The great forests of Riesental were originally home to the Wood Elves of Aevinwode. But in the glory days of the Boruvian Empire, the Elves retreated, and the humans laid claim to these verdant expanses. For centuries, the Empire did little to develop this region, content to maintain light ranger patrols along its eastern flank, while pushing westward. The rangers lived off the land and came to protect it as the elves once had. But as the weakening Empire became embroiled in religious schism, opportunity arose, and Riesental made its bid for independence. Today, Riesental continues as a sparsely-populated human woodland realm of small, quaint towns tucked in forests. The rangers remain, but new settlers have arrived, and the realm is ruled by a merchant prince who has ramped up the local logging industry. As a result, Riesental has emerged as a major lumber exporter, and its economy has grown. And this has created an odd mix here of forest rangers and loggers, a tension between those who would preserve the land, and those who would exploit it.
