Gild-Leaf Tribelands
Ahh the Gild-Leaf Tribelands, now thats truly a bastion of trade, commerce and civilized society in the north lands of Valerick. The Ganfio'tii are a mercantile bunch, for elves, and are very welcoming. Do not misunderstand me, this is still the Depen, and as such, do not foolishly take from the woods more than you need, and by Talia's tits, do not, under any circumstances, chop down or take limb from any sort of food bearing trees for firewood or the like. I don't wish to deal with the....complications....such an action might cause!"
Bregor Azilmac Ironside, dwarven merchant, giving warning to his hired guards about proper behavior in the Depen
Geography
Southeast of the Steppes, through the eastern edges of the Nor'wood Basin, the hillier, less marshy parts of the basin, one will come into the lands known as the Gild-Leaf Tribelands. The dominant travel route most use is the Tiber River, and the river lands along this 'highway of Valerick' are civilized, easy and relatively safe to travel. The Depen here is not really much different from the beauty and seemingly groomed and gardened woodlands of the Nor'wood Tribelands or any other region. However the big thing that will stand out on one's travels, should they pass through the area, is nestled in the lands between the eastern banks of the Nor'wood River and the western banks of the Tiber. Here, coming down from the Nor'wood Basin, one comes into a seasonal floodplain, a fen.
But these are no ordinary tundra marsh lands, for the trees that grow here, dominantly, are of a strange, but beautiful. Their bark is seems almost as if bronze, and every year peels, much as decidious trees lose their leaves, and this bark is a highly valued ingredient for various dyes and inks, as well as being believed to have medicinal properties when used as the main ingredient in a tea or tisane, it is believed by those whom still practice such naturalism, that it can help with respiratory illnesses, clearing your lungs and sinuses of the harmful fluids of illness and disease. The leaves of the Gildfen Trees seem almost a shimmering silver, again a valued ingredient in dyes and inks, and in the autumn, these leaves change in color to an almost golden color, and these are highly valued for inks or dyes, and one can make a fine living being involved in collecting these materials, for it is dangerous work, as one must wander the Gildfens to do it, and this marshy region can be dangerous. Besides the obvious dangers of marshlands and swamps or fens, should one travel to far into the less explored/settled parts of the Gildfens, well, there are plenty of local stories and legends of the horrors of the Dark Fey. One would be best to assume that there are good reasons for such local folklore.
But these are no ordinary tundra marsh lands, for the trees that grow here, dominantly, are of a strange, but beautiful. Their bark is seems almost as if bronze, and every year peels, much as decidious trees lose their leaves, and this bark is a highly valued ingredient for various dyes and inks, as well as being believed to have medicinal properties when used as the main ingredient in a tea or tisane, it is believed by those whom still practice such naturalism, that it can help with respiratory illnesses, clearing your lungs and sinuses of the harmful fluids of illness and disease. The leaves of the Gildfen Trees seem almost a shimmering silver, again a valued ingredient in dyes and inks, and in the autumn, these leaves change in color to an almost golden color, and these are highly valued for inks or dyes, and one can make a fine living being involved in collecting these materials, for it is dangerous work, as one must wander the Gildfens to do it, and this marshy region can be dangerous. Besides the obvious dangers of marshlands and swamps or fens, should one travel to far into the less explored/settled parts of the Gildfens, well, there are plenty of local stories and legends of the horrors of the Dark Fey. One would be best to assume that there are good reasons for such local folklore.
Ecosystem
The Gildfens play a major role in the ecosystem in the Gild-Leaf Province, and despite the dangers in the depths of the fens, the Dark Fey whom call the deeper parts of the marshy land home. The Gildfens act as a massive water resevoir, full of nutrition, and the freezing and thawing, which floods the marshes, and the excess drain into the Nor'wood and Tiber Rivers, along with other streams and creeks that run dry in the late summer and autumn, but wind all through the northeastern Depen, fed by the Fens. With the silt and minerals and organic material that the melt waters are carrying, this resevoir is exceedingly important to the entire system that is the Depen, and to the flora and fauna in the region.
Ecosystem Cycles
Spring:
Spring means migrations north, as the elk, geese and other such beasts head up into the Nor'wood Basin or beyond to their summer grounds. This also means other birds and mammals, like deer and various species of duck come back into the Depen from their wintering grounds in Valewyr. With the movements of such large quantities of prey species, one should of course expect predators, particularly wolves, along with foul creatures like the nomadic Bestials or greenskins, to follow suit, following their main food source. This is one of two seasons where the military in the region will be at its highest state of alert and with its largest and busiest patrol presence, for both natural disaster response and to deal with any such creatures. Spring also means the melt, and the fens come to life. With spring comes an increase in the dangerous and insidious activity of the Fell Fey within the Gildfens, and one should expect many villages and towns to be less welcoming to guests seeming to arrive at their gates in the dark of night.
