The "Weave" is a term used by the Wood Elves of Athel Loren to describe the web of life and death that binds together all living things of the mortal world.[1a] According to the Waywatcher Kerillian, the Weave is both the heart and soul of the Known World itself.[2]
Whenever a Wood Elf dies, his or her soul is fused into the Weave. Occasionally living Wood Elves can hear the voices of the deceased, but that voice is only an echo of the original person. Some Wood Elf souls are more strongly tied to their former lives than others, and so refuse to let go of the living world. These Wood Elves become Tree Kin after their deaths.[1a]
The Oak of Ages in Athel Loren is the anchor of the Weave, forming the nexus of a world-spanning, natural leyline network through the Worldroots that spread through the liminal space between the material realm and the Aethyr. Reservoirs of magic within the Worldroots from the spirits that inhabit it form realms that the Wood Elves also call "Weaves," which might be part of the larger Weave. Whenever a part of the Worldroots dies, its associated Weave is destroyed, and vice versa.[3a]
Beastmen hunger for the Weaves' spirit magic and therefore seek out magical forests to despoil. Corrupted or dead branches of the Worldroots network have become arcane pathways for Beastmen and the Daemons of Chaos alike.[3a]