The Vale Forest

The Vale Forest is the largest and most enigmatic expanse in all of Eren, sprawling across mountain ranges and vast clusters of exotic trees—some ancient and gnarled, others young and tender, and many scarred and blackened from the catastrophic fires of centuries past. Though the great forest has regrown since that fateful blaze, it has never truly been the same. Where once it was a place of vibrant life and whimsical beauty, it now stands as a haunting reflection of its former self. In the old days, the Vale was a sanctuary of shimmering green leaves, dappled sunlight streaming through a canopy so high and dense it seemed to touch the heavens. Birdsongs echoed joyfully through the woods, their melodies a constant companion to travelers, while wildlife stirred just out of sight in the tall grass and flourishing vines. It was a living fairytale, a place of wonder and exploration that invited dreams and delighted the soul.

The once-vivid birds are silent, their songs replaced by an oppressive, eerie quiet and the whispers of insanity. The thick canopy has grown so dense in some places that sunlight is entirely choked out, leaving the forest shrouded in perpetual twilight. The trees, plants, and even the air are tainted with eerie hues of violet and red. The air is heavy, the stillness unnatural, and where there was once a joy, there is now an unsettling tension that gnaws at the edges of the mind. The Vale stretches from the Jade Valley to the Waytos Coast, creating a natural barrier that forces most travelers to choose the mountainous passage through Nokmar Canyon for safe passage to the Drekaya Empire. Yet there are those who, through ignorance or desperation, attempt to navigate the forest itself. While the majority emerge from its depths eventually, they are rarely unchanged. A journey meant to last days often drags into weeks—or perhaps months? Survivors can never quite recall. What they do remember is the oppressive weight of the forest, the way time slipped through their fingers, and the strange unease that seeped into their hearts. And of course, there are plenty who never leave, swallowed by the forest itself.

Most know of the Vale due to it's reputation, but those native to Eren are aware of the fuller sotry. The tale of dragons and their attempt to raze the once Great Forest to ashes, only to be struck down by the Guardian of the woods itself. When the forest grew back, it did so with malice and pain in it's soul. Like scars and the hatred of a spurned soul, the Vale curdles with disdain for the outside, and the various dangers are all methods that have developed specifically to deter anyone from attempting to conquer it's groves ever again, lest they succumb to a terrible fate.