Forest demons. Dead wood which was infused by the central root. Anywhere in the forest where trees die and wood begins to rot, Cold Ones can rise from the earth. In Sapwood Hollow they are caught in a cycle of life and death between day and night, where they stalk the grove at night and wither away in the morning. Closer to the central root their entity can be sustained for longer. In the deep woods, a region oozing with potency, Cold Ones are believed to spawn and never wither away. The demons do no attack indiscriminately though, but they oust heedless wanderers who show no reverence for the forest and its denizens. Once a Cold One has targeted you, the only remedy is nullifying the root magic with a counterspell, or fleeing to regions where the central root is powerless, so the Cold One decays.