The Deep Wald
"Papa! Papa!" Tears streamed down little Davit's face. "That boy said I am nobody because we don't come from anyplace."
Nikoloz wiped the tears off the boy's cheek with his thumb, "He's just an ignorant human." The man's nostrils flared at the word human. "They drove all the nymphs from their home in the Deep Wald. Once you couldn't shake a tree without one of us falling out. (Not that we lived in trees like the humans say.) Then their church, greedy for land, said we were evil and ...." The man spat on the ground five times. "It's too horrible for such young ears. But know the Wald is where the goddess Shammuramat created us, and where we will return one day."
The Deep Wald must be the most green place on the entire planet. It even smells green. The huge trees, some reaching up to 120 feet tall, create great pools of shade. Other plants fill every gap, fighting for the light. During the season of Maiden , the forest blooms into a riot of color as if an artist's paints exploded. The smell of sweet blossoms cuts through the usual loaminess in the air. In Dowager the leaves turn every imaginable shade of red, orange, and yellow. Except during the coldest season, the forest is full of noise. Croaks and chitters, buzzing and howls surround those that visit.
Unfortunately, more and more of the Deep Wald is disappearing. The locals keep expanding and turning it into farms. What was once wild and free is now cultivated and fenced. And then, there are those that are no longer welcome: the dwarf mammoth, the cloud leopards, the moose, and of course the nymphs, the Walkenleeder.
Geography
The Deep Wald originally refered to the forest beyond human settlement. It runs from the Dakkurva Mountain Range through the Mokale Hills. Being the easternmost range, the Mountains are shorter than many others in the Sharqon belt. These blend into the tall foothills as one travels east. Due to their heavily forested, steep sides, this area is hard to travel through. Continuing further east, the hills become lower and gentler. Much of this area has been settled by the Forest Sovereignty. However, it's still called the Deep Wald.
Ecosystem
As a diverse ecosystem, the Deep Wald is amazing. One of the most distinctive aspects is green. From the end of the snow in Maiden until the leaves change in Dowager, everywhere you look something is green and growing. In the high mountains, fir and spruce dominate the upper canopy. At Lower elevations, they are mostly replaced by maples and oaks. Below them grow a variety of harder wood trees such as birch, ash, beech, and Juniper. At the lowest level, shrubs including raspberry, blackberry, and honeysuckle flourish. In the hills, they are joined by rhododendron and skunk cabbage. Ferns, liverworts, and moss are all well suited to the wet climate.
All this vegetation gives rise to abundant wild life. While many places in the Forest Sovereignty have removed dangerous predators, wild bear, wolves, and even cougars are still found prowling the area in frightening numbers. There are also less aggressive species such as groundhogs, elk, deer, falcon, and otters. In the hill country, there are even dwarf mammoths. The many streams and rivers contain numerous different species of fish, including trout and catfish. There are plenty of small animals too. Squirrels, mice, and weasels live in the trees. Finally, species of invertebrates abound: everything from snails to millipedes and butterflies to frogs.
Localized Phenomena
Like all the Forest Sovereignty, the land is abundantly fertile. Only highly mismanaged farming can exhaust the soil. Even with novice techniques, temperamental plant species can be cultivated. According to folk wisdom, the Deep Wald is the epicenter of this phenomenon. Currently, no natural philosopher has verified this.
Natural Resources
- mushrooms
- medicinal herbs
- horses
- wood
- maple syrup
- ermine
- birds for falconry and hawking
- dyes
- grain
- root vegetables
- pine tar
- nuts
- copper
- basalt
- quartz
- granite
- mica
- ivory
- animal furs
- game
History
According to the Walkenleeder Nymphs, the goddess Shammuramat took plants from the Deep Wald and wove them together to form the first nymphs. She created a beautiful garden for them to live in. According to them, this garden, their birthright, is the entirety of the Forest Lands: the Deep Wald included.
Our writings show the nymphs were there first. In early recorded history, humans caused nymphs to retreat from other areas of the Forest Sovereignty into the Deep Wald. The Forest Tribes avoided this area out of superstition. For the most part, the two groups lived separately and peacefully for more than a millennium.
After St. Tedelis's Crusade, humans began expanding into the Deep Wald but mostly remained on the outskirts. Increases in population caused humans and nymphs to come into conflict. In 406YST, Patriarch Salvius II issued the Proclamation against Non-Humans. It declared that humans were above all creatures, including other sophonts. Locals used this as justification for driving the nymphs from their ancestral lands. War erupted between farmers and non-humans in 534YST. When human casualties mounted, the emperor sent his troops to clear the Deep Wald.
Several nymph ethnicities were created after this tragedy. The largest of these is the Walkenleeder who continue to wander throughout Tandaria. According to their myths, they will be returned to their homelands when the Unnamed Dragon God returns.
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