Greenwood
Stretching like a vast green mantle across the slopes and valleys of the Northern Gnoretans, the Greenwood Forest is the largest boreal woodlands in all of Logos. A taiga of towering pine, spruce, and fir, it forms a wide natural barrier along the mountains of Gnorenori to the south and the harsher tundra steppes beyond the mountains to the north.
Though snow does fall in the Greenwood, it does not cling to the land year-round as it does in the Hoarwood. Winters are long and biting, but the forest thaws each spring, allowing for short but lush growing seasons filled with mossy undergrowth, wild herbs, and fleeting, hardy blooms. Streams born from glacial melt run swift through narrow valleys, carving through stone and forest to feed the rivers of the North Blight .
Greenwood has a quiet magic to it—old and slow, bound to the rhythms of stone, root, and snowmelt. Dryads, old owlin sages, and wandering druids are sometimes found walking its paths, claiming that the Greenwood remembers every footfall placed upon its earth.
Geography
The Greenwood Forest rises and falls with the jagged terrain of the Northern Gnoretan range, making travel treacherous. In some places, trees cling to cliff faces or root in the cracks of boulders. Dense fog often clings to the lower slopes, and in winter, ice sheaths tree limbs in a fragile armor that glitters in the pale sun.
Where the forest thins into high meadows, Plasmoid foragers and hermits are known to gather rare herbs, though few stay long.
Fauna & Flora
The forest is home to a range of hardy and elusive wildlife adapted to cold and change. Some examples include:
- Snow-antler Elk: Massive, gentle creatures that shed velvet antlers each spring—considered a sign of renewal and endurance.
- Frostlurks: Predatory, burrowing reptiles with icy breath and perfect camouflage. Avoided even by seasoned rangers.
- Wood Wisps: Small, floating orbs of pale green light that seem to help—or hinder—travelers based on their intentions.
- Moonfur Owls: Seen only on full moons, these silver-feathered owls are believed to be guardians of the secrets in the Greenwood
Natural Resources
- Small cave systems in the upper forest slopes remain frozen even in midsummer, giving rise to rare fungi and frost-bloom herbs used in magical tinctures.
Tourism
The Greenwood Forest forms a natural buffer between Gnorenori and the wilds beyond. While it is not densely inhabited, it is vital to the region for its resources, spiritual significance, and strategic position, bringing visitors of many kinds. Several experimental outposts and herbariums exist along its edge, often manned by GRUMBLE agents studying unique flora.
