The Wet Woods
A lone bird trills a melancholic counterpoint to the oppressive thrum of nature that otherwise holds dominion in this place. Though a traveler might strain their eyes, they can see no trace of it. As a matter of fact, they aren’t likely to see much of anything. This place… this mire… it has earned its name. A thick, cloying fog, a veritable blanket of grey, clings with unnatural tenacity to the skeletal remains of drowned trees. These ancient sentinels, their bark long since peeled away by the relentless damp, reach their barren limbs skyward like bony fingers clawing for release from the murky depths. The water itself… it's a deceptive thing. One might cautiously test the ground, finding it ankle-deep one moment, only to feel the earth give way beneath their boot the next, plunging them into a chilling, unseen abyss. A shiver crawls down the spine, a primal fear whispering of unseen depths, of being swallowed whole by the grasping mire. And the truth, as it so often is in such places, is far more complex, far more insidious than simple depth.
For the Wet Woods teems with a life both beautiful and utterly hostile. From colossal toads, their hides slick with venomous secretions, to carnivorous plants, their glistening petals concealing rows of needle-sharp teeth, this swamp is a crucible of survival. And that's before one even considers the whispers of the Fae, those capricious beings who dance in the fog-laden shadows, or the ancient, sentient trees, their roots reaching deep into the earth, their gnarled branches watching with silent, knowing eyes. Unwary travelers are as likely to be claimed by the swamp itself, lost in its labyrinthine waterways and deceptive bogs, as they are to fall prey to one of the myriad creatures that call this place home. It is a place that demands respect, a place that offers no quarter. And for that reason, most sensible folk choose to cling to the well-worn paths, those thin threads of safety that snake around its edges, or, wiser still, avoid the Wet Woods altogether, leaving its secrets to the fog and the things that lurk within.
Geography
Located in the kingdom of Elos
Comments