Defiled Woodland

The Defiled Woodlands is a biome in Novidera known for its desolate and uncanny appearance. These woods are dark and desolate the only trees here appear to be decaying and yet they seem almost undead. Instead of grass these regions are covered in a sticky layer of mold growing and consuming anything even remotely dead. Because of its close association with death a large number of soul crystals can be found here. Most believe that these locations where defiled by the gods as by some ancient sin from the era of the Great Engine. "To enter these woods is to defile one's self," at least so says the leaders of the Foxian. And most other religions share a similar philosophy, at times if you had been in one of these woods you would be exiled from society.

In the Defiled Woods the ground in some places seems unnaturally flat and in other places there are sharp outcroppings that seem to suddenly rise out from the earth. Generally they are dry biomes but depending on the season, nearby rivers could flood, lifting the layer of mold with it. Giving the area the illusion that the ground is much higher up than it actually is as the mold floats along the river.

Here everything thrives off of death, parasites of all kinds thrive here the plant life consumes any kind of nutrients that it is able to latch on too. Some stories have even mentioned hidden carnivorous plants in these woods capable of swallowing a person whole. If the giant plants don't get to the you the entire region is a breeding ground for any kinds of bacteria, few people who enter a Defiled Woodland don't get some rare disease afterwards.

Generally foggy and humid seems to always be threatening to storm. Rarely does it ever actually rain here something about the area brings in a lot of low lying clouds drastically reducing visibility most days. Because of the unique concentration of soul crystals, often when the fog roles in there are sudden bursts of lightning often with unique colors like red and green. The only time that there seems to be clear weather is during full moons, and as soon as the moon sets or the sun rises the fog immediately returns. This has lead to a Moonkin belief that on a full moon in these woods is the night that you are able to most clearly communicate with the dead.

Because of the carnivorous nature of the plantlike and the amount of bacteria in these biomes very few animals survive here. With those who wander into the woods by mistake being taken and added to the biomass of the region. Instead the biome is home to several carnivorous plants The writhing trees of this region appear almost undead, as the exterior of the plant seems like a dead truck but if you look at it long enough the plant seems to pulsate and move, almost as if there are a thousand tiny eyes staring back at you. There are also the Huntsman traps, which are massive plant structures buried in the ground, their roots makes a roof of sorts that is very weak so when the mold covers the roots and an unsuspecting passerby walks past the roots open up swallowing them whole, slowly digesting them.