Iuban Wildlife Preserve

An Oasis of Nature

When I was young, I took a trip to Iovia. My father took us on a hike through the forests, pointed out the different species of bug, showed us how to drink from the quercus leaves, helped us identify the various songs of the auiantum. Its all farmland now. Soon, forests like those might be gone forever. Unless we do something.

— Syra Iuba

Originally the home of a wealthy Noble, the Iuban Wildlife Preserve is a well-cared-for island just off of Sayles. Syra Iuba, who was nearing the end of his life and had no family to speak of, bought a large plot of land on the island just off of Sayles from House Noclucor and spent the rest of his life turning it into a garden. When he died, he left the entirety of the estate to the gardeners he employed, who House Noclucor let form a Clan. The Arbor Guard, as they named themselves, continued Mr. Iuba's legacy to this day, slowly buying up more land and letting the forest reclaim the buildings.
Today, the island is a carefully maintained microcosm of the various wilds found throughout the Blue. The Arbor Guard has even managed to conserve some species of plants and animals that were being pushed to extinction on their native islands or areas.

Map of the IWP:

Geography

Though originally a hilly forest indistinct from the rest of the geography of Sayles, the island has been slowly changed into four distinct areas, each with their own biome and carefully regulated. While mostly artificial, the Arbor Guard has taken great care to match the landscape of the areas they have copied.

Plains

The northwestern most tip of the island has been leveled into a plain, and populated with the tall and dry grasses of Boreana. Solitary trees provide some shade, and a small watering hole can be found in the center.

Altherba Fields by Griclav

Altherba Oasis by Griclav

Temperate Forest

The original natural landscape of the island, the forest covers a large portion of the north eastern side of the island. Gentle hills small clearings dot the landscape, and a small brook can be found in one area. The brook is very slow, and flows only because of a series of pumps and filtration devices.

Forest Clearing by Griclav

Forest Brook by Griclav

Coniferous Forest

An incredibly rare sight in the modern day, these forests used to cover the slopes of the mountains found throughout the Blue. However, constant strip mining has destroyed almost all of these areas. The Arbor Guard employs a large number of Waterblood, Greenblood and Flameblood simply to keep this southernmost portion of the island the proper temperature, moisture, give the soil the required nutrients, and more, for this area to thrive.

Coniferous Forest by Griclav

Coniferous Forest in Snow by Griclav

Cliffs

The least visually stunning area but nonetheless an important part of the ecosystem, the southwestern coast of the island is modeled after the underside of many islands in the Blue, which are home to many species of animals and brushes.

Iuban Cliffside by Griclav

Accipeter Nest by Griclav

Flora and Fauna

Because of the extreme biodiversity found on on the IWP, this section only lists some of the most commonly found plants an animals.

Flora

• Quercus: These trees are very common throughout the Blue, making up a large portion of the forests. Its distinctively shaped leaves curl into a bowl during rainstorms, and can hold water like that for weeks as it is slowly absorbed.
• Acer: The other very common tree, its leaves turn bright colors during the early days of Nadir, painting the forests with vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges. It stores lots of energy in its sap, which if harvested at the end of Zenith, is very sweet.
• Setthim:Usually found dotting the plains of Boreana, this tree tends to grow low to the ground to avoid being uprooted by the strong winds that rush across the island. Here, they can grow up to two stories tall.
• Salice: Native both the warmer and colder forests of the Blue, these trees' wispy branches form a protective sheet to keep out the Plumix.
• Picea: Only found on the sides of mountains, this tree's needle-like leaves are incredibly sharp and sturdy, capable of piercing bare skin. The auiantum make their nests in its branches, eating the plumix in return for the provided safety from the accipiter.
• Abies: Another rare conifer, this trees needles are long and very soft, and a favorite nest-making material of the selxas.
• Altherba: This very tall grass is common on the islands around Boreana, and its roots weave together into a thick cloth that helps keep the dry soil from shaking loose and falling into the depths.
• Rupide: With few animals in the Blue, the berries of this bush usually grow to the size of a child's fist. Here, however, they are more often fingernail-sized.
• Iperor: This bush can be found on the cliffs of many of the Blue's mountains, its roots breaking open rocks and climbing into the cracks.

