Polemic Rainforest

"The gods love to divide land amongst themselves, no matter if they have the right to this land or not. Just as Poseidon owns the seas and Zeus owns the skies, the Olympians saw the need to claim the land of Eregost. While normally Demter or Artemis claims the wilderness, the Polemic Rainforest is under the ownership of Ares, the god of War and Courage." ~Church Paratir, Grand Archivist of the Authenian Republic.

Geography

While the Arcadian Forest is larger, the vegetation is far more dense in the Polemic Rainforest. Several lakes, such as the Víosi lake and the Hróti lake, can be found scattered throughout the Polemic Rainforest. Hróti lake is the source of the Thélisi river, the largest source of fresh water within the Polemic Rainforest.
The terrain in the southern parts of the Polemic Rainforest is particularly jagged and hazardous. It is filled with sharp rocks and steep pits.

Climate

The Polemic Rainforest is often rather hot, thanks to its close proximity to Zestós and even its relative closeness to Thymomen desert. Despite this, the Polemic Rainforest relies very heavily on the light of Helios in order to maintain its warmth, causing a plunge in temperature as soon as night falls.
Warm rainfalls occur almost daily in the Polemic Rainforest, meaning that those without shelter may experience extreme cold if they are still wet after sunset.

Fauna & Flora

Fauna

Dire Sloths are massive herbivores that are occasionally mistaken for bears at first glance. They are six meters long and two meters tall when on all fours. They have thick brown fur that protects them from insect bites, rain and thorns. They have an incredible robust skeleton and a remarkably muscular body, with curled claws for tearing leaves off trees. They live in groups of five or six. A group of Dire Sloths is called a bed.
Polemic Jackals are one of the lesser known canines of Eregost. Roughly 1.4 meters in length and 20 centimetres tall, Polemic Jackals use their short limbs to cling to trees with ease, giving Polemic Jackals the ability to climb trees. They have grey, white and green fur, allowing them to camouflage into the scenery. They live in packs of up to twenty members, running from tree to tree, and hunting lemurs as their main source of food. The Amazon Warriors have been known to domesticate them as pets, and have even gifted some of them to travelling Areites.
The second kind of jackal to be found in the Polemic Rainforest is the Storm Jackal. Unlike Polemic Jackals, Storm Jackals pose a threat to mortals due to their larger size, aggressive nature and electric power. Storm Jackals in the Polemic Rainforest have a pale, creamy yellow fur. Roughly 1.1 meters long and 50 centimetres tall, Storm Jackals are capable of hunting larger prey than their smaller, tree dwelling cousins. They travel in pairs and are monogamous, and are only in groups larger than two when they have cubs. They are capable of electrocuting anyone they bite, and use this to hunt boars and sun bears.
Pangolins are small, scaly anteaters that live in hollow trees and burrows. Their bodies are roughly 55 centimetres long and their tails are about 35 centimetres long. They feed on ants and termites, and curl into a ball in order to protect themselves from predators.

Flora

Euterpeic trees are the most common tree to be found in the Polemic Rainforest. They are tall and slender, and have leaves very similar to palm trees. Small purple berries grow on Euterpeic trees, which are often eaten by lemurs. They grow to approximately 25 meters tall.
Spark Orchids are small red and orange flowers, with a flame-like appearance, that grow near lakes in the Polemic Rainforest, particularly around the Víosi lake. The petals of these flowers produce a spicy flavour, and because of this the Amazons often use them in cooking, and even visiting Areites have been known to collect a handful of spark orchids in order to add flavour to their food.
Eristic brambles are a rare species of thorned shrub that is coated in a unique toxin. If even a single thorn pierces the skin, the inflicted creature will experience constant intense pain for five to seven days. Many mortals that injure themselves on eristic brambles end up committing suicide within two days, due to the unbearable nature of the pain.

Residents

Only one group of mortals has managed to survive while permanently located in the Polemic Rainforest, the Amazons. A group of female warriors devoted to Lord Ares, the God of War and Bravery. They do not appear to have supernatural abilities like the Areites do, but they are far more skilled in combat than the average warrior or hunter of Eregost. How one joins the Amazons is unknown, but it is clear that they are a female only group.
The Amazons have little contact with the outside world apart from the Areites and the occasional brave travelling merchant. The Areites roam Eregost looking for conflict, but when they cannot find it, they seek kinship. The Areites see the Amazons as kindred spirits, as both are feared for their strength and devotion to Ares. The Amazons are said to welcome traveling Areites into their camps, so that they might exchange gifts and stories of the odds they have overcome.
Apart from the Areites, the Amazons only semi-regular contact with the outside world is with the merchants from the Authenian Republic that are hardy enough to travel though the Polemic Rainforest. Some believe that it is these merchants that are responsible for maintaining the population of the Amazons, and that whenever a merchant has a child with a warrior from the Amazons, the Amazon will keep it if it is a girl, and give it to the merchant if it is a male.
The Amazons are a rather reclusive society, and rarely share their culture with outsiders. They value martial traits highly, and dismiss qualities such as artistic talent and social etiquette. While they are not as bloodthirsty as Areites, they are far more territorial, and will happily kill those that they see as trespassers. Every single Amazon is taught how to hunt and fight from as soon as they can lift a weapon, which has resulted in every single Amazon being both incredibly strong and skilled in combat.
When trading with outsiders, Amazons tend to purchase what they are unable to obtain for themselves without extreme difficulty, such as alcohol, spyglasses, strong metals such as steel and titanium and ink and paper for the Amazons that go against their cultural identity.

"The culture of the Amazons is a strange one. It seems that their hierarchy is determined by strength and size, similar to how many animals determine who is the dominant member. They place little value on art or literature, and place immense importance on practical skills and martial prowess. It is unknown for certain if people are born into the Amazons or if they join them, but they seem to be an all female faction. They are extremely territorial and will not hesitate to kill anyone in the Polemic Rainforest that is not either a merchant or an Areite." ~ Ariston Unitis, Head Anthropologist of the Authenian Scientific Committee.

Tourism

The Areites occasionally visit the Polemic Rainforest whenever they cannot find a worthy conflict. They go here to gather exotic ingredients, meditate in a land owned by Ares and in order to seek company in the Amazons, who they see as kindred spirits.

Type

Forest, Jungle (Tropical)

Owner/Ruler

Ares

Contested By

• The Areites