The Winter Pine Forest

She/Her

When the vampires first arrived in Chymoús, they encountered the Icywind Alps. Upon crossing them, they noticed an expansive forest that dipped down into the valley below, covering most of the plains before them. Encompassed in the middle of the forest was a patch of open land that the vampires used to build their royal capital, Vol'nische. Ever since then, the vampires have contained a presence within the Winter Pine Forest.
Over time, the forest showed a hint of sentience and reacted negatively with plagues of madness anytime a tree or plant was hurt within the forest. The workers building Vol'nische dubbed the forest "as fiery as a lass" and constantly referred to the forest as female.
After witnessing so many of her trees being hackd down for firewood and log cabins, the Winter Pine Forest began ensnaring anyone who dares enter her without her permission in an endless void of fog and trees. Only those who have grown up and tended to her needs may enter without falling into indefinite madness.
Dare you enter to face the chances of everlasting madness?

Geography

Boundaries

by Egor Myznik

When the Winter Pine Forest first came to be, she was a vast, beautiful forest full of life and vigor that expanded two-thirds of what today would become known as the Itude Empire Region and the Moonlight Expanse, stretching out across the continent, all the way to the Írema Nerá Ocean. To the bitter north are the flat snowy lands that merge with White Mountains, where the lands are fraught with frozen lakes large enough to swallow a dragon. Leading down south are the plains that resulted in the crop growth meant to feed those living on Chymoús. Surprising enough, the crops that grow were bountiful and able to sustain life on the continent.

Table of Contents

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by DarkWorkX

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Titles/Nicknames

The Dark Forest

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Quick Facts

Type:

Forest

Location Under:

Sheltered Inlands Region

Notable Settlements:

Outswitch Village
Silver Forest Pack
Vol'nische
Zarahk'n

Other Landmarks:

Fiend Cavern

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Theme Song:

As of today, most of the Winter Pine Forest has been cut down, leaving only two sections of her remaining. The first section still protects Vol'nische and Zarahk'n while the other section now protects the Silver Forest Pack and Outswitch Village. The forest has also closed herself off from others, twisting herself with a magickal fog that causes those who enter to become lost and eventually lose their minds, surrendering to her call.

Climate

The climate within the Winter Pine Forest is subarctic, where the forest is freezing-cold during the long winters (roughly 300 to 355 days of the year) and summers are short and cool. Throughout the year, very little precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) falls; no more than 15 to 20 inches over the entire year. Rain and snow tend to stay above ground until the ground unfreezes, making the ground extremely muddy and wet.

Fauna and Flora

Even though the Winter Pine Forest was discovered by the vampires, she was hardly adventured into until Crown Prince Kěith Cheonsa started venturing out into the forest to escape from his royal duties (but mainly from his cruel father) in the year 2010 EoL. This allowed him to discover the Winter Pine Forest was populated with an extremely rare species.
Only one known species is inside the Winter Pine Forest, which are the faedragons. Kěith quickly started jotting down notes about them and helping to take care of them, feeling as though he finally had a purpose in life. This helped him to realize that he wanted to save lives and create a better source of living for the many races in the world. And in return, the Winter Pine Forest decided to return the favor by letting him in and out of her domain.
There are many different versions of plants that survive inside the Winter Pine Forest, including Blue Spruce Trees, Ice Nettle Trees, Silver Birch Trees, White Poplar Trees, Maple Trees, Cypress Trees, and Cedar Trees. Besides that, there are also many different types of ferns ranging from the Silver Fern to the Western Sword Fern.

History

The Winter Pine Forest was originally born in 69 EoL when a group of shapeshifter druids discovered the plentiful life the forest had. They moved in to help strengthen the forest, bringing more life to her with each new day. As the Winter Pine Forest grew, awakening the sleeping rage within her. The more she grew, the more the fauna and flora grew within her, blossoming to its fullest extent.
Then, came the vampires in 1373 EoL. The vampires took their arrival in Chymoús as a reason to start building the second they found a secure place to call theirs. At first, the shapeshifters weren't pleased with the idea of the vampires moving into the Winter Pine Forest, but they quickly accepted the forest's fate as the vampires used their charismatic ways to win them over. The vampires began chopping down trees to create a wider space for the city that was to later become the royal capital, Vol'nische. As the forest was torn down, stripped of her essence and beauty, she grew cold, creating a fog drifting in to cut the vampires off from the world around them. This was only the beginning of what was to become the Winter Pine Forest.

by DarkWorkX

Over five hundred years later, the Winter Pine Forest has grown into a twisted, festering seed of darkness that despises anyone who enters her. During this time, the vampires realized that if they couldn't go through the forest, they would go underneath her, through a maze of tunnels so confusing it looked like a CPU motherboard chip from a birds-eye point-of-view. The only ones with any sort of knowledge on the maze are the bodyguards, the Emperor, and the Crown Prince. Anyone else who dares to enter Vol'nische without permission will either have to enter via the elaborate maze underneath the Winter Pine Forest or go through the forest herself and face eternal madness and be permanently lost within the confines of her trees....

by T. Selin Erkan