Arra Kleth are immense trees of an unusual type. Each tree is between 6 and 8 hundred feet tall and has a diameter of between 60 and 80 feet. The trees are a reddish brown in color with unusual flat fan-shaped leaves resembling those of certain tropical pine-like trees. These leaves remain green year round. Each tree has many large branches. These branches usually begin at least 1/4 of the way up the trunk of the tree, each branch making a 45 degree angle with the trunk and supporting a large cluster of smaller branches and foliage near its end. Usually only one branch radiates at a given level of the tree with 5 or 6 major branches per tree, each as much as 20 feet in diameter and up to 80 feet in length.
In the spring the trees flower, producing huge upright cone-shaped flower structures which emit a slightly piny sweet smell. Flowering of the arra kleth signals the immanent arrival of summer and is cause for celebration amongst the inhabitants of the groves.
Each arra kleth lives for between 3 and 5 thousand years. The existing trees all date from at least the time around the fall of Civari as no new trees have been produced since that time. This means the youngest existing trees are almost 3 thousand years old and many of the oldest trees have died since the fall.
See TreeLord . Each arra kleth is tended by a dedicated tree lord, who usually has a small staff of workers and artisans. Each grove is overseen in its entirety by a master tree lord or grove lord. These positions are hereditary within certain Sarduni clans and carry significant prestige.
There are only 3 remain groves of arra kleth within Erithnoi. If others exist on Erth or in the Fey this information is not known by scholars of Erithnoi and even the Tree Lords apparently are not aware of any such groves. It is said that 4 groves were planted in the Fey in ancient times, but their status is unknown and if they still exist they are either lost or cared for by the eldar.
One grove is at HathIilikki in the northern ElfanHolds , another is in the ChoatWoods in central Kinergh, and the third, KlethTaralan is located in the south eastern portion of the ElfanHolds along the UledraithRiver . Each is inhabited by groups of elves and a few eldar who keep whatever is left of the lore and history of ancient Civari within Erithnoi. These groves are said to be sacred to Yilliki, who insured their survival during the fall of Civari. Elvish priesthoods of Yilliki exist in each location but have little connection with the more widespread human Yilliki cults which are also scattered around northern Kinergh. Most tree lords give at least passing respect to Yilliki but most are scholars and keepers of the knowledge of the art of arra kleth husbandry rather than priests. At times there is some friction between the two groups.
Since the fall of Civari no arra kleth has born fertile fruit. The tree lords have on occasion made various unsuccessful attempts to breed new trees. Unknown to all but the Nut clan (See GalarNut ) the reason for this lack of success is a curse which was laid by Falas Nathar during the fall of Civari. Even the Nut have never been able to find a way to lift this curse. In fact it may be possible to do so, but most elves and the few eldar who still maintain an interest in the arra kleth are content to maintain the existing groves as ancient reminders of both the triumph and tragedy that was Civari. However the followers of Yilliki and some individuals within the TreeLords hierarchy would gladly find a way to grow new trees, seeing this as a means to gain prestige or to perpetuate the existence of their holy sites.
Any hint of the existence of knowledge relating to the breeding of arra kleth is likely to attract the notice of one or both of these groups. Various individual would pay highly for this knowledge, fund expeditions, or even steal or kill to acquire that knowledge. However for the most part the vast majority of elves are fairly indifferent, though they might find such information interesting and might be willing to help acquire it out of curiosity or as a way to gain favor with those who do desire it.
This is TBD, there is currently no established way to do this. It could be a plot hook. Copyright © 2022 Tod G. Harter. All rights reserved. No unauthorized distribution without the express written permission of the copyright holder. This document was prepared using Hairball version 0.5.1 on 2022-02-26 License