The Ar'Tel'Quessir (gold elves) of Aryvandaar installed the Grandfather Tree at its current site millennia ago after the chance discovery of a subterranean temple that was ancient even in that distant era. (The subterranean temple beneath the Grandfather Tree will be discussed in Mintiper's Chapbook #9: Hall of Mists.) The Fair Folk suspected (correctly) that the temple dated back to the time of the Iqua'Tel'Quessir (creator races), and they charged the arakhor with keeping the temple's abiding evil in check. Content to fulfill its duties, the arakhor outlasted not only the fall of Aryvandaar, but the lesser successor states that followed -- Siluvanede, Sharrven, and Eaerlann -- as well.

In the course of over ten millennia, the nature of the arakhora and the role they once played in safeguarding elven realms has been forgotten by even the Fair Folk. Today, the Grandfather Tree is as much a mystery to the elves of the High Forest as it is to the Uthgardt barbarians who venerate it as a beast totem and woodland spirit. Those few elves who have encountered the Grandfather Tree in recent centuries typically venerate it as a manifestation of Rillifane Rallathil.

[2] The Uthgardt barbarians are said to have stalked the North since the fall of Netheril in the Year of Sundered Webs (-339 DR), although much of their oral history has been lost over the centuries. In truth, the Uthgardt tribes are primarily the descendants of Netherese refugees and Northmen raiders from Ruathym.

The history of the Uthgardt barbarians begins with Bey of Runlatha, a powerful Netherese warrior who led his fellow Runlathans west to the dwarven port of Ascore and across the surface lands of Delzoun. He died in the Year of Shadows Fleeting (-330 DR) near the western border of the Northkingdom, as did his dream of founding a new homeland beyond the territory of the Stout Folk, battling Zukothoth, a nalfeshnee who had long been enslaved by the Netherese archwizard who ruled Runlatha. As the ruler of Runlatha had been killed during the Fall of Netheril, the demon sought to sate its hunger for vengeance by killing Runlathan refugees, despite the fact that they, too, had long suffered under the tyranny of the archwizards. After luring the demon into a subterranean grotto he had found while scouting for a permanent home for his followers, a site now known as Beorunna's Well, Bey destroyed Zukothoth by collapsing a cavern on top of both of their heads. Following the death of their leader, the Runlathan refugees fragmented into loosely allied family groups, precursors of the Uthgardt tribes of the modern era, and reverted back to a primitive way of life.

The next major event in the history of the Uthgardt tribes began in the Year of the Reluctant Hero (95 DR), when a Ruathym thane by the name of Uthgar Gardolfsson sacked the coastal city-state of Illusk, now the site of the city of Luskan. Despite the raiders' success in plundering the city and overthrowing the ruling magocracy, the inhabitants of Illusk managed to destroy Uthgar's fleet of longships and drive the Northmen into the interior, where they hoped savage beasts would finish the raiders off. Instead, Uthgar and his men survived, raiding towns across the North for years thereafter. By the time of Uthgar's death in the Year of the Icy Axe (123 DR), the ranks of his followers had grown to include most of barbarian tribesmen descended from the Runlathan refugees.

Uthgar died from wounds received in his battle with Gurt, Lord of the Pale Giants, on the site now known as Morgur's Mound. By defeating the great giant king, Uthgar broke the power of the frost giants and claimed the lands between the Spine of the World and the Evermoors for his people, who began to call themselves the Uthgardt in his honor. In the centuries that followed, a tradition of ancestor worship among the Uthgardt led to Uthgar beginning to be revered as a god who had tamed a dozen beast spirits. As Uthgar's father was named Gardolf Beorunna and as Bey of Runlatha was known as "Berun" in the tongue of the Northmen, it was only a matter of time before legends of the two men were mingled into a single figure named Beorunna. Uthgar's brother, Morgred Gardolfsson, became a legendary figure as well, and Morgur's Mound, based on a common variant of his name, contains the remains of both Gardolfsson brothers.

[3] The nigh-extinct Blue Bear tribe, whose traditional territories were centered on the northwestern High Forest, traced its ancestry back to one of the twelve sons of Uthgar. Although the Uthgardt have never guessed the true nature of the Grandfather Tree, for most of the Blue Bear tribe's existence, annual Runemeet ceremonies were held at the base of the forest giant, and the tribe's ancestor mounds now encircle the ancient arakhor.

