The great Forest
"Suddenly there was an earthquake the like of which was never seen before, and after it died out, trees started spreading like a disease. And soon enough, in a few short months, a great sea of trees covered everything around us, and we had to go"The great forest was the result of The Green Disaster , an unnatural phenomenon whose cause is not known to many. Its origin can be traced to west of the ŝameçar e̊fufane crater. From the original forest that stood there, it expanded to around thirty times its original size in a matter of years. Many communities that occupied the area either relocated or were lost. The way the forest spread so quickly is not wholly understood, but what is known is that throughout the area, a network of mana infused roots spread and both encouraged and sped up the development of all flora in the area. It seems that there is some intelligence behind the spread, since the forest didn't spread beyond the mountains in the north towards the colder climates, and also did not bother to spread beyond the Estekomenda mountains, preferring to focus on spreading south and east, where it is easier. The only people who successfully stemmed the growth of the forest are the magi from the academies in the Kailofus region, by using magic to destroy the the roots underground and not allow them to recover, until the roots stopped regrowing in this area. While the magi were happy to take credit and claim that something they did has prevented the spread of these roots, it seems like it was more of an implicit truce between the magi and the forest. Once the forest reached a certain size, it stopped spreading further. Attempts to destroy parts of the forest afterwards were unsuccessful, and sometimes resulted in the forest fighting back. This manifested in phenomena like the increased hostility of the local wildlife towards the offenders, or in some cases the forest itself attacking with vines that would ensnare the targets and choke them, poison them and/or drain their mana. These resulted in the offenders either fleeing or being killed, and eventually people mostly stopped trying. While such directed and persistent attacks were not reported against people who simply moved through the forest, the forest can still be a dangerous place, and a lot of people would rather avoid it. Despite the extreme and dangerous nature of the great forest, some communities remained, and even thrived in it. This includes a lot of the Caniado communities that originally lived in the affected areas (including Mori no Higashi which long term even benefited), and also Huatlialli.
Alternative Name(s)
Hametsuraku
Type
Forest, Temperate (Seasonal)
Related Traditions