Sümilennä

Sümilennä was a region of rich, green woods and deep, surging waters originating from the mountainous neighbouring region in the north. In the south it was bordered by a rocky coastal region while Ïwajalaï's waters neighboured it in the east. This was the home of the Lennöri up to the end of the First Age, when wildly cooling weather forced them southward.

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Geography

Sümilennä was a region difficult to traverse by foot, and all but impossible by any other means. The terrain was highly hilly and uneven, with only rocks and roots offering a stable foothold. And while plenty of water flowed through the region, little of it was formed into wider, slow-moving rivers which might have supported boats or other vessels to pass.

Broadleaf and evergreen found balance in the woods of Sümilennä, their roots intertwined below the ground. Wild rapids surged through deep cracks and gorges carved into the grey rock between oak and pine and birch and alder. Moss and berries and the undergrowth covered the earth over their roots where they could, while roots left exposed offered crooks and crannies for critters to hide and nest in.

Cracks and caverns alike marked many cliffsides all throughout Sümilennä. These dark-shadowed spots were shelters for the Lennöri, but also for the wildlife around them, and so the people often found themselves unwillingly sharing the hidden, underground network with cave bears.

Climate

Summers in southern Tenwä were a colorful, if short-lived spectacle of life in its full splendor. The sun colored the landscape in reds and oranges throughout the night, and warmed the hearts of the people during long days. Most of the summer itself went by without a rain in sight, but spring and autumn sought to make up for the lack of midsummer precipitation by pouring for days on end.

Winters were a stark contrast to the summers in all but dryness. White with snow and ice, the temperatures became inhospitable for anything without fur. The Lennöri learned quickly to hide from winter by escaping underground, where vast networks of caves offered shelter from the wind and the cold.

Fauna & Flora

Sümilennä was in many Lennöri stories the garden of giants, where some of the oldest trees came to be by the hands of their creators and caretakers. Although its terrain was coarse and spotted with more cliffs and hills than steady ground, life found many ways to thrive in the depths of Sümilennä.

Trees

Birch

Closely connected by the northern people to vitality and fertility, birch was the prevailing tree of life. In the Deepwood they were a common sight, growing both in secluded groves and individually among the rest of the woods.

Oak

Descendants of the Great Oak which brought together the earth and sea and sky, above and below. Though lesser when compared to their parent, these trees were at the center of many a northern spell and song.

Linden

From the time of the Eltiri linden trees provided fibres for rope or cloth, as well as leaves and bark for medicine. Though useful for a multitude of purposes, the cold weather of the region made them a rare sight on Tenwän soil.

Apple

Another rarer sight in the tightly grown Deepwood were apple trees. Nestled in dry and rocky hillsides, near tree lines and edges of lakes, their fruits were a treat savored by many clans residing in the southern parts of Tenwä.

Undergrowth

Bramble

Various species of bramble colored the floor of the Deepwood with their berries ranging from deep black to bright red and pale orange. Though adored by children for their sweet flavors, their berries were also used for various medicinal purposes.

Fern

Unseen in most of Tenwä, ferns were nonetheless a familiar sight to those who resided within the Deepwood. As a plant thriving in damp corners overshadowed by the treetops above, it was mostly found in groves of birch trees and along narrow streams.

Wolfsbane

Used as both a poison and a medicine, wolfsbane was a rare plant seen mostly in small, hidden groves in the southernmost regions of the Deepwood.

Yarrow

An old herb used to treat wounds, yarrows preferred the open air of meadows to the shadows of the Deepwood. Nevertheless they could be found in the southern reaches of the region where wood cover was more sparse.

Fauna

Bear

A sacred child of the sky, whose soul was on an eternal journey between the world of the living and the one Above. Bears, particularly the larger cave bears, were as rare a sight in Deepwood as they were in all of the world. They remained in high respect, however, and were admired as much as they were feared wherever they were witnessed.

Reindeer

Herds of reindeer inhabited near every region of Tenwän soil, and in this the Deepwood was no exception. Nomadic herds traveled in search of food throughout the year, sometimes followed by clans of Lennöri.

Sparrow

One of the most populous birds throughout the Deepwood, sparrows were regarded as a welcome sight and a sign of safety. Various Tenwän clans throughout history preferred, when they could, to make their camps near wherever sparrows made their nests.

Badger

Ferocious when provoked, badgers lived in dens within the green forests of the Deepwood, often remaining in the same area one generation after another. Perhaps due to this, they came to some wordless agreement with humans to live and let live.

Deepwood

Pronunciation
/ˈsy.miˌlenːæ/

Type

Region

Related Ethnicities

• Lennöri

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