Mountain Ash Grove
Where if not in the ashen grove would one trully find the Lair of Àncéarmâr?
Characteristics
Mountain ash grove remains one of the places on Mount Gloine , that are thought to belong to the Luaithre. While there are no widely accepted boundaries — it gives off a vibe of a very strong connection to them, with everyone falling outside of the subculture/ethnicity growing a tension of overstepping a boundary.
Almost nothing grows there, aside from the magnificent old mountain ash trees, each bearing witness to the history of hundreds, if not thousands of years. Around the break of winter and spring, the grove looks almost desolated and dead. The trees are twisted and leafless, while the soil is covered with the chunks of grey bark of ash.
Spring
During spring the place looks much more lively, especially after the rains, which cause the more refined ash to form veins and trickles on the ground. Not many animals visit the grove — the faint smell of campfire can be quite scary for most of them. That said, horse riders with little experience can sometimes make mistake by not preparing the horse to the smell and sight. If caught off guard, the mount will stress out and gallop to leave the place as fast as possible.
Small animals, however find it a good shelter from the predators and some plants found it possible to cope with the strongly alkaline soil under the trees. The bark is greyish, smooth and almost glistening, very similar to that of young rowans or beech, so around spring time, the grove looks very fresh. The collection of vibrant green leaves with the ashen grey is especially soothing.
Summer
Around the end of spring, the bark starts to thicken and break, resembling that of a spruce or pine. As it grows, the trees absorb the heat and inside the grove itself the air can be significantly cooler than outside.
Autumn
With the start of autumn, the Mountain Ash trees begin to peel of their bark. When that happens, a lot of heat is released and the remnants of moisture trapped inside the ashen chunks hiss like the campfire charcoals when extinguished with water. One must watch out for the falling berries as some of them can leave small burn marks from the heat stored around summer.
Tradition and culture
The grove has some connection to the Autumn path to the Ædeos and for that is thought to be the place, which the mythical Àncéarmâr has chosen to be his Lair. This little fact remains very important to the Gáláwans and the locals strongly believe it bo be true. Because of that, the Stag is also the parton of the Luaithre glassmakers of Mount Gloine .
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