Due to demand from the town of Bilibin, the lumberjacks of Kolima had been extensively logging the nearby Kolima Forest. Their quest for lumber even took them to the sacred "holy tree", Tret, who resides deep within the forest (although, due to the logging, the forest is now comprised mainly of stumps and felled logs). This coincides with the eruption of Mt. Aleph, which rains Psynergy Stones across Angara. Many of these stones fall into Tret's branches, granting him the power to curse people, turning them into trees. It also turns his rage into an uncontrollable monster , which promptly curses the people of Kolima, turning them all into trees, so that they will die along with the now mortally wounded forest.