Tree Bonds

Elves form deep bonds with notable trees -- relationships that root them to the landscape. These bonds grow through proximity, provide quiet comfort, and when a bonded tree dies, the grief that follows tests the settlement's social fabric. How an elf mourns depends on their tradition values, and disagreements over mourning rites can fracture relationships.

Overview

Tree bonds follow a lifecycle:

1. Formation -- an elf near a notable tree begins building a bond automatically.
2. Strengthening -- continued proximity increases bond strength over time.
3. Loss -- when a bonded tree dies, the elf enters grief. Their response depends on their personality's tradition axis.
4. Social friction -- elves who refuse the traditional elegy can draw the ire of traditionalist community members, damaging relationships.

How Bonds Form

Any elf within 3 tiles (Manhattan distance) of a notable tree can form a bond. The system runs every 50 ticks:

• An unbonded elf near a notable tree starts a bond at strength 20.
• A bonded elf near their tree gains +1 strength per cycle (capped at 100).
• Each elf can hold only one tree bond at a time -- the ECS enforces this as a single component.

TreeBond Component

The compositions_nearby field tracks creative work done in the tree's presence, connecting the bond to the settlement's artistic output.

Source: crates/er-sim/src/sim/components.rs, TreeBond; crates/er-sim/src/sim/flora_systems.rs.

Grief and Mourning

When a bonded notable tree dies (reaches the Dying stage and is despawned), all elves bonded to that tree enter grief. The elf's tradition axis value determines their response:

Both paths carry the same base mood hit. The key difference is the Mourning component: traditional elves enter a behavioral state that adds an extra -5 mood ("Grieving") but also drives them toward composing elegy works. These elegies receive a +15 emotional property bonus, making grief a potent source of emotionally charged art.

A BondedTreeDied event appears in the log when grief initiates.

Source: crates/er-sim/src/sim/flora_systems.rs, tree_death_grief.

Elegy Refusal

Elves with tradition below 0.3 refuse the formal elegy. They grieve privately -- same mood penalty, but no Mourning component and no elegy composition. An ElegyRefused event appears in the log, described as the elf "grieving silently, refusing the old forms."

This is not a lesser grief -- the mood hit is identical. But the refusal is visible to other elves and can trigger social consequences.

Social Friction

Elegy refusal offends illiberal traditionalists -- elves who hold strongly traditional values and have low tolerance for deviation. The threshold is:

Tradition > 0.7 AND social x patience < 0.2

This combination identifies elves who are both deeply traditional and interpersonally intolerant. When they witness an elegy refusal, they react with:

The -10 relationship damage is significant -- it can push an Acquaintance (starting at 0) a quarter of the way toward Rival status (-30 threshold; see Relationships). If multiple elves refuse, a single traditionalist accumulates damage toward each refuser separately.

A RitesDisrespected event appears in the log for each offended traditionalist.

This creates genuine social tension: settlements with mixed tradition values will experience friction when notable trees die. Highly traditional communities mourn together; diverse communities fracture along tradition lines.

Source: crates/er-sim/src/sim/flora_systems.rs, tree_death_grief; crates/er-sim/src/sim/events.rs, RitesDisrespected.

Interactions

• Flora -- trees must be notable before bonds can form. Notable promotion criteria (Ancient stage, drought survival, beloved gathering place) determine which trees become bondable.
• Relationships -- social friction from elegy refusal feeds into the relationship system. The -10 damage per refusal can push neutral relationships toward rivalry.
• Personality -- the tradition axis gates whether an elf performs the formal elegy or refuses it. This is one of the most visible consequences of tradition values in the settlement.
• Aesthetic Position -- the tradition axis (0.0--1.0) is part of the 4D aesthetic position. Elves with tradition < 0.3 refuse elegies; elves with tradition > 0.7 may be offended by refusal.
• Compositions -- mourning elves are pulled toward composing, and their works receive +15 emotional property. Tree grief is one of the strongest drivers of emotionally powerful art.

Tips

• Diverse settlements will fracture when notable trees die. If your elves span the tradition spectrum (some < 0.3, some > 0.7), expect ElegyRefused and RitesDisrespected events to cascade into relationship damage. This is by design -- it creates social drama that drives art.

• Traditional settlements mourn in unison. If most elves have tradition >= 0.3, tree death triggers collective mourning. The -5 "Grieving" mood is painful, but the elegy compositions (+15 emotional) can produce some of the settlement's most powerful art.

• Watch for illiberal traditionalists. The social x patience < 0.2 threshold means even a moderately traditional elf (tradition 0.75) can become illiberal if they're also impatient and antisocial. Check Personality values to identify potential friction sources.

• Tree bonds form passively. You don't need to manage bond formation -- elves near notable trees will bond automatically. But you can influence which trees become notable by encouraging elves to designate Favorite Places near specific trees (3+ favorites triggers promotion).

• Grief produces great art. The Mourning component pulls elves toward composing and grants +15 emotional. If an elf was already near a workshop, tree death can trigger an immediate elegy composition. The most emotionally resonant works in your settlement may come from loss.