In the Year of the Cantobele Stalking (342 DR), an orc horde from the High Moor overran the Stag Kingdom of Athalantar, which lay south of the High Forest along the banks of the Unicorn Run, driving many of its folk northwards into the depths of the great forest. Many of the Athalantan refugees were eventually adopted into the Blue Bear tribe, greatly swelling its numbers.

In the Year of the Burning Tree (890 DR), during the Blue Bear tribe's annual Runemeet, the Grandfather Tree suddenly burst into flame, driving back the assembled Uthgardt barbarians. (The motivation behind the arakhor's action will be discussed in Mintiper's Chapbook #9: Hall of Mists.) Only one low-hanging branch of the tree was untouched by the flames, although the tree itself and the surrounding forest seemed unaffected by the great conflagration, so the tribe's shaman made a small cutting before withdrawing along with the rest of his fellow tribesmen. As he did so, however, the shadowy figure of a man in green seemed to emerge from the severed branch and make his way into the forest, leaving a trail of bear prints in his wake. Following the trail left by the shadowy figure, the members of the tribe made their way northward until the trail of claw prints came to an abrupt end at the center of an ancient ring of standing stones. There the tribe's shaman planted the precious cutting, establishing the Uthgardt ancestor mound now known as Stone Stand.

In the centuries that followed, the Blue Bear tribe slowly fell under the influence of the demons of Hellgate Keep. Malar, the Beastlord, is thought to have corrupted or slain the Blue Bear totem during this period, although it is not clear whether this was the cause or the result of the tribe's trafficking with fiends and their proxies. In the Year of the Fist (1311 DR), Tanta Hagara, a shape-shifting annis from Hellgate Keep, seized the chieftainship of the Blue Bear tribe. Believing the stunningly beautiful, barbaric hunter goddess with sky-blue skin and the ability to shapechange into a blue-furred bear to be an avatar of their demonic bear spirit, the tribe quickly adopted her as their leader. In truth, the gigantic hag sought only to rediscover the long-lost Grandfather Tree, for she knew what ancient evil lay beneath its roots. Ironically, by using the members of the Blue Bear tribe as her proxies in the search, Tanta kindled a desire to reclaim the ancient ways among a sizable minority of her followers.

Two years later, in the Year of the Shattered Oak (1313 DR), the Blue Bear tribe split in twain during a clash so bloody that both factions were forced to withdraw to avoid annihilation. After the battle, the surviving rebels formed a new tribe and abandoned the corrupt Blue Bear totem. The Tree Ghost tribe, who began to venerate the nigh-mythical woodland spirit they believed inhabited the Grandfather Tree, began wandering all over the North seeking the long-lost ancestor mound, but to no avail.

After over six decades of fruitless searching for the Grandfather Tree by the Tree Ghost tribe, Tanta Hagara, and the Blue Bear tribe, the Tree Ghost tribe rediscovered the site of its original ancestor mound on Shieldmeet in the Year of the Banner (1368 DR). However, despite the presence of her spies among the Tree Ghost tribe, it was several weeks before Tanta Hagara learned of her rivals' success. By the time word of the Grandfather Tree's rediscovery reached Hellgate Keep, the annis was preoccupied with fortifying her own position as the newly installed leader of the ghoul-hold. Nevertheless, Tanta Hagara continued her efforts to locate the ancient temple that lay beneath the forest giant as her agents nominally chased down rumors of gates and items of great power spread by the Harpers.

Tanta Hagara's efforts to locate the Grandfather Tree and the Hall of Mists came to an abrupt end one year later, in the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR), when she was slain and the Blue Bear tribe all but destroyed by the allied forces of the Mistmaster and the creatures of the High Forest. What might have come to pass had the annis succeeded in her quest remains a mystery thankfully left unanswered.

[4] The Keeper's continuing skepticism regarding the breadth of Mintiper's adventures is again unwarranted, as Mintiper and his companions did indeed find the Grandfather Tree in the Year of the Boot (1343 DR). (See Mintiper's Chapbook #2: The Tree of Wailing Souls for further discussion of the character of Lunargent and the roots of the Keeper's skepticism.) In fact, the clues to the Grandfather Tree's location that Mintiper embedded in his account, discussed later in the Keeper's annotation, coupled with the oral history of the Tree Ghost tribe, later enabled Chungred Ghostheart, the tribe's crippled shaman, to lead his people back to the site of their long-lost ancestor mound.

