Estirian Woods
General description:
Estira is the kingdom of the eastern woods. Its area is quite big and encompasses three big wood areas plus the small spaces in between. It is mainly inhabited by wood elves but there is also a small human population and even a few dwarven workers are mainly working on the kingdom's infrastructure.Geography
Area:
The entire area spans 740 km in length and 300 km in width, which roughly gives it an area of 222'000 km2, but only if Estira were a perfect rectangle, which, of course, it isn't. Estira is the biggest single forest area in Arregeas.General:
There are hills toward the north on which the palace is built, other than that the terrain is mostly even. There's a river and a "lake" although lake may be exaggerated.Ecosystem
The air tends to be humid because of the trees, most of the area is covered in them and is therefore shadowed. There are hills in the woods, the palace is built there. There is a small river running through the woods that is used for all water supplies.
Ecosystem Cycles
The winters can get quite chilly with lots of snow and the summers are mild. In the forest the temperature is always cool and the air is kind of humid. It rains enough so there is never drought.
In winter many elves migrate further north to where the forest is exlusively coniferous so they are still protected by the needles of the trees, since the leaves of the deciduous trees fall in autumn and leave the forest completely naked in the winter, which is uncomfortable for the elves living there, since they're relying on the leaves of the trees a lot to isolate their homes.
Hunting season is mainly in autumn. In spring during reproduction of the animals hunting is strictly forbidden as to not destroy the populations.
Localized Phenomena
Sometimes the wandering woods shift right into the estirian woods which can completely block passage for anyone trying to get through. Luckily it happens very rarely and for some reason the wandering woods seem to avoid Estira if possible.
Fauna & Flora
There are of course lots of trees. In the southern region there are exclusively deciduous trees but the farther up north you go, the more conifers you'll find. There are cedars and pines and birches, beeches and oaks and many more. There are trees that grow enormously large. There are also many herbs growing there, that make the forests smell nice and enchanting. Many of these herbs are great for medicine. In the less dense areas there are also bushes and other smaller plants.
As far as animals go, there are, deer, some of which are said to be magical (white deer) and grow centuries old. They are a lot bigger than the average deer too. Then there are hares, foxes, martens, wild boars, badgers, some say they saw great bears, an array of different birds including different kinds of owls, black birds, sparrows, cormorans, ducks, crows, ravens, hawks, red kites, wild pigeons and more. There are mice, rats, hedgehogs and squirrels. Also snakes. Some say they saw huge ancient creatures, the soul of the forest itself, but none of those sightings are confirmed.
Natural Resources
In the areas between the woods they have huge plantages of wheat, barley, dinkel wheat, potatoes and even rice. They also export nuts they collect from the trees in the forest as well as cherries and plums. They also export meat from the animals they hunt.
Wood from their trees is also a great resource that gets traded but most of it is used in Estira to build houses, furniture and hunting gear. Especially becuase the Estirian wood is extra durable and doesn't rot easily and it also smells nice.
Tourism
There isn't much tourism in Estira but some elves do like to come there to reconnect with the trees, as the Estirian woods are said to have a relaxing effect, especially elves living in the high north like visiting Estira from time to time.
There are also humans who like to hunt there but they need to get the King's permission for it and he doesn't allow too many people to hunt in his domain, so in a way it's seen as an honour among humans to be able to hunt in the Estirian woods.
Maps
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Khikh Talueokh
A map of Khikh Talueokh, Estira's proud Capitol, in the sixth age. -
Estira
A map of the Kingdom of Estira and, by extension, the Estirian Woods.
Alternative Name(s)
The great eastern woodlands, the eastern forest realm, home of the wood elves (although this is misleading, as there is more than one domain in which wood elves live but since Estira is the biggest and oldest of them it was given this name)
Included Organizations
Related Ethnicities
Inhabiting Species
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