Dow

"great forest far across the western sea".

Where the Bamboo Dowo comes from, and where Cusisme was trained. Continent-dominating forest, with many different plant-regions (and other essences) within, e.g. bamboo. The forest as a whole is poorly mapped and best understood as piecemeal regions. Aside from some large lakes, high mountain ranges, and clearings - "islands" in the sea of trees – the canopy is unbroken for thousands of miles.

Geography

runs the vast length of the Bindkelp Sea's western coast between Burnished Isles in the south and Haba-ish in the north. it also extends inland for thousands of miles, as far as the Western Inlet in the south and the Cataphract Realms in the north. it incorporates many different regions and cultures.
Scrivener Culture
The Scrivener culture (1130-775LF) arose in western Dow and spread to control the a vast swathe of the forest from their homeland on the shores of the Western Inlet. Their culture was highly organised and regimented, but also associated with a great deal of art and learning that it captured on the vast quantities of paper scrolls it produced. In doing so, it caused a huge expansion to the The Learned Canyons on the far side of the world, helping kick off the use of Paired Pages as well as a degree of cross-continental dialogue that sadly diminished after the Scriveners mysteriously collapsed. the spoken form of their language is unknown in the East, but their written language is still well-understood, with its most popular works translated and widely disseminated, enduring as tales into the modern day.

• perhaps not a big united empire? more of a scandi tribal model?
• large, literate slave class (or magic) to do the writing? and a religious imperative to record things?

Thinking Range
In the north of Dow, the forest is broken into separately-infused sections by the The Thinking Range.
Barrier Stands In the southeast of Dow, the mountain-like, bamboo-infused Barrier Stands form an obstacle to movement. This area is the homeland of the Bamboo Dowo who migrated across the world to the Nidari Reach.
Cataphract Realms A region of warring states incorporating the northwest of Dow (beyond the Thinking Range) as well as the lands beyond, bordered in the north by Haba-Ish and in the south by the Western Inlet. during its acme (when it acquired its name), it was home to knights and mercenaries known as Riders that use armoured masses of animated vines as gigantic mechanical fighters called Cataphracts. A combination of savannah and desert in the main area, but the distinctive feature (that bleeds into southern Haba-Ish and northwest Dow) is various oases/cenotes that dot the landscape, connected together by underground rivers infused with muscle essence. Cataphracts can only be created/watered/recharged at these pools, creating a natural network of supply/chokepoints to be fortified, developed, defended and attacked.

• romances of the Cataphract realms stories feature heavily in the inherited Scrivener Culture texts. if this is the case, they would inspire "quests" to find them - perhaps tie this into Hahemir's fascination/stories he retells? he is from the wrong part of the world for that though.
• Why did they decline? essence flow, infrastructure collapse, outmoded by other weapons (e.g. sunfire, cannons)? perhaps Cataphracts arise again at some later point, possibly more widespread?

Other region ideas:

• mangrove coast - notorious pirate stronghold.

Fauna & Flora

Butterfly-trees (whose seeds are carried by green insects) are found throughout the forest.

Type

Region

Location under

Daknir

Included Locations

• The Thinking Range

Related Ethnicities

• Bamboo Dowo (Opan Bwayu)

Related Historical Events

• 1130 LF
  rise and decline of the Scrivener Culture
• 1275 LF
  Acme of the Cataphract Realms