Summer:
Summer is a time of warm weather, plentiful water and sun, and rather calm when it comes to wildlife. Animals and plants grow, and the hearty first harvest, early berries and nuts and fruit, insure plenty for all, and plentiful game for those whom live in the region. However it is not without its dangers. Midsummer storms, though short, are brutal, and if its been dry enough, they can start forest fires. Of course such things are part of the natural sequence of things, and old burned growth will eventually (and quite swiftly when the Emerald Order's Magisters get involved) turn into luscious and healthy new growth. In a manner of a few years, when such an incident occurs and is of a large enough swath of woodlands to warrant their direct intervention, the magisters of the Emerald Order in the region can have the burned area looking more or less as healthy, or healthier than it did before the fire, in seven or eight years. The other danger of summer is trade season. Trade season sees an increase in monstrous raids, and the hunting of such beasts like wyverns and their ilk. This lush season brings such monsters out in force, for the roads and the herds of deer and the like are a boon to such unnatural predators. Greenskins are particularly active as well, the raiding bands coming south from the Steppes far more common in these brief summer months than any other.
Autumn:
With migrations working opposite to spring, it has a similar effect, though given the added propensity of the odd Nor'Westor squall, and the plentiful food from the harvest season, the attacks are less common. Bestials move through the region, following the elk, or moving south with the deer and their like, but though they will still lash out if they sense opportunity, they are well fed and not starving. Though this makes them more formidable of a foe, it does seem to have a noticeably inverse effect on their desire to seek conflict. They do not have the same propensity for raiding in the autumn migrations. Most scholars think this has to do with them being more beast then 'men' as some would call these fell tribes 'beastmen'. They behave similarly to the fauna of the region, though there can be no denying their tainted heritage and heretical nature, or their worship of the Ruined Gods.
Autumn brings one final risk of course. The rut. Elk, moose and other beasts are in full heat through the end of summer and into the first few weeks of autumn and are at their most territorial and aggressive. This extents to many predatory species as well, as if the notion of a bull moose being MORE aggressive than normal weren't enough to make event the most experienced woodsperson white knuckle their weapon and keep their head on a swivel.
Winter:
This season is insidious in its dangers. One need not worry about floods, forest fires, or most predators, or even most monsters or raiding beasts. No it is the very cold, the sheer volume of snow that can fall, and disease that are the killers and the things any being or creature or plant need to overcome. It can reach bone chilling temperatures, not as bad as the tundras north of the Steppes in Suranth, but not much better. In the Gild-Leaf Tribelands, however, nestled as the region is, with a massive lake to its west, the Nor'wood River running through it, and the mighty Tiber flowing through its eastern edge, it is the snowfalls that can be damning. The effects of such large bodies of water on snowfalls are not a science fully understood, but they are recognized. Some of the deepest snowfalls in all the Depen can and do occur here, and the Gild-Leaf Tribelands sees more snow, noticeably so, than any of the other regions of Depenwood. The heaviest and most dangerous of such snowfalls, those systems which come down from the Steppes, engulfing the Nor'wood Basin and the Gild Fens, before finally hammering the settled areas of the Depen around these regions, dumping as much as a meter of snow inside of a six hour span. These snowfalls are not exceedingly rare either, it's completely normal for the region to see eight to ten such snowfall events in a singular winter. As one might imagine, it makes road use and access difficult, and for those peoples whom call the northern parts of the Depen their home, much like those in Suranth, skills such as dogsledding, skiing and snowshoeing are cultural and well practiced.
Spring means migrations north, as the elk, geese and other such beasts head up into the Nor'wood Basin or beyond to their summer grounds. This also means other birds and mammals, like deer and various species of duck come back into the Depen from their wintering grounds in Valewyr. With the movements of such large quantities of prey species, one should of course expect predators, particularly wolves, along with foul creatures like the nomadic Bestials or greenskins, to follow suit, following their main food source. This is one of two seasons where the military in the region will be at its highest state of alert and with its largest and busiest patrol presence, for both natural disaster response and to deal with any such creatures. Spring also means the melt, and the fens come to life. With spring comes an increase in the dangerous and insidious activity of the Fell Fey within the Gildfens, and one should expect many villages and towns to be less welcoming to guests seeming to arrive at their gates in the dark of night.
