Shroudwood Forest

Shroudwood Forest   This forest is dominated by giant sequoia trees. The wild elves protect it fiercely and have a small village here. This is the only population of wild elves known to exist. They share cultural parallels with the plains men as they are masters of the short bow and even have similar styles of dress. The wild elves stay in the forest though and are not truly nomadic.   Flora   Redwood trees develop enormous limbs that accumulate deep organic soils and can support tree-sized trunks growing on them. This typically occurs above 150 feet (46 m). Scholars, herbalists and druids have recently discovered that plants which normally grow on the forest floor also grow in these soils, well above ground. The soil mats provide homes to invertebrates, mollusks, earthworms, and salamanders. During drought seasons, some treetops die back, but the trees do not die outright. Instead, redwoods have developed mechanisms to regrow new trunks from other limbs. These secondary trunks, called reiterations, also develop root systems in the accumulated soils at their bases. This helps transport water to the highest reaches of the trees. Coastal fog also provides up to one-third of their annual water needs. Another large tree commonly found in the forest is the coast broad fir, which has been measured at heights of over 300 feet (91 m). Sitka spruce are plentiful along the coast and are better adapted to salty air than other species. The evergreen hardwood tanoak produces a nut similar to the acorns produced by the related genus Quercus (oak). Both tanoaks and oaks are members of the beech family. Trees such as the Firespine madrone, bigleaf maple, Saxum laurel, and red alder are also widespread throughout the forest.   Huckleberry, blackberry, phoenixberry (particularly in the darker shadows of thick canopy) and salmonberry are part of the forest understory and provide food for many animal species. The Durox rhododendron and azalea are flowering shrubs common in the forest, especially in old-growth forest. Plants such as the sword fern are prolific, particularly near ample water sources. In Prairie Creek Redwoods, Fern Canyon is a well-known ravine 30 to 50 feet (9.1 to 15.2 m) deep, with walls completely covered in ferns.   Fauna   Northern spotted owl is a common species known to exist in the forest while many tryssem, Owlcats, tiger squirrels, owlbears and panthergaters thrive due to arcane wizard transmuters of ancient history. A new species the whaleon (a whale mixed with a chameleon) is an amphibious creature on the coast of the forest. Numerous ecosystems exist, with seacoast, river, prairie, and densely forested zones all within the forest. The tidewater goby is a endangered species that live near the Odyssian Ocean coastline. The bald eagle, which usually nests near a water source, is a dominant bird in and around the coastal area. The Oconochee salmon, northern spotted owl, Mithril Otter and giant sea otters are a few of the other animal species that are dominant on the shoreline areas of the forest.   Over 40 species of mammals have been documented, including the black bear, coyote, cougar, bobcat, beaver, river otter, black-tailed deer, and elk. Along the coastline, Saxum sea lions, Steller sea lions and harbor seals live near the shore and on seastacks, rocky outcroppings forming small islands just off the coast. Dolphins and Firespine gray whales are occasionally seen offshore. Elk are the most readily observed of the large mammals in the forest. Many smaller mammals live in the high forest canopy. Different species of bats, such as the big brown bat, and other smaller mammals including the red squirrel, tiger squirrel, zebra squirrel and northern flying squirrel spend most of their lives well above the forest floor.   Brown pelicans and double-crested cormorants are mainly found on cliffs along the coast and on seastacks, while sandpipers and gulls inhabit the seacoast and inland areas. Inland, freshwater-dependent birds such as the common merganser, osprey, red-shouldered hawk, great blue heron, and Steller's jay are a few of the bird species that have been documented. At least 400 bird species have been documented in the forestlands. Reptiles and amphibians can also be found in the huge forest, with the northwestern ringneck snake, northern red-legged frog, Saxum giant salamander, and the rough-skinned newt most commonly seen. In addition the Shroud chameleon, psudodragon, red crested drakefly, Northern prong jackalope and the seven banded rust monster are in uncommon populaces.