Mintiper has never explained why he did not pass word of the Grandfather Tree directly to the Tree Ghosts, but instead allowed his account to slowly spread across the hearthfires of the North until a member of the Tree Ghost tribe eventually heard the narrative epic more than twenty years later in the Year of Sword (1365 DR). One possible explanation stems from the insight that a member of the Blue Bear tribe, from which the Tree Ghost tribe split off, who was well-versed in his tribe's oral history, could have also used Mintiper's account as a way of rediscovering the Grandfather Tree. Perhaps the Lonely Harpist sought (or was instructed by the spirit of the Grandfather Tree) to leave the retelling of his narrative epic, and thus the attendant rediscovery of the long-lost Uthgardt ancestor mount, to the whim of gods and bards?

[5]On a clear night, the northern heavens are ablaze with starlight, and countless names have been assigned by different cultures to those that shine with the brightest light. To the Fair Folk of Aryvandaar and the lesser elven realms that succeeded it, seven of the most prominent stars were Y'tellarien (the Far Star), Y'landrothiel (Traveler's Star), N'landroshien (Darkness in Light), Y' (the Singing Star), Y'maerythien (Star of Dreams), Y'cervarkiir (Stagcrown Star), and Y'angarothien (Heavenfire). These names are now echoed in the names of the tallest peaks of the Star Mounts, as Far Peak, Mount Journey, Shadowpeak, Bard's Hill, Mount Vision, Hunterhorn, and Mount Angaroth, respectively.

[6] Although it was indeed part of the plunder seized from Illusk by the Gardolfsson's raiders, the Spear of Morgur does not lie within Morgur's Mound and never has. After Morgred Gardolfsson's death, the Illuski artifact was born by one of the twelve sons of Uthgar and became the traditional weapon of the leader of the Red Pony tribe.

In the Year of the Sunless Passage (576 DR), the entire Red Pony and Golden Eagle tribes vanished into the Underdark by way of a passage beneath the One Stone ancestor mound. Over the course of many years of wandering, both tribes degenerated into grimlocks, although they have maintained debased traditions harkening back to their former way of life. Members of both tribes now live near and worship at a subterranean ancestor mound in the Cavern of Cloven Heads, and the Spear of Morgur is still the traditional weapon of the Red Pony chieftain.

[7] Like the figure spied by "Lunargent" during his climb, the man in green who led the Blue Bear tribe away from the Grandfather Tree was one of the "tree ghosts" who have long guarded the ancient arakhor and not one of the traditional guardian spirits summoned by Uthgardt shamans to defend tribal ancestor mounds. Although the Grandfather Tree is once again guarded by ancestral spirits summoned during the most recent Runemeet celebration, the tree ghosts are something different, manifestations of the Grandfather Tree itself that appear in times of need. Akin in some respects to dryads or hamadryads, tree ghosts always appear as venerable males of gnarled aspect combining, to varying degrees, the characteristics of elves, humans, korreds, and satyrs. Most have magical powers to rival an archdruid and seem to be able to wander beyond the borders of the High Forest, although their powers seem to gradually wane the farther afield they wander from the Grandfather Tree. Tree ghosts can assume either corporeal or noncorporeal form, and simply vanish if defeated or destroyed, leaving only a puddle of sap in their wake.

[8] Stone Stand is a traditional Uthgardt ancestor mound, although this site bears evidence of having been used for religious purposes before the arrival of the Blue Bear tribe by a variety of sects and races for centuries, if not millennia. At the heart of the ancestor mound, atop the altar, stands a tall oak tree, grown from the cutting taken from the Grandfather Tree. Both the inner and outer cairn rings encircling the altar are surmounted by a ring of menhirs, with each stone spaced roughly 10 feet apart and capped by lintel pieces that link the stones together into two unbroken rings of capped columns. Both rings of menhirs, which predate the arrival of the Blue Bear tribe by centuries, are inscribed with the symbols of various nature deities, including Baervan Wildwanderer, the Blue Bear totem spirit (Uthgar/Malar), Eldath, Emmantiensien, Lurue, Malar, Mielikki, Moander, Rillifane Rallathil, Shiallia, Skerrit, Silvanus, Solonor Thelandira, Tappan, and several others that are too obscured to read.

Stone Stand has served as the ancestor mound of the Blue Bear tribe since members planted a cutting from the Grandfather Tree at the center of the site in the Year of the Burning Tree (890 DR), but, now that the Blue Bear tribe is all but destroyed, the Tree Ghost tribe has assumed responsibility for guarding the site, which members still consider holy ground. Nevertheless, members of the Tree Ghost tribe never move inside the outer ring of standing stones, for they rightly fear the guardian spirits and ancient magics that linger within. The Tree Ghost tribe does not permit the few remaining Blue Bear tribesmen to even approach Stone Stand, for, apart from the continuing enmity between the two groups, the leaders of the Tree Ghost tribe fear that to do so would invite the wrath of Uthgar.

