A ruined village of Old Tolaria, swallowed by the Faewoods when the forest erupted from nothing. Now half-consumed by impossible growth, it serves as a warning about what the Faewoods do to things that stay too long.
History
Sakatia was a small settlement on the outskirts of Old Tolaria's heartland—a farming village of perhaps two hundred souls, unremarkable in every way. When the Apparatus of Severance activated in Elderran, Sakatia was directly in the path of the exploding Faesong.
The villagers watched a forest grow around them in minutes. Trees burst from the ground beneath their feet. Vines crawled up walls faster than people could run. Some fled and survived. Some didn't flee fast enough. Some were simply... absorbed.
The village has been part of the Faewoods for centuries now, and the Faewoods have been slowly making it their own.
The Ruins Today
Finding Sakatia is difficult—the Faewoods don't keep consistent geography, and the village seems to move relative to the forest's edge. Those who do find it discover a settlement caught mid-transformation.
The outer buildings are almost unrecognizable—walls collapsed under the weight of growth, roofs burst open by trees growing through them, foundations cracked by root systems older than the ruin itself. These structures are more forest than building.
The village center is better preserved, though "preserved" is relative. Buildings still stand, but they're wrapped in vines, covered in moss, infiltrated by roots that have cracked stone and warped wood. Doorways lead into darkness choked with foliage. Windows frame views of nothing but green.
The village well stands at the center, miraculously clear. The Faewoods have not touched it. No one knows why. Drinking the water is probably a terrible idea, but the well itself seems to mark a boundary—a small circle of normalcy in the overwhelming growth.
The Absorbed
Not everyone escaped Sakatia. Some villagers were caught in the eruption—trapped, engulfed, incorporated into the forest's sudden growth. Their fate is visible throughout the ruins.
A face in the bark of a tree. A hand reaching from a root system. A silhouette visible in the grain of a massive trunk. They are not alive, exactly, but they're not entirely dead either. The Faesong preserved them, transformed them, made them part of the forest's existence.
Some visitors report hearing whispers near these absorbed figures—fragments of conversations from centuries ago, echoing through wood and leaf. Others report being watched by eyes that aren't there. Whether the absorbed are conscious, whether they can be freed, whether they want to be freed—no one has successfully determined.
Adventure Hooks
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Recovery: Something valuable was in Sakatia when it was swallowed—a family heirloom, a historical document, a magical item. The current owner wants it back. The Faewoods want to keep it.
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The Absorbed: A descendant of Sakatia's villagers believes their ancestor is still alive, incorporated into the forest, and wants to free them. Whether this is possible, and what the freed individual would be after centuries as a tree, is unknown.
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The Clear Well: Scholars want to know why the Faewoods haven't touched the village well. The answer might reveal something important about the Faesong's nature—or about what lies beneath the well.
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Sanctuary: Someone is using Sakatia as a hideout, exploiting the Faewoods' disorienting nature to avoid pursuit. Finding them means navigating a forest that actively resists navigation, then searching a ruin that's half plant-matter.