Places & Realms Archive · The Canticle Prelude · Spoilers
The Dunkelwald
The dark forest beside the kingdom.
The Dunkelwald is more than a dangerous woodland. It becomes a threshold where hidden roads, old magic, and the Many-Named One’s plans repeatedly intersect.
A Forest People Fear
The forest already carries an ominous reputation before Thantos begins using it. Characters speak of it as a place from which unnatural creatures might emerge, and even experienced knights enter it with caution.
Road to Middlespace
Thantos leads the royal knights through the Dunkelwald to a concealed passage into Middlespace. The forest therefore serves as one of the kingdom’s practical gateways to the roads between worlds, even though most inhabitants do not understand what lies beyond it.
Refuge and Battlefield
The Dunkelwald later becomes associated with repeated confrontations, hidden travel, and Peter and Ewyn’s protected cottage. Its danger is not simply the trees themselves but the fact that powerful magic users can conceal homes, portals, and plans within them.
Michael D. Young 