Askem Valashor

The Askem Valashor—literally, "Forest of the Fog-Place"—is a cloud forest; a foetid woodland where the crowns of its great trees scrape moisture from the bottoms of clouds, which settles near the ground as fog. This fog spills into the northern valley of the Tolorak Mountains, allowing the plant life it nurtures on the outer hills to thrive there.

— from Lands of the Tolorak

Geography

The Askem Valador is defined by slopes both steep and mild. Most critical are the foothills at the northern edge of the Tolorak Mountain Range, where the trees that bring down the fog are nestled. The mouth of the valley, cut wide in the hills and mountains, allows the fog to spill inwards. The valley itself, which bears the same name as the forest—belonging to the forest as it does—consists chiefly of slopes rolling gently up from the river Doloon. The valley is bounded by cliff faces, which prevent the spread of plant and beast into other parts of the mountains.

Fauna & Flora

Flora

The most notable plants in the Aksem Valador are its great and mighty trees, the Tekum, that reach high enough to scrape the bottoms of the clouds. The combination of the canopies of these trees and the fog make it so little sunlight reaches the forest floor, the remaining flora species consist of mosses, fungi, and a vast underbrush of ferns. Notably, there are species of parasitic moss and fungi, which feed off the nutrients in the trees.

Fauna

The beasts of the forest are broadly arthropodal and avian. The most visible are the giant moths, their many-colored wings each broader than a human head, and the many nimble raptors which dive between the trees. But the wildlife is far more diverse than that, the forest being host to burrowing beetles, mushroom-picking birds, and even the odd ball of fur and mammalian tenacity.

Natural Resources

The forest's trees, the which the locals call Tekum, can be harvested to provide a bounty of timber for use or export, if the harvester is careful to cut out wood infested by parasitic mosses and fungi. That being said, domesticated species of those mosses and fungi are cultivated as a food source, and serve as the primary foodstuff of the forest's inhabitants. Other mosses, fungi, and ferns are cultivated to a much lesser degree for their medicinal value.

Type

Forest, Cloud / Water (Subtropical)

Included Locations

• Holem Shyor

Included Organizations

• Emisaries of the Fog

Related Ethnicities

• Askar