Chalk Expanse

Towering Watcher by Naelin

Covering a massive area of the north half of Karte Island, the Chalk Expanse is the biggest forest in the Haan Archipelago, as well as the most popular touristic attraction in the island.
More interestingly, it is also a white forest, a kind of woodlands formation that usually spans small, scattered areas in other islands, with the Chalk Expanse being able to fit each of the other white forests in just a small portion of its terrain.
The Chalk Expanse does everything in a big way. It includes the tallest tree, the biggest bird, and the biggest waterfall formation as well as an incredible diversity of species.

Geography and Climate

The Chalk Expanse is a humid, dense, foggy forest, covering an approximate area of 32000 square kilometres.
It is crossed by six rivers, the major ones being the Termatron and the Toxapactos.
The forest is packed with big, tall trees across the centre and south areas, while the coastal and northern ones have shorter canopies, with more spread out trees and some grasslands in between the woodlands.

The Mightiest Roar

Around the middle of it, and across a sharp U curve, the Toxapactos river falls through a tall precipice.
The massive group of waterfalls produces a show of deafening roars and eerie fogs and is said to leave an everlasting impact on any and all of its visitors.
The Mightiest Roar is an obligate stop in anyone's visit to the island, and is considered to be a natural wonder inside another.

Flora

"That hit harder than a watcher's shell"

— Popular Kartian saying

The Expanse is ripe with hundreds of species of white flora including many popular ones such as the dream of rocks and the wind descent.
Little specks of colour are peppered across the forest by flowers and fruit, and also by mushrooms and lichen.
The living emblem of this massive forest, however, is indisputed for the towering watcher, the tallest, widest plant in the archipelago, reaching up to 140 meters tall and with a 10 meters wide trunk.
The watcher is revered by the Kartians, who portray it in their saying and poems, and consider it a great offence to cut down one, but eat the fruits and use the fallen branches to make treasured decorative items.

Fauna

Herald's Gnaw by Naelín

The chalk expanse is inhabited by an array of specialized, predominantely white creatures such as heralds' gnaws, hirschmalls and licern, as well as many far-reaching creatures from the rest of the island.

Alcholoh by Naelín

The most famous sightings are, unsurprisingly, the massive alcholoh depicted in the Kartian flag.
These scavengers are the biggest birds in the archipelago, and are known to nest atop the tallest towering watchers.
The almost 5 meters wingspan of the alcholoh gets dwarfed next to the towering watcher's treetop, making the whole scene look like a regular little songbird next to an everyday tree.

The Haan Archipelago

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Danae by Naelin

The cartographer Danae from the City of Birdland in Thaur was commissioned to draw a map of the Haan Archipelago for the second edition of The Book of the Habits and Beasts, published in the 3rd of Birthing, 3 E.Ru.
Danae took advantage of the enclyclopaedia's team of researchers to gather precise information and went himself into research expeditions to survey remote areas. His work resulted in what is considered the most accurate and widespread map of the Archipelago to this day, which details even most of the coasts of the Savage Isles.

"I've gone to the Roar to hear its scream
I've travelled north through corridors and bridges
I've stared at the waters and I've seen
The wailing souls emerging from the seams
The reflection of my nature staring back at me
The newfound memories creeping up my skin

"I've got what I came for" I deemed.
Then I felt how judgement on my scales leeched
A sight unseen, mighty and keen
Peered from above crushing me
Then I saw it, a survivor of the rust, the tallest tree
How could I miss the Expanse's truest king?"

Type

Forest, Cloud / Water (Subtropical)

Location under

Karte Island

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Karte

Inhabiting Species

• Herald's Gnaw
• Hirschmall