The Devil's Palm

The Devil’s Palm is a domain separated into uneven parts by five mountains spread about the landscape. The crude composition of these mountains has led to them being called the fingers and the area below as the clasped palm. The Palm houses monsters as well as humans, which is reason enough for some people to believe that there’s more of the devil’s work around than any gods’.   Little Patch of Heaven stands below The Devil’s Thumb, a mountain that was erected hundreds of years before, in a misguided attempt to please a blasphemous god long forgotten. Nowadays, it has changed to a tribute. Tribute to our father, our creator, The Man in the Moon. Just as the other fingers are gifts, the fist of land below is a looking glass for the father to glare through wherever he chooses. The town’s main export is found at the foot of the mountain. Different shimmering ores and glossed glass, which miners and town hall embezzle out into the rest of the mad, mad world. It’s all worthless, at least to a civilised eye. To a lycanthrope, or a skinwalker however, the shinier an object, the more beautiful to an ugly eye and the higher the price they’ll pay. So that’s how the only civilised town made its money; through uncivilised tastes.   Little Patch of Heaven is surrounded by an overgrown forest. Once, years before, a mayor long forgotten out of regret and annoyance, planted a few pine trees, shrubs and poppies on the edge of town in a misguided attempt at keeping the monsters out. It kept some away, simply because it announced they wouldn’t be welcomed or trusted, not because of some magic spell. However, the illustrious scent of poppies and pine in the autumn air attracted something else. Something far worse. On a Thursday morning, the demons slipped into the town’s walls. The townsfolk are still trying to sniff them out to this day. They’ll never catch them. Demons are far too clever to be caught. If you ever catch one it’ll be all part of a plan. Once the demons broke through, trees began to just appear on Little Patch of Heaven’s borders. Not just pines; oak, sycamores, beeches and even palm trees grew in thick, giant clumps. Vines and wildflowers sprouted and created thick canopies. Thus, a forest was formed. Keeping the monsters in and the townsfolk out.