SWNOVELS Chapter Introduction
Centuries ago, in a time now largely forgotten, a vast primordial woodland covered the eastern half of North America. This forest fell prey to the axes and saws of European immigrants for two hundred years until only pockets of the massive trees remained intact. One such expanse, a wide and extensive tract, once stood near the village of Needwood on the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Most Needwooders eked out a living on small farms, but some also worked in the forest cutting timber for the growing cities of the east. In those days, before the flooding tide of modern humanity had completely overwhelmed the wilderness of the New World, Needwood Village nestled in a serene rural valley. Yet its bucolic surroundings concealed a dark secret, for mysterious beings haunted the shadowy depths of Needwood Forest, and as the taking of trees reduced their home, the ire of these beings toward humanity awoke. Most powerful among them were the Sirachim, a small band of female spellcasters who cared for the forest and who occasionally defended it against the incursions of mankind. The story that follows is that of a struggle between the people of Needwood and one of those magical women, who in her fury, and corrupted by a decades-long search for great power, fought to protect her beloved trees before they had all been cut from the earth.