Enhaa



Standing at nearly four hundred feet tall and with the circumference of a full-sized military fortress, Enhaa is thankfully a god that has little interest in getting up and moving around. With a spiraling trunk that grows up around the magic-radiating shaft of the Spear of the Sky and boughs that reach out for several hundred yards in any direction, there is no specimen of arboreal life that better dominates a landscape.

There are many things that make ancient Enhaa unique, but first among these is the outcropping of irregular bark that fans out along the bottom of the trunk and curls away, mingling with massive roots. From a distance, it becomes easier to tell that this outcropping is the shape of a colossal beard, and that above it are large, effervescent green eyes that crackle with magical energy, and a crooked nose made of swirl-patterned wood that reaches out to provide a home for dozens of birds and small hoarding mammals. Enhaa’s face looks remarkably very much like that of an old human, but at the same time is such an unusual caricature that it is sometimes hard to register as human at first glance.

While other gods seek out worship, Enhaa seeks out wisdom. The spear running through its core sustains it better than any reverence, and so it occupies its immortal life with the sphinxlike occupation of bargaining with adventurers, trading riddles that help them solve their problems for tokens of knowledge from their homelands. This is the second most remarkable thing about Enhaa- its absolutely preposterous collection of books, scrolls, tablets, charts, and music. A gap in its beard opens wide into the world’s most well-stocked and comprehensive library, which is protected by a force of unique demigods called Custodians, man-sized sentient dolls made of twisted branches and leaves who move much faster than the god who created them.

Long ago, but not quite as long as it might seem, at least compared to other gods, Enhaa was the god of all humans, and helped them to grow in the First Forest that dominates the Roof of the World. They sought to learn, and Enhaa provided. They asked questions and tried to better themselves, and the Great Green Tree was happy to oblige. But, wisdom has its limits and so does the patience of a god. Sooner than any of the early tribes would have liked, Enhaa told its children it was time to leave the First Forest and seek out fortunes in other lands.

For many early humans, this was fantastic news. At first they were sad, but they also felt proud that their god was so confident in them, and proud that they were seen as having grown up enough to take part in the rest of the world. Others were bitter. Perhaps they enjoyed life in the First Forest too much, or didn’t see the value in going away. This caused the once unified population of humanity to fracture and separate into the now-famous Eight Tribes, who live all over the world and contribute in their own unique ways.

Regardless of individual feelings about leaving the First Forest, Enhaa rests easy knowing its children bring overall good into the world, and as a result its proximity to the Spear of the Sky has an overall positive effect on Nohren, promoting growth and the spread of soothing Green magic.