Strewn from the brunt of industry and society lies a great swathe of forestry: flora and fauna isolated from the oily touch of man. To all those who come into contact, it is known simply as the Dark Forest. The Forest is old, very old. Its trees have seen the world pass by for centuries; their roots bury deep into sediment and stone. Few venture into the woodwork, but nothing of note comes of it. It is then simply left alone.
Until the explorers arrived. A pair of lanterns crept like quiet fireflies through the trees, careful and quiet. The two made their way through the wild forest floor to a clearing. They exchanged words of excitement and marked the place down in their journals. After spending some time gazing up at the naked night sky, they collected their things and left the way they came.
Over the coming years, the two explorers—by the surname Reish—frequented the Forest and the clearing. They came with signs and hammers and tape, and they marked out a trail that was unobtrusive to the wildlife around them. Automobiles fed stone, lumber, and metal to the clearing like an ant hill, and a great mansion was erected. It was three stories tall equipped with a cellar, library, guest rooms, and an industrial kitchen. The grassy clearing was transformed into immaculate estate grounds complete with stone footpaths, manicured topiary, and an imported fountain. To maintain the place, the pair sourced a gallery of servants including a head butler, cooks, maids, a librarian, and groundstenders. This would eventually be known as the Reish Manor.
The sudden appearance of such a lavish abode hidden in the depths of the Dark Forest garnered much attention from neighbors. From its holt cocoon, the Reish Manor loomed against the night sky, blotting out much of the star-dusted tapestry. Whispered rumors and curious noses were met with open doors, entertainment, food, drink, and merriment. It became a truth universally acknowledged that an invitation to attend a Reish Manor party was a great privilege, even for the upper crust. The forest path was renovated again and again to accommodate the volume of carriage traffic, and the Forest had never known such noise. Or laughter. Or music.
This was the height of the Reish Manor’s time and one that the Dark Forest didn’t entirely dislike.