Unlike other sacred sites of the Uthgardt, the last shaman of the Blue Bear tribe, Tanta Hagara, summoned the shades of souls sent to the Abyss to serve as guardians of Stone Stand, and, despite the lapse in annual Runemeet celebrations, they continue to linger around the site. As a result, the ancestor mound is guarded by the ghosts of more than a dozen long-dead members of the tribe, each of whom was known in life for unbridled cruelty and a penchant for violence. (In game terms, the guardian spirits of Stone Stand are chaotic evil in alignment, unlike the chaotic neutral guardian spirits found at most other Uthgardt ancestor mounds.) The guardian spirits of Stone Stand resemble ghostly demons, combining bestial (usually ursine in nature) and human aspects. All of the ghosts bear scars inflicted by some horrific clawed beast on their noncorporeal forms, yet their attacks are unimpaired by their apparent injuries.

Like many religious sites, Stone Stand exhibits numerous magical powers, each of which draws on a different deity whose symbol is engraved in the encircling menhirs. The relative strength of those magical powers waxes and wanes depending on which deities have been most recently worshiped at the site on a regular basis. At present, the influence of Malar is ascendant, thanks to several centuries of veneration of the Beastlord by the Blue Bear tribe. Moreover, the taint of the Abyss spread by the demons of Hellgate Keep still hangs heavy over this site, enhancing the aura of corruption and evil that oppresses all who dare approach.

As a result, anyone who stands within the outer ring of menhirs is protected by a protection from good spell. Any worshiper of Malar who stands within the outer circle of standing stones can voluntarily transform his limbs into beast claws (as the 2^nd level priest spell detailed in Faiths & Avatars) and/or enter a rage (as the 5^th level priest spell detailed in Faiths & Avatars) at will, with the effects lasting until voluntarily terminated or two turns have passed since the being left the outer ring of menhirs. In addition, while standing within the inner circle of standing stones, followers of the Beastlord may transfer their minds into the body of a designated animal who also stands within the inner ring, in a fashion identical to the effects of an animal transfer spell (as the 6^th level priest spell detailed in Faiths & Avatars). However, this effect cannot be ended until the animal returns to Stone Stand or is slain. If the body of the worshiper of Malar is slain ere his mind is freed from the animal that he possesses, then he is trapped permanently in that form, short of a properly worded wish. (It is thought that Darketh Stormbolt [CE hm F14], once a powerful warrior of the Blue Bear tribe, became trapped in the form of a great cave bear in this fashion in the Year of the Shield [1367 DR] and now hunts humans and demihumans in the untamed lands south of the River Rauvin. Having broken the spirit of Hlutwig Long-throw, the nominal chieftain of the Blue Bear tribe, Tanta Hagara disposed of her only rival during a Runemeet ceremony by consuming his physical form as it lay unguarded with the inner ring of menhirs that encircles Stone Stand.)

Stone Stand may well possess other magical powers linked to the Beastlord, as yet unknown, and it might still be possible to draw on magical powers linked to other deities venerated at this site long ago. Many spellcasters seek to cast their spells within the mound's inner cairn ring because of one such power, for the effects of all incantations are half again more potent. (For example, a spell that would last 6 turns lasts 9, and a spell that would heal 1d8 points of damage heals 1d8+1d4.)

[9] As noted previously, the Tree Ghost tribe rediscovered the Grandfather Tree on Shieldmeet in the Year of the Banner (1368 DR). (The motivation behind the arakhor's allowing the tribe to return will be discussed in Mintiper's Chapbook #9: Hall of Mists.) Several months later, the tribe celebrated Runemeet around its traditional ancestor mound for the first time in generations. The tribe's chieftain, Gunther Longtooth, has forged alliances with elves, treants, satyrs, dryads, and other woodland creatures, and the entire tribe has pledged to defend the forest from harm.

With the backing of Alustriel of Silverymoon, the Lady Hope of Luruar, and the aid of several green elves dwelling in the region, the Tree Ghost tribe has established a small village within a few minutes' walk north of the Grandfather Tree. Ghostand, as the village is called, lies high above the forest floor atop a stand of towering oak trees. Constructed along the lines of the elven tree-cities found elsewhere in the High Forest, Ghostand is a thriving community of more than 350 Uthgardt barbarians that is emerging as a trade center for the inhabitants of the surrounding forest.