From my understanding, the forest was twisted by the faerie's magic, making it a natural maze. It would have deterred people from exploring, and from reaching the temple- but our town was built within, and a merchant who did not believe in the stories warning against touching the temple wound up proving herself wrong... at the cost of everything in the forest itself.

The common faeries have shown themselves, but they wore strange masks and bore the Fallen Sun's corruption, aiding in one of his attacks.