can provide information and advice to a mortal who knows how to ask correctly. If nothing else, the forest-heart shapes the spirit of those woods: a friendly spirit presides over a calming, settled, relatively peaceful forest, whereas a hostile one manifests a tangled, dark, and hazardous domain. It’s worth noting that a forest-heart tends to reflect the spirit of intruders back upon themselves. Visitors who treat the woods disrespectfully often anger a forest-heart, who’ll take its deep-seated rage out upon every mortal who dares to enter that forest afterward. The wilderness, it’s been said, holds a grudge for a very long time…

Forest-heart spirits take the long view of things; with few exceptions, mortal matters do not concern them. Things are born, things die – such is the way of the world. Only when a mortal (or a group of mortals) either delights or threatens the domain does a forest-heart care about brief human lives. A respectful traveler might earn the forest-heart’s goodwill, whereas a logging crew incites its anger. Until recently, the fury of a forest-heart was enough to discourage human intrusions; woodlands were vast, implacable mysteries to be avoided whenever possible and traversed along paths that tended to run far away from the forest’s heart. Within the last three centuries, that has changed drastically. Forest-heart spirits, however, are slow on the uptake – and because cold winds, falling trees, ferocious wolves, and walls of thorns are more likely to harm a hiker than a logging crew, those old tactics no longer protect a forest the way they once did.

Even now, though, a mortal who respects the forest and understands its language can commune with a forest-heart spirit, assuming she knows the way to do so. Trees speak without words, and so that mortal needs to understand the subtle language of nature – not the hasty words of humanity – if she wants to speak with such a being. A forest-heart speaks though sensory impressions, and so a conversation with one involves sights, sounds, tactile sensations, and so forth, rather than words. Especially considering that those impressions often come from animals, birds, insects, and plants, not from human beings, a conversation with the forest-heart can be puzzling, frustrating, and apparently one-sided unless the mortal knows how to listen properly to what’s being said.

Although a forest-heart spirit appreciates mortals who revere the ways of nature, it’ll probably want some tangible payment in exchange for anything beyond safe passage or a nice place to sleep for a night or two. Typical bargains with such entities include protection from loggers and other intruders, restoration of a damaged area, retribution for some injury against the woods, mortal stewardship, the purging of some great threat, or other, similar requests. Because mages tend to be more suited to such services than ordinary mortals are – and often know how to listen better than the average modern human being – Awakened mystics tend to recognize this spirit for what it is. Even so, certain unAwakened human beings can commune with a forest-spirit too… just ask Julia Butterfly Hill. Forest-hearts tend to rise from the center of an Umbral glen – usually with a potent Node marking the spot. Werewolves frequently build their caerns near such places (or even in them), so the mortal who wants to commune with a forest-heart spirit might find that conversation rather… challenging… to arrange!

Willpower 8, Rage 4, Gnosis 7, Essence 200

Charms: Appear, Armor, Cleanse the Blight, Create Wind, Disorient, Forest Sense, Lightning Bolt, Mind Speech, Mist, Summon Wildlife (brings fierce animals to the spirit’s defense; 1 Essence per animal), Tracking, Umbraquake

As animists have always known, animals have spirits too – not “souls” as people define that term (although they just might have souls too…), but spiritual personifications of the essence of each species. Beyond the obvious totem spirits, these animal spirits appear, in human terms, as Gaffling and Jaggling spirits that resemble the beast in question but possess mystic powers too. A mage, then, might encounter a crow spirit, serpent spirit, horse spirit, and so on – all with powers that suit their particular beast.

In general, animal spirits look like normal animals (see the Bestiary), with the gifts of mental or physical speech; sapient personalities; and a few appropriate mythic powers like great speed, a paralyzing stare, and so forth. Given the vast array of potential animal spirits – which extends even to extinct beasts like titanic insects, dinosaurs, and other such creatures – we encourage the Storyteller to treat such powers as low-level rotes (Ranks 1-4, with an Arete between 2 and 6) or story elements based on the legendary talents of the associated animal. All animal spirits have the following Charms in addition to all others: Airt Sense, Appear, and Reform. Jagglings can Materialize (as per the animal type, with greater intellect), and have other Charms and powers as well.

In Background Trait terms, such entities may become Allies or Familiars, too. A handful of examples includes: