The Scorchwood Forest

In the northwestern area of the continent of Wetenra, directly north of the Hollow Canyon, the forest covers the southern half of the Saltwood Forest, spanning 8,000 square kilometers ( 3100 square miles) and is only vaguely one in name. Every mile of it consists of flat plains of ash, perpetually burning trees, and no viable water source. If you have no choice but to find rest while venturing here, there are stone outcroppings for encampment. Remnants from the time when the forest was once a lavish green landscape. One must take heed, as it is considered dangerous to find rest in the ash bed, as the ash can cause one to sink into the ground if one remains still for too long. Even if one were to make some foundation, the toxic fumes and intense heat can make it very difficult to inhabit. One must carry with them a means to filter the smoke when breathing the air and recover from burns. If you seek to find the most hospitable shelter, you will need to venture far enough north where ward stones block the scorching curse of the land and lead to the Saltwood Forest. Blocking access to the Sorchwood forest like a wall of stone, vines, and ancient magic. If that is not an option, one could head west to gradually find the Saline Sea for a fresh, salty breath of air. If all else fails, the only option is the entrance to the Hollow Canyon to the south. A large plateau structure that surrounds the forest and is only accessible through small openings that are observed by the Hollow Syndicate that governs both the canyon and the forest.

Apart from the perpetually burning trees, the environment is a barren wasteland of ash and fire. No healthy vegetation can survive in the Sorchwood Forest. The entire area is afflicted with a contagious curse of world-shaping magic, called the Scorchwood Curse. An ancient spell of malice crafted by the black dragon Athreos, the curse spread itself through the cinders its flame creates. It seeps into living organisms and slowly causes the internal structure to combust. Ordinary plants like grass, flowers, and orchids burn until they become ash within a week. The Saltwood trees, however, take on a worse fate. The saline-rich sap within it slows down the combustion and restores the wood. Unfortunately, the fire is still hot enough to destroy that restoration just as fast. Leaving the Saltwood trees in a perpetual state of burning and regenerating, thus releasing endless toxic smoke. This smoke has been known to cause delirium and can be poisonous when too much is breathed in. For its inducing effects, many have found an addiction to the smoke.   Replicating its process through the burning of crystallized tree sap in smoking pipes. Earning it the name "After-Burner." A product of the criminal drug market where the Hollow Syndicate holds dominance, as they have taken the forest as their territory for tree sap farming. They wander the forest occasionally to harvest sap or ambush unwary travellers. As a criminal organization, they take advantage of the inhospitable environment to quietly travel past the watchful eyes of the Kingdom of Owenar and the Saltwood Grove. Their harvesting of tree sap for After-Burner led them to take risks by going past the protective ward stones into the Saltwood forest for the same substance in its purity. While the mortal coil is resistant to the curse itself, those rare few who get lost in the forest and spend weeks in it suffer the curse's effects, becoming mindless sentries of charred flesh. Their fluids slowly burn their organs until the body breaks down or explodes from an outside force. Rarely seen by those who venture into the forest, they are widely known as "the immolated."   Despite being inhospitable, the forest is home to a rare few wildlife species that can tolerate the scorching conditions. These species include ash worms, western flies, Azenveld wasps, Hollow Canyon tarantula, and the rarely occurring black-scaled salamander. On the bottom of the food chain, ashworms earn their name by burrowing into the ashen soil for the scarce nutrients. Their distinct color of ash grey makes them difficult to notice unless you dig deep enough in the more viable spots of dirt. The western flies, commonly found in northern Westenra, take advantage of the decomposing flesh of those who die from the forest's toxic environment, consuming and burrowing into corpses to reproduce. The invasive and adaptable species of the Azenveld wasps hunt the other insects for consumption and use their venomous stinger to paralyze their prey. Higher in the food chain is the Hollow Canyon tarantula, an arachnid species from the Hollow Canyon in the south. As large as a human hand, they hunt any living creature to feed their aggressive hunger. Even when the prey is larger, they can signal their colony to attack in swarms by releasing small needles that emit a strong scent. In addition, they are intelligent arachnids known to catch their prey off guard by hiding in piles of ashes. Their colonies are built on fire-resistant webbing, which they cover in ashes as camouflage. Acting as a balancing part of the near-dead ecosystem is the black-scaled salamander. Also, a native of the Hollow Canyon, they hunt their neighboring tarantula as an abundant food source. Their hard black scales make them resistant to the tarantula's needle strikes, but they are less intelligent than the arachnids. While they are resistant to the forest's heat, they are not adept at filtering the toxic fumes, making them rarely seen venturing in the forest unless they are hunting for spider colonies.

