Windmourne

A howling song screams through the gale, as wind and snow beat upon any who wander the Windmourne. The haunting, discordant melody trills all around them, masking any other sound in the area from the wanderers. Torches gutter in the wind and die; even for species able to see in the dark, the snow in the wind blinds them if they try to look. Come the morning, the forest is still and quiet, daylight seeping through the branches above. Fresh snow already is falling, masking the tracks and signs of a traveller; never to be seen again, another soul lost to the depths of the Windmourne.

Geography

Spanning from the north-west coast to Spine, The and sprawling beside the hills and mountains, Windmourne ends roughly halfway along the path towards Aesruk. The terrain beneath the trees might be hilly, flat, or even contain valleys. Whatever the original terrain, it has long been smoothed over by snow and ice, creating a lazily rolling hill. The trees within grow upon the old ground, with clearings at random within the trees of varying sizes.

Fauna & Flora

Dense with boreal trees, a number of smaller shrubs and parasitical plants live within the forest. They often survive among the roots of the trees, using them for shelter and at times rooting into the trees instead of the ground beneath the snow. Some of these plants can be gathered for food or medicinal uses, though a common mistake is the gathering of unripe items which cause sickness instead.
Animal life in the forest consists of mainly herbivorous species. Grey squirrels can be found in the trees, with elegant deer and brutish elk travelling across the snow, cropping at low hanging branches and protruding shrubs. If able to dig enough, burrowing rodents can be found in the roots of trees, while pale white foxes dart across open spaces to dive into drifts of snow.

Natural Resources

The lumber from the trees, fruits and nuts from various plants, and the meat, bone and hide from hunted animals all provide a variety of resources for those who can obtain them. Coldpine makes extensive use of the natural bounty in the forest, with very few locations able to make the journey and use Windmourne to gather their own resources as well.

History

Always a cold and bitter place, the trees here have provided a source of wood and food to nearby villages and settlements over the years; in particular, Coldpine has made use of Windmourne for gathering food and hunting animals that live within the wooded area. Windmourne earned its name as the perpetual icicles upon its branches grew to such a size that they spanned between the branches and began to connect; the spaces between the icicles whistle when the wind blows through them, creating various pitches of a chilling melody. The similarity to the dirge songs of other races soon saw the forest develop a bad reputation, particularly as people were liable to vanish in the night or during storms when the trees sang the loudest, leaving no trace or trail.
Since the Cataclysm, this reputation has only worsened. Many from Coldpine claim the forest has no curse, that they willingly travel and hunt within its depths for supplies. The few visitors welcomed however note that they never travel in groups smaller than six, and they avoid the forest in the darkest of nights. At times, they enter in twos or threes, but any attempts to follow either end with the tailing person vanishing or being ejected from the villages hospitality.

Tourism

Persistent rumours of prime hunting brought lords and nobles here before the Cataclysm. However, as many of them returned empty-handed and short a few servants or even other nobles, the pursuit was abandoned. At times quests were announced by members of holy orders to reclaim ancient heirlooms lost with their owner in Windmourne, but only resulting in a fruitless search and a return of dishonour, the heirloom still missing. Since the Cataclysm, such searches have never been repeated, though the heirlooms surely still remain somewhere deep in the forest.

Type

Forest, Boreal (Coniferous)

Location under

Aesmaril