Summer:
Summer is a time of warm weather, plentiful water and sun, and rather calm when it comes to wildlife. Animals and plants grow, and the hearty first harvest, early berries and nuts and fruit, insure plenty for all, and plentiful game for those whom live in the region. However it is not without its dangers. Midsummer storms, though short, are brutal, and if its been dry enough, they can start forest fires. Of course such things are part of the natural sequence of things, and old burned growth will eventually (and quite swiftly when the Emerald Order's Magisters get involved) turn into luscious and healthy new growth. In a manner of a few years, when such an incident occurs and is of a large enough swath of woodlands to warrant their direct intervention, the magisters of the Emerald Order in the region can have the burned area looking more or less as healthy, or healthier than it did before the fire, in seven or eight years. The other danger of summer is trade season. Trade season sees an increase in monstrous raids, and the hunting of such beasts like wyverns and their ilk. This lush season brings such monsters out in force, for the roads and the herds of deer and the like are a boon to such unnatural predators. Greenskins are particularly active as well, the raiding bands coming south from the Steppes far more common in these brief summer months than any other.
Autumn:
With migrations working opposite to spring, it has a similar effect, though given the added propensity of the odd Nor'Westor squall, and the plentiful food from the harvest season, the attacks are less common. Bestials move through the region, following the elk, or moving south with the deer and their like, but though they will still lash out if they sense opportunity, they are well fed and not starving. Though this makes them more formidable of a foe, it does seem to have a noticeably inverse effect on their desire to seek conflict. They do not have the same propensity for raiding in the autumn migrations. Most scholars think this has to do with them being more beast then 'men' as some would call these fell tribes 'beastmen'. They behave similarly to the fauna of the region, though there can be no denying their tainted heritage and heretical nature, or their worship of the Ruined Gods.
Autumn brings one final risk of course. The rut. Elk, moose and other beasts are in full heat through the end of summer and into the first few weeks of autumn and are at their most territorial and aggressive. This extents to many predatory species as well, as if the notion of a bull moose being MORE aggressive than normal weren't enough to make event the most experienced woodsperson white knuckle their weapon and keep their head on a swivel.
Winter:
This season is insidious in its dangers. One need not worry about floods, forest fires, or most predators, or even most monsters or raiding beasts. No it is the very cold, the sheer volume of snow that can fall, and disease that are the killers and the things any being or creature or plant need to overcome. It can reach bone chilling temperatures, not as bad as the tundras north of the Steppes in Suranth, but not much better. In the Gild-Leaf Tribelands, however, nestled as the region is, with a massive lake to its west, the Nor'wood River running through it, and the mighty Tiber flowing through its eastern edge, it is the snowfalls that can be damning. The effects of such large bodies of water on snowfalls are not a science fully understood, but they are recognized. Some of the deepest snowfalls in all the Depen can and do occur here, and the Gild-Leaf Tribelands sees more snow, noticeably so, than any of the other regions of Depenwood. The heaviest and most dangerous of such snowfalls, those systems which come down from the Steppes, engulfing the Nor'wood Basin and the Gild Fens, before finally hammering the settled areas of the Depen around these regions, dumping as much as a meter of snow inside of a six hour span. These snowfalls are not exceedingly rare either, it's completely normal for the region to see eight to ten such snowfall events in a singular winter. As one might imagine, it makes road use and access difficult, and for those peoples whom call the northern parts of the Depen their home, much like those in Suranth, skills such as dogsledding, skiing and snowshoeing are cultural and well practiced.
Natural Resources
Like most of the Depen, Timber is a large resource of course, as is the frankly massive list of readily available produce
A wide variety of animal meats and hides/feathers
Wide variety of tree saps and plant nectars
Gold, Tin and Copper are all mined in the region, and bring significant trade into the region.
And of course the Gildfen Trees and all the dye reagants and inks that can be produced from the bark and leaves of these trees.
A wide variety of animal meats and hides/feathers
Wide variety of tree saps and plant nectars
Gold, Tin and Copper are all mined in the region, and bring significant trade into the region.
And of course the Gildfen Trees and all the dye reagants and inks that can be produced from the bark and leaves of these trees.
Tourism
Those whom travel into this region are oft doing so for mercantile reasons. Copper, Tin and Gold are mined in the northern stretches of the Gild-Leaf Tribelands, in Valence and the surrounding communities, and naturally these materials and a variety of goods using such materials are sought after trade goods. Dyed fabrics, inks, and the dyes themselves from in and around the Gildfens, and all the communities in that region as well. The largest reason people come here is to trade.
Would be adventurous types, well most often they are tied to the mercantile interests as well when they visit the region, hired on as caravan guards. This is not to say that there are no other reasons to visit. Nor'Wyld'gan is a beautiful city set on the banks of the Tiber, a place of culture, commerce, and learning, a place well worth visiting.
Would be adventurous types, well most often they are tied to the mercantile interests as well when they visit the region, hired on as caravan guards. This is not to say that there are no other reasons to visit. Nor'Wyld'gan is a beautiful city set on the banks of the Tiber, a place of culture, commerce, and learning, a place well worth visiting.
Maps
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Gild-Leaf Tribelands
Included Locations
Included Organizations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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