Tree-dwellers

From MYSTlore

A mask perhaps representing the inhabitants of Channelwood

Tree-dwellers were monkey-like creatures that inhabited the upper part of Channelwood. They coexisted with a race of humanoids who had been extinct long before Atrus wrote that Age.

Although animalian, they were sentient and built huts, bridges and elevators among the branches of the Channelwood trees. They had a language of their own. They also had a recipe of making natural ink which they taught to Sirrus and Achenar.

The tree-dwellers eventually disappeared as well under the two brothers' tyrannical rule; there is some evidence that Achenar played a deity role using an imager to project "visions" of him and giving orders in their language. These holograms were projected above a sharp-toothed trap and it has been speculated that this was used for sacrifices.

The fate of the tree-dwellers (or at least those in the area that has been explored) is unclear. It is hinted that Achenar tortured or experimented on them. In Channelwood there is a machine that clamps serrated jaws together that may have been used for torture or sacrifice, and in Mechanical the mutilated and mummified corpse of a monkey-like figure (possibly a tree-dweller) can be found in a chest in Achenar's room. The tree-dwellers were either massacred or forced to flee, and they have never been seen since.