Larathorn

The ancient trees of the Larathorn have witnessed creation. One of the oldest continuously occupied locations in Isesda, the Larathorn is a temperate rainforest wedged between the Kingdom of Atreus, the Vellan Dominion, and the Sea of Shrouds. Massive, though not half so large as the Great Northern Wood, and comprised of ancient trees covered with mosses and vines and interspersed with ferns. The forest is an intensely alive place with deep connection to the divine power of Eledra buried within the substance of the world. Natural magics enfuse the very soil, making it especially fertile and granting extended vitality to the plants and animals which derive nutrition from it. Countless animals make Larathorn their home, including elk, moose, bears, wildcats, raccoons, martens, owls, and eagles.   The name Larathorn comes from Laran the Atrean explorer who is the first in the kingdom's records to explore the woods. His account describes an inhospitable, barely passable tangle of trees and undergrowth, filled with vicious and venomous creatures and wholly unsuitable to further exploration, hense the "thorn" of the Atrean name. Despite this effort at dissuasion there were of course subsequent individuals who sought to brave this hostile, wild place only to discover that the true nature of the Larathorn was more complex. While there were dangers to be found aplenty, the rainforest was equally filled with resources to exploit, and exploited it would've been were it not already defended. In truth, many scholars now believe that Laran had made peacable contact with the inhabitants of the Larathorn and spread his tales of a horrid and unappealing place to delay further interactions between those residents and his countrymen as long as he was able.   The Larathorn is claimed to be the birthplace of the Elves and is fiercely defended by an insular nation, composed primarily of such alongside other feykith, which calls itself Ipakui. These inhabitants refer to Larathorn as Aashiiji, which roughly translates to homeland. They claim that no mortal being can hold ownership of the forest and that Ipakui defends it only to prevent outsiders from attempting to lay claim over the land. True to this belief, the people of Ipakui act in their daily lives as guests in the forest. Great care is taken in every aspect of life to respect and care for the world around them, extending even into the architecture dispersed throughout Laratorn. Homes and shared spaces weave seamlessly among the living forest and often include living plants as part of their structure.   The story told in Ipakui is that the fey were swept into the region by terrible winds and found desolate plains with barely even grass growing in the rock, but the All-Mother raised all manner of life from the barren soil until the teeming forest held all the storm-tossed fey as if to the mother's busom. Then, from the mists of Aashiiji the first Elves stepped into the world and began to care for their kin and all the living things that and been brought forth alongside them. A simple story, with numerous variations attributing the storm to a number of deities and larger world events, but one undeniable fact is that there are no older records of Elves found anywhere in Raiven or Forven.