The Forest of Malice

Hidden between the mountaintops, in a misty dale, lays the Forest of Malice. A dark pine forest where no local dares to go. Even the elves, usually at home in the woods, dare not to intrude upon its snowless grounds. Those few brave and foolish souls who do dare to enter the forest are never heard of again, for they are believed to have fallen prey to the woods dark inhabitants: The court of the Nidhogg.

Legends

According to legends the court of the Nidhogg is a malicious aristocracy of spirits who make their home in the forest and feed of the flesh of intruders. The lower nobility take the form of animals, such as wolves, giant spiders, or giant bats, which are capable of speech and show a malevolent intelligence. The higher nobility take the form of humanoids, usually in the form of a teenage elf or an old dwarf. The court is ruled by their king, the mighty Nidhogg. The Nidhogg is a large green wyvern with deer antlers who's breath smells like swamp-gas. Old beyond ages and cruel to its very core, the Nidhogg delights in finding new ways to punish intruders.
If one has to travel through the forest they should wait for the full moon. For when the moon is at it fullest it is believed that the Nidhogg holds court. Here the spirits give him counsel about the state of the forest and about what the observed during the last month. After everything has been discussed the court holds a great feast, and any captured intruders are sacrificed for the enjoyment of their king. Common wisdom says that you know you are going the right way in the forest if you hear the screams of tortured prisoners behind you.

Geography

The Forest of Mallice lays in a dale between two large mountains, In the north stands Tunglefjall and and in the south stands Murkrfjall. Water drips down from the snowy mountaintops and accumulates into a series of lakes and meandering rivers which feeds the forest. The Forest of Malice can only be entered from its western border, for the eastern border of the forest ends in a sheer cliff with a waterfall.

Alternative Name(s)

Nidskógr

Type

Forest, Boreal (Coniferous)

Location under

Svellbjargheim