Normar Forest
The Normar Forest is a vast expanse of ancient forest that covers more than 1,000 square miles of the northern portion of the Duchy of Hekmo. Stretching from the rugged Tobrick Mountains to within less than 40 miles of the Colian frontier and from the banks of the Reldloth River eastwards to the headwaters of the Dorn River. It is a massive and mostly unexplored wilderness that shelters endless varieties of resources and dangers.
The Normar Forest is part of the vast Duchy of Hekmo and provides a serious buffer to the potential for an invasion from the north. It is rough and rugged terrain, full of dense old-growth hardwoods, large swaths towering spruce and white pines, vast areas of bog and swamp and steep hills and valleys full of alder, birch, red oak and cedars. No roads work through the forest and anyone venturing into the wilds of Normar do so with the understanding that there is no safety or security once under the dense canopy of trees.
Geography
A large and mostly unexplored temperate forest of mixed hardwoods and evergreen trees spread over a rough and broken terrain of low hills and steep valleys. The area has many thick bogs and winding streams that make already difficult travel nearly impossible in some areas.
Localized Phenomena
The Normar Forest is infamous for its biting insects. Horse flies, gnats, mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, deer flies, wasps, midges, lice and spiders are all common and plague travelers from spring to late autumn. It is often said that the best thing about a Normar winter is the lack of biting insects.
Climate
Frigidly cold winters with large amounts of snowfall and strong northerly winds. Summers are hot, humid and typically rather wet with frequent thunderstorms late in the season.
Fauna & Flora
The Normar Forest produces a great variety of trees, including several varieties of maple, oak, beech, hickory, hemlock, pine spruce, cottonwood, ironwood, basswood, birch, fir, cedar and blackgum. Shrubs and vines are also common, including raspberry, blackberry, rose, elderberry, blackthorn and wild grape.
Local wildlife includes deer, beaver, moose, elk, woodchucks, badgers, rabbits and hares, squirrels of all types and varieties of birds beyond count. Predators include common wolves, bears, lions, lynx, smilodon, dire wolves, wyvern, harpy and dragons of various types.
Natural Resources
There are dozens of rare and magical varieties of trees, plants and herbs to be found and harvested throughout the forest, and there are thought to be many rare and valuable minerals and ores hidden underneath the forest floor, as well. Rumors exist of magical springs that have healing properties and
A stunning view of the Normar Forest looking south towards the Tobrick Mountains in the early fall
One of the many denizens of the Normar Forest, a young bull moose amongst a birch grove
The Normar timber operation just a few miles south of the town.
