Aurelia

Aurelia is a wood nymph, also known as a dryad, who lives deep within the Blackmoor Basin of the Broken Lands. She makes her home beside a lone oak that took root where a cairn once stood, its stones scattered and sunk beneath the wetland moss. A vibrant ecosystem flourishes around it, shaped and sustained by Aurelia’s quiet, instinctual magic.

The first explorers to catch a glimpse of her were naturalists sent to chart the plant and animal life of the basin. After their initial foray, they returned to their field station at the basin’s edge, speaking of a striking fey with wild green hair and eyes like polished amber. Her beauty haunted their memories. They returned again and again to the wetlands, hoping for another glimpse.

Eventually, they stopped returning. Weeks passed with no word, so a search party followed their trail into the basin. They found the explorers’ camp still set up—tents and supplies undisturbed, fires long cold—but no sign of the team. One backpack left behind contained a journal. The early entries spoke with wonder of the wood nymph and the tranquil beauty of the wetlands. The later pages lost structure, drifting into obsession.

The final lines, barely legible through smudged ink, read:

“The sun, softer here. Her voice, wind through the trees. Tell them not to come. We were fools to ever leave this place. To leave her.”