Khazari Jungle
The Land Before Time
A flock of rainbow-colored toucans flies overhead, screeching as they weave between the tall branches of the canopy; at your feet, thousands of tiny reptiles and insects skitter across the forest floor, searching for food and shelter; somewhere far in the distance, you hear the magnificent roar of a tyrannosaurus rex. The Khazari Jungle is perhaps the most fascinating place on Tarroc for nature lovers, and certainly one of the most biodiverse. Practically untouched except for the few tribes that live throughout and the ruinous city of Ulaanbaatar, the jungle is an infinitely complicated web of vines and branches, stretched high above a vast network of rivers and streams, with some of Tarroc's most beautifully and highly evolved wildlife scattered all throughout.
Geography
The Khazari Jungle is Tarroc's second-largest after the Labyrinthian Rainforest of Grenadon. Making up the majority of Lycia's south coast, it is usually considered to be a part of The Isles of Morvran Mist-Walker, as it rests entirely on a wide peninsula that juts into the Dead Sea and is the territory of The Kingdom of Gibraltar. The Khazar River flows throughout the rainforest, splitting it in two, with thousands of smaller streams jettisoning out from its central channel, providing life to the billions of creatures that live there. Although a massive portion of the western Khazari was leveled by the Tarrasque during The Cataclysm, the area remains lively and vibrant.
Fauna & Flora
The Khazari has some of the most unique flora & fauna on Tarroc. Due to the lack of settlements within, the jungle has remained practically untouched by mankind, and as such nature has been allowed to evolve and flourish completely uninhibited. Among many other rare species of flowers, trees, insects, fish, reptiles, and birds, two peculiarities stand out: the first is the Leafmantle Tree, whose leaves are naturally hot. It grows only in the western Khazari, along the Dead Sea and the banks of the Khazar River. Its leaves are in fact so hot that the tribes native to this area pluck them from the trees and use them to cook their food. The second is a family of massive reptilian creatures known as the dinosaurs. There are many different kinds of dinosaurs, though in general they are absolutely gargantuan, as well as vicious. Some are more common, such as the dimetrodon or velociraptor, though some are exceedingly rare and truly a sight to behold, such as the tyrannosaurus rex or the brontosaurus.
Natural Resources
The trees that grow in the jungle can reach heights of 350 feet, practically providing enough wood to build an entire village, and are sometimes felled by tribes native to the Khazari, though outsiders rarely dare to disturb the land, as the jungle can be a supremely dangerous place. Below the sky-scraping trees, thousands of plant species grow, many of which are useful for medicine, tea, or poison. The majority of these plants are only able to grow within the Khazari, meaning that botanists from Eastrun and Westrun regularly voyage north into the jungle to seek out such plants. Aside from the plant life, the Khazari has many resources, most of which are found underground, though it is far too dangerous to retrieve them, and until better mining technologies are invented, they'll most likely remain untouched.
Type
Jungle
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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