The Scorchwood Curse is the dark phenomenon within the forest of the same name, created by the black dragon Athreos in the year 5 of the Dark Ages. It is a magical force derived from world-shaping magic, a form of power that only the First-Born and the Dragons have keen knowledge of. This magic has always been a mystery to mortalkind. Complex in its arcane force, but easily influenced by raw emotion and imagination. Containing the essence of malice from its draconic creator, the cursed substance starts as embers of fire that travel through the wind. Once it lands on organic matter, the enchanted heat travels into the body and concentrates within its inner fluids. Over time, that heat expands and replicates, generating more heat until the fluids reach a temperature where all the surrounding organic matter slowly combusts. The scorching heat breaks down the body until it becomes a residue of ash, releasing the embers of the remaining matter, which are carried by the wind and spread to other nearby organisms. Under normal circumstances, plant life is the most susceptible to the curse, as it has no inherent resistance to its effects. All plant life suffers the same effect of affliction and burning until nothing but ash remains. The only exception is the Saltwood trees. Their sap, rich with salt and life-giving nutrients, can recover damaged wood faster than any other tree in Ixala. As such, the sap can counter timber burning through rapid regeneration. However, it is only as fast as the curse it tries to heal from. This creates a perpetual balance of destruction and reconstruction that keeps the tree alive, but constantly burning. Animals and mortal beings do not share this weakness; their bodies can dissipate the heat like a fever, preventing the curse from maintaining itself and spreading its heat throughout the body. However, prolonged exposure to the embers can counter the body's resistance. Excessive heat in the body causes organs to shut down, suppressing the immune response. If this happens, the brain becomes the first to deteriorate, resulting in the subject losing their sense of self and wandering the forest as their body slowly burns, leaving what is left of them to spread its embers wherever it can. It must be noted that this level of exposure takes weeks to take hold. Which makes cases of the "immolated" as an uncommon factor.   Analyzing this magic is particularly difficult as the afflicted samples deteriorate over time, leaving only traces of the magic that cursed them. In addition, and by the grace of the ancients, the ward stones that protect the remaining forest from the curse cast an enchantment on afflicted material that pass through it. The magic eliminates the contagion of the curse but not the affliction itself. Any attempt to analyze the cursed embers outside the forest becomes complicated. Fortunately, the researchers at the settlement of Janetown have made great strides in replicating the ward stone's magic. Crafting special glass that simulates the repelling effects of the veil and a incomplete massive ward stone to purify the curse indefinitely. The latter is a work in progress.

 

Because of the localized phenomena, the forest's climate struggles with the winter-strong seasons of northern Westenra. Luckily, the ward stones contain this climate. If one were to travel through the magical veil of the rocks, one would immediately notice the difference in the air. Temperature spikes to high heat during the summer and remains mildly warm during winter compared to its living half. This rough heat, caused by the perpetually burning trees of the forest, influences the evaporation and precipitation of the localized area. While the Saltwood Forest has heavy rainfall, the Scorchwood Forest can hardly maintain its outside water sources. The intense heat forces sources of water to evaporate quickly. When the forest is hit with heavy storms from the Saline Sea, evaporation intensifies and can disappear within days. Even when the cold wind invites snow, it breaks down just as quickly, for the heat emitted by the Sorchwood Curse remains consistent. Both scenarios show the steam and toxic fumes from great distances. Such dense air can cause difficulty breathing and dramatically raise the intake of the poisonous fumes. A filtering mask or cloth is highly recommended when travelling in the forest. As the winds travel eastward, the smoke and steam disperse as they reach the continent's center. The closer one is to the treeline, the more noticeable the fumes are as a slight fog—the peninsula of the Hollow Canyon blocking most of the toxicity from overwhelming the continent's natives.

Name	Type	Description
Black-Scaled Salamander	Reptile	A large reptile covered in black scales that are fire resistant
Hollow Canyon Tarantula	Arachnid	A large arachnid with a dark purple body and needle-like hairs
Azenveld Wasps	Insect	A red and Black wasp with a venomous stinger. Originally from the continent of Azenveld
Western Fly	Insect	A swarming insect with a black body that scavenges decomposing organic matter
Ashworm	Insect	A burrowing grey insect that hides in the soil beneath the forest's ashes

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Name	Type	Description
Saltwood Trees	Coniferous Trees (cursed)	Cursed vegetation in a perpetually burning state with barren tree branches and scorched bark that emits dangerous fumes.

