Elven Forest
Home of the Elves
Trees as ancient as the gods tower above all, shadowing the underbrush with speckled light. Small creatures and interesting flora are illuminated in these snatches of light, but not for long as they continue on their journeys, moving through the forest on a silent wind. This tranquility is sometimes broken with the call of a bird or the twang of a bowstring, but one must travel much deeper into the forest, moving to where the trees have outlived most of the world, to find the bustling of treebound cities, ones of magic and mystique. No matter where one travels, the forest continues, the trees the center of everything that happens here.
The forest is more ancient than those that call it home. The long lives of the Elves barely touch the fledgling years of the beings around them, making their stewardship that much more important.The Elven Forest is one of the largest forests in the world and boasts the oldest tree known to exist anywhere. Covering the majority of the western parts of Voreios, the forest is inhabited by the Elven Kingdom and the various factions that have claimed areas of the forest for themselves. While cities among the trees abound, nature can still be found everywhere; the flora and fauna of the forest thrive, no matter who inhabits the land. The Elves live in harmony with nature as Lycana intended, and often keep those that would harm their home from entering the magnificent forest. This place is by far one of the most explored and documented anywhere in the world. The Scholars of the Unending Scroll make it one of their many duties to keep notes on everything about their forest that are then distributed amongst even the most rural of settlements. Ages of trees, histories of locations, and all manner of information are kept and stored throughout the forest for generations to come. This knowledge leads to better stewardship which has kept the ancient forest flourishing long past when others have withered.
Geography
The Elven Forest covers thousands of square miles in the western portion of the Northern Continent. It is bordered to the north by the Neither Tundra and to the south by the Fairy King's Wood, the Moorlands, and a Deadzone. The forest's eastern border is marked by the Gweyr River and Lake Idryl with the Great Plains and Cradle of Clay a short distance away. Several rivers and the Spine of Kallex also cut through the Elven Forest.
While heavily forested, the Elven Forest is home to several hills, valleys, caves, and other changes in terrain that are shrouded by the behemoth Aelinor Oaks and other trees that populate the forest. Valleys are more commonly found on the edges of the forest where the trees are thinner, but small rolling hills and caves are common in the deeper forest areas where the trees are older, the magic is heavier, and many animals make their home.
The climate in the forest is rather temperate, but it is subject to heavy rains or snow depending on the time of year. Rains will affect the entire forest while snow is usually only common in the northern areas near the Neither Tundra. The temperatures rarely ever get below freezing in most of the forest and rarely are the winds
Elven Forest
Elven Forest
by
Landscape via Artbreeder, created by RiverFang
The Elven Forest is home to the Elves and a vast array of flora and fauna that are touched by the deep magic of the forest. By far one of the oldest areas of Vóreios, this forest is known for ingrained magic and the research thereof far beyond anywhere else in the world.
Localized Phenomena
Having the oldest trees in the world, the Elven Forest is known for its deep, far-reaching ancient magic that thrums through all that inhabit there. It is something that the Elves are naturally attuned to, a gift from Lycana when the goddess tasked them with the protection of the forest. This magic not only extends the life of the trees tremendously, but it also alters much of the forest around the trees, including other flora and fauna.
While studied heavily, the magic of the Elven Forest is something that is not truly understood. Scholars have differentiated between the magic of the Fairy King's Wood and the Elven Forest but while one is explained away as the power of a descendant of Ancient Fey, the innate magic of the trees is much harder to explain. In many instances, the magic is explained as a gift from Lycana and one should not question such gifts too much.
Fauna & Flora
Juniper Wolf
In the summer months, a Juniper Wolf will match the foliage of the trees, green and leafy to blend in. During the winter the months, these wolves will often lose the green foliage and their fur will become a stark white or a light gray so that they can hiberate until the trees turn green once again.
The Elven Forest is home to a large number of flora and fauna, including many predators such as Dust Bears, Dire Wolves, Juniper Wolves, and more. Many of these larger animals prefer living in the deeper parts of the forest where there are better places to hide and make homes. These creatures are sustained by many herbivores such as Aelinor Elk and others, that are extremely populous throughout all areas of the forest.
Aelinor Oaks are the dominant tree species in the forest but it is also possible to find Juniper, Oak, and Birch scattered in small groves throughout. The underbrush is rampant, often carpeting the forest floor in moss, small bushes, and a variety of fruit-bearing plants such as vines and small bushes. Only plants that can thrive in wet areas with little sunlit survive on the forest floor.
Other than large predators, the Elven Forest is also home to creatures such as Raccoons, Badgers, Beavers, and a variety of birds. These animals roam widely across the Elven Forest but are less likely to cross the Spine of Kallex like the predators or wander too close to the edge of the forest where trees are thinnest. Crossing paths with these animals is fairly safe and most times these creatures would prefer to remain hidden.
Aquatic life in the rivers that cross the forest thrives, but the types of fish and other creatures found are often dictated by where the river originated. In many instances, fish in the northern rivers are those that come from the Neither Tundra while the southern rivers are full of fish changed by the magic of the Fairy King's Wood.
Type
Forest
Location under
Included Locations
Included Organizations
Owning Organization
Related Ethnicities
Related Tradition (Primary)
Inhabiting Species
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This is beautifully written, I genuinely felt I was amongst the forest and wilderness of it all, touring the landscape, feeling immersed in the journey. I could also almost feel the history, the heritage attached to it, the depth of that origin, its importance. Well written :)