El Arbol, an alternative Belcadiz Tree of Life
by GreenbrierBack in Elven Healing Magic I started thinking about a unique Tree of Life for Glantri's unique Belcadiz elf clan...
At DJShade's suggestion I checked out the relics in Gaz 9 The Minrothad Guilds and also took into account that Gaz 3 makes clear that the Belcadiz do have a Tree of Life (Princess Carnelia's great-aunt Victoria is their Treekeeper, Gaz 3 pg. 24). So here's my take on a uniquely Belcadiz tree, which the elves refer to simply as "El Arbol". I've attempted to do this without wading into the debate as to the Belcadiz origins, hopefully it is open enough to use with any of the various theories. Of course, just change anything you like to fit your version of the world and have fun!
Metal Tree by Foster Talge
HISTORY
Clan lore tells of a mighty galleon, El Arca, constructed by the elves when they saw the need to leave their original, faraway home (some say El Arca was actually a flying ship and the journey was from another world altogether, but those details matter little here). Imbued with the most powerful spells & blessings known to the elves, the galleon became both home & fortress for the clan as they wandered. Eventually landing on the shores of Brun, the elves were split between those who wanted to press on into these new lands and a faction who argued for trying to return home, despite the reasons they had left in the first place. After listening to both sides, the Clan leader decreed that their travels by ship were over and the elves would find a new home further inland on this new continent. He also ordered that El Arca be ceremonially burned to represent a final break with their past and make it clear to all that there would be no turning back. Some of the ashes of the ship were collected and carried with the elves from that day forward in an ornate chest, as the clan set out inland in the direction that the smoke from El Arca's fire had traveled.
Crossing this new continent they encountered other elves, but these were strange pale creatures who knew nothing of metalworking and seemed to prefer living like primitive beasts in the forests. There was no denying they had power though, and these pale elves spoke of a Tree of Life at the center of their settlements which protected the clan. Eventually the flamenco elves arrived in the Highlands and settled the area known as the Principality of Belcadiz today. Soon after their grand palace, the Alhambra, was completed, the Clan leader had a dream. A female voice told the clan leader that the Belcadiz had found their new home and it was time they had a protector of their own, a magical tree that could only grow in this magical new land.
The next morning the Clan leader gathered the most prominent sages and metalworkers of the clan to begin carrying out the plan from his dream. A prominent artist who had sculpted the clan leader's favorite bust of himself, Don Pablo Ruiz y Blasco, was also invited. Over the next three years, in a secluded inner courtyard of the Alhambra, El Arbol began to take shape according to the design of Don Pablo. The metalworkers added the precious ashes of El Arca to molten gold, which was formed into a golden tree trunk and branches. Silver leaves were sculpted and soldered onto these branches, with countless spells & blessings cast upon the sculpture throughout the process. When Don Pablo pronounced the sculpture finished, the Clan leader appointed him the first Treekeeper of Clan Alhambra.
IT'S ALIVE!
After the sculpture was complete, the elves found that El Arbol was no longer cool to the touch like other metals. Even more shocking, Don Pablo plucked one of the silver leaves from the tree and the clan was amazed to watch as it grew back over the next few days. Somehow, whether it was the female voice from the dream, the ashes of El Arca, or the magic that flows through the land of Glantri itself, El Arbol had become a living tree made of gold and silver.
Few outside the Belcadiz believe this tale, but then again almost nobody outside the clan has ever been allowed to study El Arbol up close. The Erewan elves like to make fun of the Belcadiz relic as "the tin tree" or the "the dwarven Tree of Life", but during the time that the elves of Glantri were all under Belcadiz rule some Erewan elves DID get close to El Arbol, and the older and wiser ones know better. Lady Eleseea herself, the Erewan Treekeeper, is scrupulously silent on the matter and does not tolerate ridicule of El Arbol in her presence.
If anyone could explain the living metal phenomenon of El Arbol, it would probably be the dwarves. But no dwarf has ever laid eyes on El Arbol and lived to tell about it, and it is unlikely that one ever will.
POWERS & DIFFERENCES FROM OTHER TREES OF LIFE
El Arbol has the standard powers for a demihuman clan relic (see D&D Rules Cyclopedia, pg. 145). El Arbol also has a few additional powers - the Treekeeper can also use the Tree to "cast" Locate Object, Remove Fear and Charm Person (see Gaz 5 pg. 69 for an explanation of the use & cost of Tree of Life spell-like abilities). The similarity between these extra abilities and those granted to clerics of Valerias has led some to speculate that Valerias is behind the creation of the relic, and that she was the mysterious female voice in the Clan leader's dream (see Codex Immortalis, Guide to the Immortals pp. 131-2).
Unlike the sylvan elves Trees of Life, El Arbol cannot be used to create daughter trees and is incapable of movement. It is tended with daily polishing by the Assistant Treekeepers to keep the precious metal gleaming, and the Treekeeper decides when and how many leaves may be harvested for use in making magical items - El Arbol does not communicate via ESP with the Treekeeper the way a sylvan Tree of Life does, but the Treekeeper does receive a strong sense of when enough leaves have been taken and El Arbol needs to rest and regenerate. El Arbol also cannot be used to create the oil of sunlight, elven lightships, elven bows or healing potions described in the RC and in Gaz 5 (see pp. 33-4 & 69).
PRODUCTS
The silver leaves harvested from El Arbol are used by the reknowned metalworkers of the Belcadiz to create many special elven items. Jewelry, weaponry and armor that contain part of a leaf from El Arbol take enchantment especially well (DM should provide a bonus to success chances when creating magical items). Weapons containing part of a leaf are not inherently magical unless enchanted to be so, but are able to hit creatures that can only be harmed by silver or magical weapons (see Gaz 5 pp. 33-4 for weapons created using the Tree of Life). The Belcadiz make rapiers which function like the elven longswords of Alfheim, but do not have the Detect Danger ability. Arrow shafts are not made, but arrowheads containing part of a silver leaf from El Arbol are added to normal shafts to make arrows which are equivalent to the elven arrows of Alfheim. All weapons containing part of a silver leaf from El Arbol are especially deadly to lycanthropes, even if not further enchanted (+1 to both hit & damage). The leaves are also used to fashion silver sewing needles, which the Belcadiz use to create their famous lace. Lace sewn by an El Arbol needle is used when the Belcadiz create those iconic elven magical items, elven boots and cloaks.
Occasionally gold is taken from the trunk or branches of El Arbol, but only in very small quantities and the regeneration of this "bark" takes much longer than the regrowing of leaves. With the small amounts taken only jewelry or small figurines for the nobility have ever been made containing gold from El Arbol, but these items take enchantment just as well as the silver.
THE GREAT SEAL
Great Seal of the State of Montana, basic design by Francis M. Thompson
During the centuries he served the clan as Treekeeper, Don Pablo Ruiz y Blasco created many other works of art and is remembered as one of the greatest Belcadizan artists. While most are owned today by wealthy collectors, one other piece has become a recognized part of everyday life in Belcadiz. The Great Seal of Belcadiz was created for the Prince by Don Pablo and has been duplicated and distributed to every government office throughout the Principality. For authentication purposes today all Belcadiz government documents are impressed with its image, and all official scrolls are sealed with the seal's image impressed into the wax.
The seal does not contain an image of El Arbol itself (like other elves, the Belcadiz do not advertise their relic) but the words "Oro y Plata" (meaning "Gold and Silver") refer directly to the tree and its importance to the clan. The other items depicted in the seal are the mountains & rivers of Glantri, the forests of Belcadiz, a plow representing agriculture, and the shovel & pick representing the mining industry of the Principality.