During the Age of Ancients, the First-born ruled all of Ixala as wardens of life itself. In their wisdom, they created loyal Dragons who made their home on the continent of Westenra. Gifted with world-shaping magic, they formed the Saltwood Forest and many other unique landscapes. During this time, the dragons developed a great affection for this particular land above all others. They called it "Tibe Di Harvik,' or "Forest of Salt." Man would eventually call it "The Saltwood Forest." Their love for the wind-bearing forest led them to willingly act as its protectors, much like the artificial dragons of the Sapphire Forest. They monitored and enacted the balance of nature. The First-Born respected the dragons' favoritism and created a powerful ward stones that protected against afflictions caused by nature. The salt-enriched tree sap became such a beloved nourishment for the dragons that it became almost addictive. Before this addiction became an issue, however, the First-born vanished from history as the Fuxenarian Empire expanded its territories across the mortal lands of Ixala, ushering in the Dark Ages.   In the first 8 years of the Dark Ages, the Fuxenarian Empire quickly reached the Saltwood Forest, where the dragons fought valiantly to protect the land they cherished. Unfortunately, the empire's overwhelming strength forced the dragons to flee to the northern mountains. The empire forcefully occupied the forest they sought to defend. Those dragons, influenced by their addiction to the Saltwood tree sap, motivated one among them to take drastic measures to save it from the Fuxenarian hands of destruction. The black dragon known as Athreos, the Scorcher, cast a world-shaping curse in 5 DA that would destroy the forest rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the empire. Recognizing the severity and potential danger posed by the curse, the ward stones unified at the afflicted section of the forest, planted themselves into the earth, and activated a veil that repelled world-shaping curses. While the forest overall was saved, almost half of it had been afflicted with the Sorchwood Curse. A dark magic that causes plant life to burn from the inside out slowly. The sap of the afflicted trees created an anomaly, allowing its fluids to keep the trees from breaking apart into ashes. A balancing flux of burning and restoring bark, which turned half of the forest into an endlessly burning wasteland, releasing toxic fumes on the western winds. After the fall of the empire, the forest remained untouched by mortal hands for several centuries through the Dark Ages. The untamable nature and the danger of the Scorchwood Curse influenced the neighboring human tribes to avoid venturing into, let alone settling into.   In the year 575 of the Dark Ages (DA), Jane Gainevere came to the Saltwood Forest under the banner of the Royal House of Owenar. Seeking to start her grove in the woodlands, she explored every corner of the forest, looking for a place to establish her community. A kind-hearted and nature-loving individual, she saw the danger if the veil protecting the forest were to fade. In addition to her worries, she was asked by her friend King Utheos Owenar to find a suitable area within the forest where the kingdom could establish a settlement known as Janetown. A small town for citizens of the kingdom to explore and research a way to cure the forest of the Scorchwood Curse permanently. During the town's founding, Jane gathered her druidic allies to form the Saltwood Grove, a grove that strictly and lovingly protected the forest as their home.   In the year 83, after the Dark Ages (ADA), the land was threatened by an invasion from the Salted Steel Tribe, who attacked the western region of the forest. In their vain attempt to land in unguarded territory, many of the tribesmen suffered greatly, either being poisoned by the toxic fumes or afflicted by prolonged exposure to the curse. This danger forced them to retreat from the territory and focus their raiding efforts north against the Saltwood Grove. Further danger arrived in 588 ADA when the criminal organization, the Hollow Syndicate, came to the dark forest after centuries of isolation in the Hollow Canyon. Rather than fearing the dangerous environment, they saw an opportunity to recreate the burning process of the tree sap. Harvesting it into crystals, the syndicate formed it into an inhalation drug using smoking pipes and replicating the effects of durilium to give users a strong addiction, allowing them to sell it in the black market and enriching themselves as the sole manufacturer of the drug known as after-burner.   In 622 ADA, the Hollow Syndicate, seeking to expand their business by harvesting pure tree sap, infiltrated the Saltwood Forest to incite discord. They constantly teased the destruction of the ward stones and harvested tree sap for illegal drug trades. The stronger purity of the drug makes it vastly more valuable in trade. In addition, their distractions made it easy for them to sneak out of Hollow Canyon from the south to other parts of the continent, slipping past Owenarian eyes. This continues to trouble the Kingdom of Owenar even today as the grove tries to slow their harvesting while the king's military polices the black market trade.