Continent of Ocharial
Geography
This continent is connected by a massive land bridge to the forest of Grien. It is quite massive, with expansive plains as far as the eye can see. The primary feature of this land is plains, with most of the continent dominated by sprawling grasses and colorful wildflowers. These plains are also dotted with towering mesas, enough of them that you will rarely be unable to see one. The feature that is most commonly spoken of, however, are the two absolutely massive trees that soar hundreds of feet in the air and have branches that extend miles in diameter. They are so big that they each have an expansive city network within them. They are both located approximately equidistant from the great lake Qiuck (KEE-uhck), which is so large that from one end you cannot see the other.
Ecosystem
There are very few burrowing rodents here, as burrowing is made extremely difficult by the roots. Instead, it is a very valuable skill to be fast and camouflaged against the environment. The predators typically evolve incredibly strong eyes and other senses, while prey evolves speed and camouflage. The sapient life here first learned to make traps, as that was the most effective way to find prey. The trees, however, evolved completely differently. They ended up almost completely herbivorous, as there was not much prey to be found. The food just produced by the tree turned out to provide all the necessary nutrients for a healthy life. The main source of food in the plains is wildflower, as the many varieties tend to provide good food for many different varieties of creatures to thrive. Rodents are the main pollinators, as not many insects live here.
Ecosystem Cycles
In winter, most rodents hibernate. This is unusual to the rest of the world, but not to here. They do this by saving as much food as they can while constructing an ovular nest of grass, as thick and as tough as they can. They will sleep through the cold months. This is the primary reason that most species here are omnivores, as they would all die in the winter if they relied on the meat from rodents.
Localized Phenomena
Intense rainstorms sweep through this continent often, leading to the swiftly evolving plants and animals to respond. The grasses of the plains specifically evolved with some of the densest root systems present in this world. This has led to the ground in especially grassy areas being completely solid with roots, and grasses there are never uprooted. There are no plants bigger than the grasses, other than the trees of course, because there is simply not enough room for them to exist. The wildflowers have incredibly powerful roots designed to push through the earth, digging through the fibrous roots of the grasses.
Fauna & Flora
The primary fauna here is grass, field grass. It is tall and stiff, waving only slightly in the wind. There are also many varieties of wildflower, from ones that sway from the weight of juicy fruits to those that stand tall and strong to attract the larger sapient animals to come eat them. As for animals, there are many. There are the many small, swift rodents that scurry through the stiffest parts of the tall grass and the much larger kiv that deftly catch them, pouncing with the nimblest of paws. There are smaller, ambush predators like the swirling biter, a black, many limbed creature known for it's vicious venom. As for sapient creatures, Centaurs roam the plains, forming nomadic herds, and humans who form the towns surrounding the plains. There are the rodentfolk who have created small tools to dig through the thick roots. In the trees, monkeylings hop and climb from branch to branch and jumpers soar through the upper limbs.
Natural Resources
Grain and edible varieties of grass cultivated by the natives are exported by the ton. Many livestock are farmed in cleared out areas, and domesticated swifties are raised for sale. The trees export their delicious berries, as well as a massive number of hand-made tools. Wood is mined from mesas, and is also exported plentifully.
History
This continent has been around for millions of years. This is one of the oldest continents, and one of the least affected by the horrors. It was struck by a meteor in 1 million BL, and the meteor scattered seeds throughout the continent. Those seeds, over the course of almost a million years, grew into the trees. Ocharial was a vast forest, made of the largest trees to exist in this world. Then, when the horrors stole the planet, the Destroyer cut down all the trees but two. When rapid evolution began, the creatures on Ocharial were largely divided into three categories: The tree-dwellers, the plain-runners, and the non-sentients. This massive difference in territory essentially created a divide, and all three groups developed very differently.
Tourism
The trees and the mesas are usually the only thing that is considered worth visiting here. The climate is relatively temperate, leaning towards the cooler edge, so climate sensitivity is not really an issue when deciding whether or not to visit this continent. When visiting Ocharial, people looking to visit the trees will often stay in the smaller suburban towns surrounding the trees. The towns around the trunk will often have specific accommodations for tourists, such as flying trips into the branches, fancy restaurants, souvenir shops with massive leaves, and overpriced inns. The people looking to see the mesas will often do the same thing, with the mesas very close to the border being the only ones that really get visited. Travelling through hundreds of miles of plains usually isn't very appealing, especially when a swirling biter might leap out at you at any moment.
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Continent
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