Fjernhjem/Sørhjem Forest (fyǝrn hyĕm/sœr hyĕm)

Home of the Fjernhjem people, most Mangen of the Frontier Lands refer to the forest by the name of the people who inhabit it Fjernhjem. However, to the Fjernhjem and the other Manneskor people its proper name is Sørhjem. It’s a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees on the southernmost border of Manneskor land. It’s a fertile forest with an abundance of game and fruit which the Fjernhjem make good use of.

Geography

The forest largely consists of low rolling hills covered with a dense mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. The largest source of water is the Rozux river which bisects the western half of the forest, but there are plenty of streams, creeks, springs and ponds scattered throughout the forest. Lake Tåkevann touches the northeast edge of the forest and is claimed by both the Fjernhjem and the Sydklar. It is an old growth forest with the trees being quite tall, and little in the way of underbrush.

Ecosystem

Located in the subarctic climate Fjernhjem forest is marked by long dry winters and short cool summers. The region doesn’t receive a lot of rain as most moisture that gets here wither from the Esas ocean way to the south or the or the Kylmävesi ocean to the north generally falls on the edges of the Tågbaf mountains to the west. Most of the little precipitation the forest receives falls during the summer months, so the winters are surprisingly bereft of snow, though extremely cold. Because of its cold climate the forest is a mix of hardy deciduous and coniferous trees, with animals that either hibernate or can survive the cold winters. Owing to the lack of undergrowth most of the animals are browsers eating the leaves and fruits of trees rather than grasses and the like which are exceedingly rare in the forest.

Localized Phenomena

A little-known fact outside the Fjernhjem people is that the north and eastern edges of the forest are home to numerous hot springs. These springs are valued by the Fjernhjem who grant them an almost sacred status, and they usually have villages near or on these springs. The same geologic activity that heats these springs also keeps the forest floor from permanently freezing allowing the growth of plants and trees normally restricted to more southern regions.

Fauna & Flora

The most common trees in the forest are spruce, and pine but plenty of other, cold hardy trees, such ash, birch, maple, willow, oaks, birch, alder, rowan, aspen, and hazel grow throughout along with several varieties of fruit producing trees including apple, peach, pear, and cherry. Since this is an old growth forest there isn’t a lot of undergrowth, but some plants do survive in the occasional clearing, of particular note are strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, and currants, which are harvested by the Fjernhjem people. In addition, in the often-shady forest floor are found a variety of mosses, lichens, and ferns. Finally mushrooms abound including the edible steinsopp, kantarell, traktkantarell, matpiggsopper, fåresopp, matblekksopp, matrisker, and scrubber, and the toxic Hvit fluesopp, grønn fluesopp, spiss giftslørsopp, butt giftslørsopp, rød fluesopp, brun fluesopp, panterfluesopp, flatklokkehatt, and pluggsopp.Not all the plant life of the forest is mundane and harmless, for mandragoras, sards, borutas, moonflowers, and xtabays grow in the forest.

Despite its cold climate, the Fjernhjem forest is rich with animal life such as badgers, bats, brown bears, deer, dire bears, dire wolves, dormice, elks, ermine, fallow deer, ferrets, beavers, flying squirrel, foxes, goats, hedgehogs, lemmings, lynxes, mastodons, moles, moose, otters, wild pigs, pine martens, porcupines, rabbits, racoons, racoon dogs, rats, reindeer, saber-toothed tiger, shrews, squirrels, stoats, water voles, weasels, wolves, and wolverines. In addition to the mammals, a few amphibians and reptiles brave this cold forest, such as edible frogs, fire-bellied toads, marsh frogs, newts, pool, frogs, river turtles, skinks, slow worms, and tree frogs. Numerous insects call this forest home including, ants, carpenter ants, bees, cockroaches, crickets, dragonflies, dung beetles, earwigs, fireflies, fleas, flies, fruit flies, glow worms, gnats, ladybugs, mayflies, mealybugs, mosquitoes, moths, pond skaters, spider wasps, stick insects, termites, and wasps. Other invertebrates that inhabit the forest are black widow spiders, centipedes, crab spiders, false widow spiders, leeches, millipedes, orb weaver spider, scarlet spider, slugs, snails, ticks, wolf spiders, woodlice, and woodlouse spiders. In the air above the forest floor can be found buzzards, loons, ravens, cuckoos, ducks, nuthatches, eagles, golden oriole, geese, hoopoes, long-eared owls, magpies, nightingales, quail, robins, song thrush, sparrows, storks, swans, tawny owls, thrushes, and woodpeckers. In addition, the ponds and streams of the forest are home to catfish, pike, bream, sturgeon, bleak, shad, eels, mullets, vendace, whitefish, sticklebacks, gudgeon, ruffe, lamprey, ides, perch, charr, chub, graylings, sculpin, smelt, and minnows.

Among the nonmundane dangers of the forest are forest drakes, mute hags, jabberwocks, terror wolves, winter wolves, witchfires, dweomer cats, grimstalkers, weaverworms, giant amoebas, giant ants, basilisks, giant fire beetles, devourers, emkrahs, garipans, lurkers in light, mimics, mohrgs, perytons, skin stealers, spawning cankers, giant spiders, and vilkacis. While taiga giants, huldras, treants, zomoks, dopplegangers, werewolves, wereboars, werebears, minotaurs, redcaps, and soucouyants also share the forest with the Fjernhjem.

Natural Resources

The Fjernhjem people live fairly lightly on the land, so there is plenty of resources available in the forest. Lumber of course, mostly softwood such as pine, but plenty of hardwood like oak is available. In addition, there is plenty of edible fruit to be found in the forest both berries and tree fruit. There is an abundance of wild game and fish that the Fjernhjem make good use of. There are numerous hot springs along the northern and eastern edges of the forest. Finally, the Rozux river flows through the western portion of the forest making for easy water transport north and south. If there are further resources, such as ores, the Fjernhjem have yet to discover them and they don’t allow outsiders to exploit the forest.

History

This area was forested even as far back as the time of the Iliosgy empire, though it didn’t extend as far south as the Iliosgy routinely harvested the region for wood. While Skogfolk had been coming there during the summer to hunt on occasion as long as remembered they didn’t start settling the forest until roughly 2300 years ago sometime after the fall of the Iliosgy Empire. Since then the Fjernhjem people as they began calling themselves have spread throughout the forest claiming the area as home.

Type

Forest, Temperate (Seasonal)

Owning Organization

Fjernhjem