Tarwa Matso
Tarwa Matso is the vast food garden and Cultivation center located at the edge of the Eldrim village of Sylrantheas in Muir Woods on the surface of Earth (Mar). Its name is derived from the ancient High Eldrim language, which the elves preserved specifically for certain place names and sacred ceremonies.
Geography and Environment
Accessed by following a cobblestone path across the wooden bridge Pia Yanta, Tarwa Matso is a serene, vibrant ecosystem carefully nurtured by the village Gardeners, who treat the earth as if it were a loved one. The grounds feature a beautiful wooden structure flanked by cherry trees and a colorful riot of dandelions and peonies, giving way to row after row of meticulously planted vegetables.
A central feature of Tarwa Matso is a large grass field bordered by flowers, trees, and buzzing insects, which houses a large gazebo decorated with garlands and wreaths. Because of its beauty and size, this garden serves as the village's primary gathering place for important public events, including weddings, Council election speeches, and the annual Waychoice ceremony.
Hidden at the eastern edge of the gardens lies the Grove of Fourteen, a specialized, quiet sanctuary personally tended by the Cultivation Mentor Nuala. It contains one of each of the fourteen types of Prime Trees, allowed to grow naturally in an unstructured arrangement.
Key Events
The Waychoice Massacre
During the annual Waychoice ceremony—where young elves like Arra, Imra, and Allain officially select their adult vocations—Tarwa Matso became the staging ground for a horrific ambush. The Cothellon forces descended upon the gathered crowd, firing deadly weapons from hovering fallcars. During the ensuing chaos, the decorated gazebo exploded into a flaming ruin, and the beautiful gardens were transformed into a fiery graveyard as hundreds of elves were slaughtered.
Survival of the Grove
Following the Cothellon's devastating bombing campaign, the majority of Sylrantheas and Tarwa Matso were reduced to smoking ash and destroyed timber. However, miraculously, Nuala's Grove of Fourteen at the very edge of the gardens survived the inferno completely untouched by the flames. While these fourteen trees were entirely ordinary at the time of the attack, their survival proved to be an act of destiny. Shortly after the destruction of the village, fourteen elven volunteers willingly sacrificed their lives before them. This ancient ritual absorbed the souls of the volunteers and transformed Nuala's ordinary trees into massive, towering Prime Trees, birthing the magical Prime Forest.
A Beacon for Trey
Later, when Trey and Arra found themselves trapped in the Forcefinder Corps aboard a Cothellon sky city, Trey utilized his darkprime Tree Ring Staff to open a desperate dimensional gate. To guide the gate's destination back to the surface of Earth, he focused his mind on the tranquility of Tarwa Matso, vividly picturing its rows of vegetables and the surviving Grove of Fourteen to successfully anchor the portal.