Parched Forest

This forest is rich with loam and tall trees, but there is no water to be found and all of the trees look like trunks barren of bark and leaves. The forest is located in the southern edges of Ravachia but is strangely warm for the climate. The average summer temperatures during the day are 85 degrees F (29.4 C) and a low of 63 degrees F (17.2 C). Inside of the forest however the average summer temp is 120 degrees F (48.8 C) during the day and 96 degrees F (35.5 C) at night.
Rain clouds go around the forest seeming to run into some kind of invisible barrier. It's speculated that the area has been affected by multiple plane touches but if that is the case it was so long ago that no one could record it nor does anyone seem to have a theory on what series of plane influences would cause the exact affects that seem to be taking place in the area.

Fauna & Flora

From the words of Ranger Wade Avengotti of clan Ramus. The ranger was chosen for this local guide because he has crossed the forest multiple times and was a guard for one of the logging camps when they were in operation.
No major rivers run into the forest and there are no lakes within it. The trees don't have a way that anyone knows of to preserve water, nor does the loam which is terribly dry if pressed for moisture. How these plants continue to grow and thrive is a mystery even to druids. There seem to be no flowers or minor bushes within the forest only the trees and loam. The loam is like any other except that it seems to grow a paler shade of green than found in other locals. The loam dies when removed from the local area and will not grow anywhere else. All of the plants in the area behave in this manner seeming to be unable to germinate or grow at all outside of the region.
The trees are all a pale gold or silver with the oldest trees being bleach white. They look stunted and like they should be brittle dry and like they should both burn and break easily. This is misleading. The only logging expedition to be under taken in the area was done by magi since most axes would dull or break after cutting a single tree down. The trees cut for the logging purposes were fully grown but those cut by hand appear to have been saplings. Full grown parched forest trees stand close to the same size in diameter and height as a redwood. The wood doesn't burn well, and if not treated by an alchemist a year or so after being cut breaks and cracks like balsa wood. If treated by an alchemist the wood is found to be one of the strongest known. With the requirement of magical logging, alchemical preserving, protection requirements, and transportation the end product is very high quality matched only by the premium price.
The fauna of the area is far more bizarre than the plant life. All of the insects which make up the majority of the fauna come in abnormal sizes. Very few of them are friendly either, to each other or to any who venture into the forest. Yellow jackets and hornets the size of large dogs or ponies. Wizards and druids claim that they shouldn't be able to fly given their size and the wingspan of them but they fly anyway. Poison stingers the size of a short sword and all. Flesh eating beetles proportionate to the hornets and yellow jackets, and ants make up the rest of the insects familiar to the local area.
Scorpions are not naturally found within one hundred miles of the area outside of the parched forest but they live there. The size of draft horses, the only good thing about this is that they made the giant spiders in the area extinct. Apparently giant arachnids don't like to share territory. That ends the section on arachnids and moves us on to the last bit of 'fauna' on the list.
The giant bloody lizards. They stand in proportion size to the trees as a deer should in a coniferous forest. That is they stand about 20 feet (6.1 m) to 40 feet (12.2 m) in height. The bigger ones seem to be herbivores and they seem to take their nourishment but wandering close to the the threes and then growing roots or tentacles out of their skin and somehow feeding on them. They can do the same to the loam by laying down across it and spreading their mass out but that seems to be a dangerous thing to do with the predators around. The smaller lizards are the meat eaters. They will hunt down and kill anything, you me, the other giant lizards. Doesn't matter. Worse part is the blood. Once the blood is in the air the hornet nests and yellow jackets, the real scavengers of the forest, come out and they want their share. The predator lizards will eat a few of them and then the rest of the nest will 'stand by' until they get their fil and then move in to feast. But if you, start bleeding... Get ready for the fight of your life! It takes longer, usually but the beetles and scorpions will show up too.
The kites are the worst. They look like a kite at least but no one has given them a proper name that I know of. They are entirely nocturnal and you have to spot the stars winking out and then showing up again that marks their passage. They will latch on to you in your sleep and drink some of your blood. Not enough to kill, but with normal sized creatures enough to leave you very weak. Two maybe three feeding on you in one night though and you're going to be dead. Never seen a kite clearly, but I can tell you they don't make any flapping sound or anything else. you just have to hope you spot them in the dark.

Alternative Name(s)

The Dry Sticks

Type

Forest