Gnarled Grove

Look

Black trees and thick brambles line the ground here, hardy and dipping down the slow sink towards the massive black limbed and black flowered sakura tree in the centre. The tree straddles an old human mine, like a possessive lover whose red dust curls dangerously around the base of the tree, held in place by the brambles that grow over the dirt and dust dispite the danger.

History

Formed in the aftershadow of the Starlight Mine Incident, the grove was stained with the crimson mist as it soaked into the soil. The Natare population of mages came in and attempted to heal the scar on the land, working it so it was not completely toxic, but making it unihabitable for existing plant life. Over the next few centuries, bramble and thistle and hardy but sparse trees would grow into the land. An attempt at planting a bud from the Holy Sakura Tree in Natare was made, in an effort to return the land to normal, but something else grew from the soil, a dark and gnarled tree, a broken twin to the one in Natare, with black petals on the many flowers that would bud its surface.

Pseudo-science

According to botanists, and experts, they believe the heavy metal residues would promote gnarling in the growing plants. Natare City Council, The Ministry of Nature Preservation and the Academy of Natare work together to designate this a protected zone in an effort to research the species of the grove.

Religion

Despite being secular, the Gnarled grove has taken on a quasi-religious importance, due to their resilience in the face of hardship. Many Levis residence, view the grove as a sign of hope, perserverance and rebirth. That even in the darkestr times, life finds a way to adapt and flourish. Pilgrimages exist to lay offerings at the base of the trunk of the most ancient of the trees of the grove. Some seek sanctuary and a calming of the mind, others seek assistance for a difficult pregnancy. Poets and artists have constructed holo books on the grove's power and majesty.

The Grove is an important place for Witch based Magic.

Droughts and Dangers

As the dry season hit Levis and the chance of drought enters the region, the gnarled grove goes from ominous to dangerous. While better now due to the growth forming over the lands, with the dry comes dust storms within the grove, tossing up the crimson dust still tilled into the soil all around these lands. These create clouds of highly toxic air, and while the plants of the grove are immune to their touch, anything else living within the grove is sure to die. After the dust has passed, masked mages make sure to collect any dust that has blown from beneath the tree and try to deposit it closer towards the mine. If they cannot solve the problem, they will do their best to contain it.

Type

Brush

Vehicles Present

• Yowse Cart