Field Notes
Root Wardens are the Heartwood’s oldest guardians, ancient forms of bark, root, moss, and hollow light. They do not patrol, speak, or answer ordinary commands. They sleep inside the city itself, indistinguishable from old trunks and buried roots until the blood-wards call them awake.
When they rise, they are slow, immense, and terrible. The Root Wardens are not soldiers; they are the forest remembering how to defend itself. Every movement feels older than language. Every blow carries the weight of a living city that has finally decided the time for patience is over.