Icebranch Woods

Dense with icicles and frost, the branches of this forest sing with music as the wind blows through and rattles them like chimes. The icicles can reach large sizes rivalling the limbs of a person in length and width; after stormy weather, it's a common sight to find icicles broken free and jutting from the snow below, puncturing through anything in between the point and the ground with ease. Come dawn and dusk, however, the forest comes alive with reflected sunlight that dances throughout the hanging icicles, creating an orange glow throughout the trees.

Geography

Covering a large outcrop of land to the north of Aesmaril, the Icebranch Woods sprawl across a variety of slight hills and dips in the ground, though overall it is still flat. The coastal borders are rife with sheets of floating sea ice, which can build up and form a large expanse of thick ice in the depths of winter.

Fauna & Flora

Beyond the general prevalence of coniferous trees and shrubs, no unusual plants or magical species of flora are known to exist. Despite that, it's also known that many of the plants growing within the Icebranch Woods are readily useable for food sources, with berries and even fruits on some of the rarer species being harvestable.
With the same sort of animal life as found in The Silverbark forest, traps are able to be used for catching small animals at times with larger animals able to be hunted by those who travel into the forest. Though generally more populated with such animals, the dangers posed by the overhead icicles means that many hunters prefer to not travel into the Icebranch Woods.

Natural Resources

With the lumber from the trees and the berries and fruits from other plants, supplemented by animals that can be trapped or hunted, a variety of food can be obtained from the forest, in addition to the other animal-based materials such as hides, bones and fat. The principle resource that is sought from the forest, however, is the icicles as they provide clean water for drinking without the trouble of having to clean saltwater in the settlement.

History

The Icebranch Woods has long existed in its current form, though it was once larger in the past. Though not as large as the other forests nearby, it has also been less targeted by lumber activities and therefore has remained in overall greater preservation than the others. Rather than being used for lumber, instead, the large number of icicles which develop here is the target of gathering attempts. Free of salt, the ice is used for preservation of foods and as a means of obtaining drinkable water.

Type

Forest, Boreal (Coniferous)

Location under

Aesmaril