Boulderrain Woods
"Trees don't kill you in the Boulderrain, lad. Gravity does." -Old lumber camp saying
The Boulderrain Woods straddle the lower reaches of The Cloudrend Mountains, stretching across much of northern Everwealth before thinning out near the Moonpine Forest and the Amber Hills. Despite lacking the enchanting grandeur of The Grandgleam Forest or the grotesque extremity of The Bog of Lies, the Boulderrain remains one of the most perilous regions in the kingdom, not because of what watches from the woods, but what falls from above. The name comes not from myth or flourish, but fact, great slabs of mountain often come loose from the Cloudrend's unstable peaks, crashing through the treeline without warning. Where the Grandgleam pulses with old magick, the Boulderrain stinks of desperation. It's a haven for the unwanted, bandits, poachers, slave-catchers, and smugglers, each carving out turf amid the thick trunks and broken stone paths. The deeper one ventures, the more the wilderness gives way to lawlessness. Only fools travel it alone.
Geography
Terrain: A rugged forest of dense pine and old fir, riddled with glacial erratics, broken cliffs, and shattered stone trails. Fallen boulders, some the size of homes, are common sights and often repurposed as hideouts or crude barricades by outlaws.
Notable Dangers:
- Rockslides from Cloudrend.
- Collapsing cliffside trails.
- Marauding gangs and exiled mercenaries.
- Predatory beasts and reclusive wildlife.
- Slave-catching caravans operating in secret.
Ecosystem
The Boulderrain Woods exist in the volatile convergence between Everwealth’s rugged highlands and crumbling coastal cliffs. Its ecosystem is shaped by harsh terrain, infrequent but violent weather patterns, and limited resources. Unlike regions rich in magickal overgrowth, the Boulderrain’s flora and fauna have adapted to scarcity and chaos. Predators dominate the food chain, with few passive grazers able to maintain large populations. The collapse of structured civilization within the woods has led to a new order, one where apex animals and desperate people must coexist with ruthless efficiency. Tree roots bind to boulders like claws gripping prey, moss creeps across jagged stones, and fungal growths bloom in the carcasses of long-dead beasts. Scavengers, both animal and human, clean the remains quickly. Humans, Dwarfs, and Goblins, whether by desperation or profit, have also become participants in this ecosystem, banditry, hunting, and harvesting being their primary means of survival. The few predators capable of preying on such intruders, like the Dreadfox or Boulder Boar, keep their populations in check with brutal natural enforcement.
Ecosystem Cycles
The forest follows a grim cycle dictated less by the seasons and more by the mountain’s moods. Spring sees minor regrowth, but it also heralds the loosening of ice that holds back rockslides. It’s when the most hunters and trappers disappear. Summer is mating season for most large creatures, especially the Dreadfox and Boulder Boars, making the woods noisier and more volatile.
In autumn, the forest turns quiet again, mist creeping in, and predators become reclusive as they gorge themselves in preparation for leaner days. Winter is long and bitter, most creatures hibernate or retreat deeper into the stone-caves and gullies. The silence of the season is broken only by the sounds of falling stone or the death-cries of something that lingered too long in the cold. Human elements mirror this cycle. Slaver and smuggler activity surges in summer when the terrain is passable, then dwindles in the cold when patrols cease and the woods are left to the desperate and the dying.
Localized Phenomena
Stonefall Drifts are a constant threat. Caused by distant thunder, subtle tremors, or the slow erosion of ice in the Cloudrend peaks, these avalanches of rock can obliterate entire glades. Sometimes, the stones hum, especially those near the cliffs. Local legend claims magick still courses through certain boulders dislodged during the Schism, reacting faintly to high winds or bloodshed. Another phenomenon, known as the Howling Pits, occurs in caves scattered across the northern edge of the woods. When wind blows through their fractured mouths, it produces mournful howls that echo for miles, often mistaken for ghostly voices or cries of tortured creatures. Bandits use them as warnings or to scare trespassers. Some smugglers have reportedly used gliding flares or mirrored stones to signal allies under heavy tree cover, known as Skyblind Lanterns. These signals only work during overcast days, of which there are many.
Climate
Bitter and damp for most of the year. Snow clings long past winter’s end, and heavy fog descends without warning. Thunderstorms and stonefalls are frequent due to the mountains’ instability, especially near the Cloudrend Bowl.
Notable Dangers:
Notable Dangers:
- Rockslides from Cloudrend.
- Collapsing cliffside trails.
- Marauding gangs and exiled mercenaries.
- Predatory beasts and reclusive wildlife.
- Slave-catching caravans operating in secret.
Fauna & Flora
Unlike the other biomes of Everwealth, the Boulderrain is not known for magickal overgrowth or rare reagents. What grows here is hardy, gnarled, and functional—used more for rope, shelter, or spears than spellwork. Thick roots knot the ground and small glades become sinkholes in rainy seasons.
- Dreadfoxes - Elusive, horse-sized predators stalking the northern paths.
- Glare-Owls - 'Pale Watchers' that roost near the Moonpine edge, hunting criminals and travelers alike.
- Snap-Deer - Nervous, fast, and prone to fatal bursts of energy that attract larger predators.
- Boulder Boars - Massive, tusked beasts adapted to shoving their way through stonefalls, said to be aggressive enough to scatter a full patrol.
Natural Resources
- Timber - Though tough to extract due to dangerous terrain, the wood here is resilient and slow-burning.
- Stone - Dislodged Cloudrend rock is occasionally quarried for crude fortifications and black-market construction.
- Pelts - Dreadfox, Snap-Deer, and Glare-Owl pelts fetch a high price, though dangerous to harvest.
- Fungus and Moss - Used for alchemical stabilizers, especially those growing in cold, shaded places.
- Poached Magickal Components - Rare, but some predators like the Glare-Owl or wild manticores hold latent arcane value in their organs, claws, or bones.
History
Before The Great Schism, the Boulderrain formed part of the Elfese highland hunting circuits, prized less for its resources and more as a place to cull and prove one’s worth. After the war, the fractured north saw it slowly rot into its current state, a no-man’s land where desperate souls and criminals clash in silence. Settlements attempted to take root, but most were abandoned, consumed by the woods or torn apart by the very people who built them. Some say the first Dwarfish refugees from the Cloudrend fled through this forest, their cairns now buried beneath rock and pine.
Tourism
there are reasons, dark and daring ones, for travelers to brave the forest’s twisted paths. Alchemists and herbalists sometimes sponsor excursions into the deeper glades, hoping to harvest rare mosses, fungal clusters, or the violet-eyed organs of a freshly slain Glare-Owl. Others arrive seeking legend rather than loot, chasing ghost stories of lost Dwarfish cairns, hidden Elfese reliquaries, or pre-Schism war camps buried under rubble and pine. Some mercenaries and thrill-seekers treat the woods as a proving ground, hunting predators like the Dreadfox or Boulder Boar to prove their mettle. Their bleached bones often decorate the same dens they sought to conquer. A rare breed of outlaw, those with silver tongues and secret paths, conduct unofficial tours for the desperate and the deranged. Known as Stone-Talkers, these guides claim to know the forest’s moods and keep you one step ahead of everything that wants you dead. Most of them are liars. The rest are worse. For the curious or cursed, the Boulderrain remains a place to lose yourself, either in wonder, or in pieces.
Alternative Name(s)
'The Tumbling Timberland', 'The Cragshade', 'Fellpine Reach'.
Owning Organization
Inhabiting Species
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