Battle of Hallowed Hollow ¶

The Battle of Hallowed Hollow was a named event of the Landing War in which a settler militia engaged the Green Man — the spirit of what is now the Neverwood — and his forces at one of the Greenwood’s sacred sites.

What Is Known ¶

A settler militia discovered a spring within the sacred site at Hallowed Hollow whose waters could heal near any wound. The settlers established a presence there and refused to withdraw when confronted. The Green Man brought his army.

When the fighting ended, seventy-two civilian settlers and physicians were dead, in addition to soldier casualties on both sides.

The Healing Spring ¶

The spring at Hallowed Hollow had properties unlike anything the settlers had encountered: its waters could close wounds that should have been fatal, accelerate recovery from battle injuries, and in some accounts sustain soldiers past the point at which they would otherwise have collapsed.

The settlers’ refusal to withdraw from the site was almost certainly driven by this. The Landing War was a thirteen-year conflict. Casualties on the settler side would have been devastating without supernatural aid — and resurrection magic, while widely used, is not the same as a healing spring that anyone can drink from. The spring at Hallowed Hollow likely contributed directly to the settlers’ ability to sustain their numbers throughout the war.

The Green Man knew what the spring was. That is presumably why it was one of the Greenwood’s sacred sites.

The Civilian Toll ¶

Seventy-two of the dead were civilian settlers and physicians — healers who had come to the spring not to fight but to treat the wounded. Their deaths at a site defined by healing carries an obvious weight. The battle did not distinguish between those who carried weapons and those who carried bandages.

This is consistent with the Landing War’s broader pattern: the costs of the conflict fell on everyone, regardless of whether they were directly responsible for the decisions that sustained it.

Lasting Significance ¶

The Battle of Hallowed Hollow is one of only two named major events of the Landing War that survive in any form. Like the Massacre of Cascading Leaves, it represents a moment the war’s human cost crystallized into something specific and nameable.

The relationship between Aru’Mas and the Green Man in 439 MC carries the weight of this history. It is a relationship that has been rebuilt and renegotiated across four centuries, but neither side forgets what happened at Hallowed Hollow.

The site itself — Hallowed Hollow, within the Neverwood — is presumably still considered sacred by the Green Man. Whether the spring retains its properties is unknown. Whether any mortal has attempted to find it since the war’s end is not recorded.

Connections ¶

• Neverwood — the Greenwood where the battle took place; the Green Man’s domain
• History of Ahvantir — full Landing War context
• Massacre of Cascading Leaves — the other named major event of the Landing War
• The Primordem — formed from the Landing War’s accumulated emotional residue; the moral weight of Hallowed Hollow may be present in one or more of their domains
• First Pact — the treaty that ended the war; the Green Man’s role in post-Pact Aru’Mas reflects this history

Source DM canon session 2026-05-13. New article; no World Anvil source.