Elmon forest

It feels almost alive, breathing, stretching... Like one big living organism surrounding you.

Elmon forest has a mystical almost magical feel to it, and any who lays eyes on the beautiful organism will agree. The trees grow extremely tall, some even taller than a 20 stories building, almost like they are reaching for the sky above. Plantlife grows all over the forest floor, you might be lucky to even see the ground at some places. Upon entering the forest, everything seems quite. It's like the forest itself is keeping an eye on you, to see what the intentions of your visit are.

Life in the forest

Elom is the most species-rich area seen on Feimir, with the wet and damp climate and the many plants to eat, animal life seems to enjoy the safety of the forest. Trees provide shelter, and warmth from the underground seeps up through the forest floor. If you didn't know it, you wouldn't believe how close Elmon is to the most northern point.
Life and death in Elmon is a beautiful circle, where plants get reused once they die. Nothing in the forest looks particularly dead, as the trees that once stood nor have fallen to the ground, and has started life anew. They begin to grow again, and sprout everywhere on their old bodies, making small housing for small creatures living on the forest floor. Some of the trees have been found to be hollow inside, almost like giant bamboo. Some of these species of threes act as giant straws and transport water throughout the forest.

Area/Size

538.465 km²

Age

Unknown

Home to # species

More than 2 million different types of plant life, and more than 600.000 species of animals.

First discovered

In the year 2106 - a year after landing on Domus

Number of scientific expeditions to the forest

12 expeditions deep in the forest and 35 to the rim of the forest.

Fauna

The rich animal lie in the forest is mostly made up of herbivores (Animals surviving eating only plants) and Omnivores (Animals that both lives on plants and other animals), though a few carnivores are spread through the forest. This makes competition very minimal, and most animals live in harmony with each other.
Elmon is home to many species that reminds scientist of bird-like creatures, though most of them cannot fly, but rather hop to high distances and crawl on vertical planes.

These bird-like creatures have gotten the name Atzal and is a rather curious and friendly creature.
This is one of the first animals on Domus humans has been that close to. Some even claim that they remember the humans they have already met, and come to greet them at the entry of Elmon.

I have an Atzal friend, and I know it sounds a bit crazy, but he has shown me some incredible things in Elmon, that I would've never found myself. Man, I love my little friend. - A scientist on expedition

One of the most normal carnivores seen throughout the forest is the Catane. With its small build and agile body, it gets around nicely in the forest. Claws on their feet make them good climbers, but not as good as Atzal.
Small creatures live on the forest floor, many of which crawl or fly extremely well. Small insect type animals make holes in the soft trees and build colonies there. Mouse size creatures roam on the ground, making small holes and burrows to sleep in. 

Weather

Weather around an in the forest can be quite unpredictable, as it seems some other thing is at play deep in the forest. Hotspots of vulcanic activity make pools of hot water has been seen deep within the forest, and when they are fairly active, the weather might be affected by it. As a result, giant rainclouds can suddenly appear on a rather cloudless day.
Though the wind rages on Feimir at times, it rarely penetrates Elmon forest more than a couple of meters in. Trees and bush-like plants have created a wall around the big forest, protecting it from harsh weather.
Snow can be seen falling in the uppermost region of the forest, and it looks rather magical as the big trees and bushes are covered in a small layer of snow. The sight looks unnatural and strange, but the forest handles it quite well.

History

Biologist and scientists have tried for some time to figure out exactly how old this magnificent forest is, but it has been rather challenging. Trees have been examined to see if they create tree rings like the one on earth, but it seems like they grow differently than what we are used to. Sediments on the ground have been thoroughly investigated for clues about the age of Elmon, but due to the peculiar nature of the forest reusing every dead organism or plant, there is nothing much to look at on the forest floor.
One thing that has given biologist a clue is the finds of the City of Elm and archaeologist being able to roughly date some of the oldest buildings in the city. Elm is built around the trees and forest, and it even the oldest buildings have taken into account not to harm the forest. That means, that whenever the buildings were made, the forest was already standing.
This gives us a rough estimate that the forest is older than 1500 years - but that doesn't tell us much.