The unspoiled wilds of Fernbosk are marked only by the overgrown ruins of the ancient giants and occasional crude wooden shelters built by trolls. The Fernbosk Forest is a dense, primordial wood made up of towering trees and lush undergrowth. In one sacred site deep in the forest, called Karo Glade, a cluster of weathered standing stones is encircled by a ring of the largest, oldest trees in the realm. These stones are believed to predate even the giants' long-lost civilization.
Hagi trolls are both smaller and meaner than the Torga, although some Hagi can grow to impressive sizes. They aren't particularly intelligent, and their motivations are basic and primal: get the most food, have the best lair, find the best stuff. To that end, they travel in loose packs and sleep in crowded warrens, but their foul tempers mean that squabbles and feuds are common.
Over the course of generations, the Hagi have scavenged what they could from many of the old ruins, and they continue to search for unplundered barrows and cairns. They use no form of currency, but shards of swords, rune-stamped metalwork, or broken chalices have become treasured commodities among their clans. Although they don't have a written language of their own, they have deciphered some of the old giants' runes and gradually developed a kind of crude rudimentary magic that they can barely control, which tends to be unexpectedly explosive—the lifespan of a Hagi mage is much shorter than that of other trolls.
Mostly, the Hagi fight hand-to-hand or with pieces of ancient weapons. If they need to raid another Hagi clan or attack a Torga family group that has something they want, they strap a rock onto a stick or fashion some other crude weapon, but their interest in crafts ends there.
The Torga make their homes in overgrown ruins, particularly in the dense Hamundar Forest. They tend to stay in small family groups, clashing regularly with other groups over territory and food sources. Unlike the Hagi, they are shamanistic and deeply connected to the natural world, many of them skilled with nature and healing magic. Because of this connection to nature, the Torga are incredibly strong and resilient with remarkable regenerative abilities. They are highly protective of the Hamundar Forest and will attack Hagi who venture into it. Repelling outsiders is one of the only things that can motivate different family groups to work together.
The Torga are motivated most strongly by a desire to sleep, and they're very good at it, often sleeping for years at a time. They sleep so long that they blend into their environment—it's easy to mistake a long-sleeping Torga for a boulder or a piece of an old ruin. In fact, some Torga select areas near the giants' ruins as a sort of camouflage for them during their long sleep.
Eventually, plants grow over them until it's hard to tell where the Torga ends and the ruin begins. They loathe being awakened prematurely and become incredibly violent and brutal when their slumber is disturbed. They rampage about in a blind rage, destroying anything in their paths— including ripping Hagi trolls in half with their bare hands—until they are utterly exhausted. Then they go back to sleep.
The stones hold the key to finding the home to Beledros Witherbloom. Beledros is a black dragon with black feathered wings and eerie, bright eyes. She makes her home in a nest, a broad patch of foliage pressed flat into the earth. The lair is surrounded by dark-leaved trees leaning over the divot in the earth like jurors. The scent of decay mingles with fresh earth. Beledros has a formidable collection of arcane writings tucked away. Glowing spheres of various sizes lay tucked into massive root structures, protecting their contents from the humid air.