Silvae Pluviae

The Silvae Pluviae is the Roman name for the large forest found in the southern Terra Occidentalis below the Oceanus Carthagicus. It is home to a vast amount of creatures and plants but is mainly known for its largest river the Naharakab, commonly referred to by Romans as the Naurakus. Some expeditions have been undertaken but it still remains largely unexplored.
Romans have set up colonies in safe bays around the coastline but have made no permanent settlements deeper into the forest. This area is therefore still mainly controlled by the native tribes of the region.
The account below is written by Roman naturalist Gaius Titus.

Geography

Forest of Rain

When I first set foot in the Silvae Pluviae I was overwhelm by the beauty of this new world. Like many I had heard tales about strange forests like this in India but I was not prepared to see it in person. These forests are quite unlike what we Romans are used to.
Trees and other plants are placed closely together with only minimal sunlight shining through the leaves of the canopy high above. One can see smaller trees fighting for sunlight, hoping to reach the same heights. The forest floor is filled with much more decaying leafs and other materials if compared to our Italian forests.
It only takes a short time to discover why we have given these forests this name. For a large portion of the year rain becomes very abundant to the point that it can become difficult to see your companions next to you. Although this happens mostly during certain months in the year, one can never be sure to not get drenched during a trek through the forest.

Roman World Map

Open full size

by kefkejaco with midjourney

Creatures

The amount of creatures inhabiting this region is too high too count. Someone who wants to catalogue these marvelous beings, such as myself, can spend a lifetime on it but never hope to complete it. Some are familiar to creatures we know but others are vastly different.
Among my favorites are the birds in various bright colours. Seeing those fly overhead is a joy to behold. But not all creatures that live there are as peaceful. Whereas we have lions the Silvae Pluviae have another fiercesome feline with a strange roselike pattern. If one is not careful these creatures can easily lay an ambush.

Naurakus

While talking about these magnificent forest you can't possibly omit the wonderous Naurakus river. This river with a wide delta was originally discovered by the Punic who named in the Naharakab, wide river. But it was our own Cohors Exploratorius that bravely explored the deeper regions of this river.
They found that the river had seemingly endless tributaries making many believe that it covers almost the entire Silvae Pluviae. I myself had joined on one of these expeditions but soon discovered how dangerous it could be. Although many tribes were peaceful, we were from time to time attacked by people vicously defending their territory. In these tribes many of the women fought as well which made me think of the stories of the Amazons back home.

by kefkejaco with midjourney

Extra Information

Continent

Southern Terra Occidentalis

Biome

The region is a very dense forest filled characterised by frequent and abundant rainfall.

Landmarks

Naurakus and Guarinoca river

Resources

Exotic fruits, cacao, vanilla

History

by kefkejaco with midjourney

Discovery

The Punics were the first to arrive in the region many years before us Romans even set sail for the Terra Occidentalis. Here they discovered the mouths of the large rivers which they named the Garnoka and Naharakab. But they did not have the same Roman adventuring spirit and did not travel further south or deeper into the forest. The Punics remained near their colonies in the Cartagicus Oceanus while we set out to explore these lands.

Exploration

Many expeditions were completed by the Cohors Exploratorius, with the most important ones being led by Galerius Novio. The most dangerous one of these, as I mentioned before, was the expedition on the Naurakus. Besides the hostile Amazon like tribes there were other dangers as well. I saw seeminly innocent looking small fish band together to eat a man who fell in the water. At a later time we even had to fight off dangerous crocodile like creatures. I am truly lucky to have returned from that journey.