Fauna

• Pramus: This small mouse can be found making warrens underneath the roots of most trees, feasting on the seeds and fruits that drop from its branches. Great care has to be taken to make sure that they do not spread into the fields on the northwestern side of the island, because they will devour every inch of altherba.
• Lepus: These small herbivores both make their nests in and largely feed off of altherba, but much slower than the pramus can. They have excellent hearing, able to hear the smallest vibrations in the ground from several hundred feet away, and it is thought that they can communicate through rhythmic thumping of their hind paws.
• Auiantum: These small brown birds are not native to the majority of islands in the Blue, only to the colder and more mountainous ones, but because of the wonderfully melodic chirping sounds they make they are sought after as common pets. Quite clever, the auiantum population on the IWP has been known to recognize members of the Arbor Guard that have given them food in the past and pester them for more.
• Accipiter: A small bird of prey, the accipiter is commonly found on most every island but in small numbers. Obligate carnivores, each island can only support one or two families worth of birds, and in order to mate the males must fly great distances to the nearby islands. They do not have any idea of where the islands are, and so set off in a random direction. Many birds die before ever reaching new land, but the number of hatchlings more than enough makes up for it. The accipiter can have clutches of up to 30 eggs, of which usually only one or two will be female.

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General Information

Alternative Name: IWP
Location Under: Sayles
Owning Organization: The Arbor Guard

Rare Creatures

Selxus: The largest bird in the Blue, the selxus is an asocial creature with six distinct wings. It spends most of its time flying between the various islands, and to early colonists to see one on a journey was a sign of good luck. Sadly, with the destruction of the mountain habitats where the Selxus goes to breed, the species has been in decline for a long time. The IWP is quite proud of the breeding pair and four fledglings that live on the island, though they are only rarely seen even by the Arbor Guard.
Aravigan:

by @Dodor 『OOS』 #7907 on discord

Another migratory creature, the aravigan is a spider that can weave small sky-boats that are picked up by the breeze. One particular aravigan that was tracked by the Arbor Guard went from the IWP to Boreana over the course of five years. It is thought that they catch plumix caught in the same breeze as their nests as they fly through the skies, to keep them fed on their long journeys, but only anecdotal evidence proves this. The Arbor Guard established a breeding ground for aravigan, which they somehow manage to return to en mass once every three years.
Plumix:

by @Dodor 『OOS』 #7907 on discord

A large wingless bug with a tail lined by many long hairs. The plumix lays its nests in the trunks of trees, using its long hairs to brush the dust out of the holes it bores. The bug can also get caught up in winds, being blown to other islands, but as it can survive for months without food, this is not as much of a problem as it might seem. The population of plumix on the island is carefully monitored, as the large quantities of trees could easily be decimated by an infestation of the bugs.

Tourism

Guided tours are given most days from 180th Nadir to the 200th Zenith. The path crosses through every biome, and the guides are well-prepped to show guests the many special features of the IWP
A small park is open for visitors 6am-6pm only during Zentih. Located in the altherba plain, the only shade are small pagodas, and it is advised to bring lots of water.
Specific campgrounds are open year-round, but peak camping season is 130th-200th Zenith. Litter remaining on the campgrounds after a guest has left will result in a lifetime ban and a fine up to several hundred Trade Credits.

Poaching

As the natural locations for many creatures in the Blue dwindle, the IWP becomes a larger and larger target for poachers and trappers. In response, the Arbor Guard has trained sizable military forces, as well as enlisting the help of several different bounty-hunting Clans, to defend against and track down poachers, respectively. Most notably they carried out a raid of the White Market on Nightport a handful of years ago, freeing hundreds of captured creatures.
The Trade Union, however, has no rules against poaching and very little general care for conservation, and there are several small hunting Clans that the Arbor Guard has clashed with in the past. Currently, the Arbor Guard has the upper hand, and there have been no reported battles between them and any other clan in the past two years.

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