Allacraus (Nation)

Allacraus is more a league of cities than a proper nation, with the "capital" of Devil's Cradle exerting little real influence on the twelve towns through the surrounding territory. Most of the governing takes place at the local level, with the various towns practicing a form of direct democracy reminiscent of ancient Greek city-states or the farmer's utopia Rousseau wrote of in his "Social Contract."
The area's most bizarre feature are its "orbiting" towns. Most of Allacraus is covered by a great forest known as the Forest of Bones, and no sane creature travels through it if they can help it. The twelve major towns in Allacraus actually change location slowly throughout the year, with the entire town slowly moving around the center of the forest like planets orbiting the sun. Therefore, depending on the time of year, a town might be totally cut off from roads leading to the outside, or at the center of a nexus of trade and travel. No one wants to rough it through the woods because, well, it's full of horrifying monsters. It's not immediately clear why the numerous dangerous beasts almost never leave the shelter of the trees, but the wiser citizens of Allacraus are careful to pay their respects to the forest spirits. The forest serves as a kind of containment zone for the creatures, and those who stay on the road are generally only in danger when the trees near the path are damaged.
Naturally, logging is a complicated business in Allacraus, with only trees that are already dead permitted to be cut, and then only on a special day once each month when the forest is strongest and the creatures within are largely dormant. This is followed by a night festival where, in exchange for the gifts they have received, the citizens are expected to offer certain tributes to a mysterious group of entities in the woods known simply as "The Harvesters." Allacraus residents do not discuss these events with outsiders.
With most decisions by majority vote, "Foresters" as they're sometimes known, are often skilled public speakers and moderately well informed about the issues facing the community. Agriculture, hunting and mining are some of the main trades practiced in the area.

Geography

Mostly rolling hills. While there are some flat areas and grasslands, the majority of the country is dominated by the Forest of Bones.

Fauna & Flora

The Forest of Bones dominates much of Allacraus, with the trails and roads through those forbidding woods carefully maintained as one of the nation's few links to the outside world.
There are actually two types of trees in the forest. The Bone Trees are what give the forest its name, colored like the marrow of freshly exposed bone, they soar above the forest floor, with many of them hundreds of years old. These trees are almost never permitted to be felled, and attempts at illegal logging of the trees incur an immediate death sentence.
Between and below the Bone Trees, there exist normal trees that manage to survive in the shade of their larger cousins. Though scattered and weak because of the canopy of the Bone Trees, which nearly blot out the sun in many areas, these trees are highly valued precisely because they can be cut down. Most Allacrausian homes feature at least a few items made from "native" wood, though buildings tend to be constructed of brick or stone.

Type

Territory

Location under

The Crushlands (Multinational Region)

Included Locations

• Devil's Cradle
• The Forests of Allacraus
• The Twelve Cities

Contested By

• The Inquisition of the Holy Twins
• The Parliament of Silence

Characters in Location

• Woodmaster Rufus Casperdye