The Verdant Expanse

South and east of the Colossus Reach, and north of Wildhome is a large stretch of forest and field. Home to the Goblinoids peoples, the Verdant Expanse thrums with latent magic. If The Tide is an ocean, the Expanse is a swamp, so suffused with magic as to be transformed by it. In contrast to the wild creative energy of The Surreal, however, the magic pervading these lands are tame, and require coaxing to draw from.

by /u/Guithe

Fauna & Flora

The Verdant Expanse is home to the largest amount of sentient plant creatures on the Material reality. Unlike the Surreal, these plant creatures typically resemble regular flora, such as the intoxicating and deadly Tri-flower Frond. While more exotic creatures such as the tiger lily or the shamroc aren’t found here, many giant forms of animals, like eagles, rats, spiders, boars, and toads are – as well as their smaller counterparts. These creatures existed even before the flood, but their number drastically increased afterwards, causing some to speculate that magic fuels these oversized animals.
Beyond the animals of the Green Sea, many exotic forms of non-sentient plants call the region home, the most famous being the ironwood and darkwood trees. Both prized for their use in weapon-smithing (or weapon-carving, as it were), the indigenous goblinoids find it invaluable for their own tools and weapons, and as a trading good to the neighboring regions. The Expanse boasts the largest number of these exotic trees in the plane, likely due to the suffused magic in the region. In addition, the forests of the Expanse are coniferous, with evergreen trees that reach for the sky.
In the fields of the Green Sea, wild axebeaks, horses, worgs, and other animals roam freely. Some goblinoid communities domesticate these and other creatures. Others hunt them for food, or simply let them be. Just as in the forests, various animals are supersized, such as venomous snakes, and closer to the mountains, giant goats. However, even these creatures pale in comparison to the absolutely enormous creatures known as dinosaurs. Their number is few, and their spot on the food chain absolute. Dinosaurs, are another set of creatures that simply appeared after the flood, thus not much is known about them other than their fierceness and prodigious size.

History

The source of the unusual amount of magic in the Verdant Expanse is believed to come from KikAkoOnuKas themselves. While no one knows for sure, many believe fragments of The Source were embedded into the heart of the Verdant Expanse during the flood, carrying a bit of Facit's endless power. Others, particularly the indigenous goblinoids, believe that when KikAkuOnuKas first balanced the seasons on Argent, he did so in the Verdant expanse, and that the leftover divine magic there still lay dormant, until Facit’s world-shattering actions.
No matter the cause, the Verdant Expanse’s confirmed history is rather simple. The goblinoids who live there live in harmony with the land, sowing and reaping in equal measure. The lofty dragons of the Eminent Territories are far too insular to bother with the Verdant Expanse, and the therianthropes of Wildhome aren’t foolish enough to step into a land whose magic cut through their natural defenses like a Flametongue through a wood woad. Two events stand out in the history of the Verdant Expanse; the arrival of goblinoid-kind, and the first days after the flood.
Days before the arrival of goblinoid kind, the Verdant Expanse underwent drastic changes. How exactly these changes occurred is unknown, as no modern civilization exists to recount it, but the goblinoids claim it was an act of their ancestors. Regardless of who and how, the Verdant Expanse began to shift its seasons suddenly rather than gradually like the rest of the plane. The cold spring night gives way to the mild summer mornings in mere hours, causing the entire region to jump tens of degrees in a matter of minutes. Days of snow is nowhere to be seen by midday, and the last vestiges of the previous season are completely gone by next nightfall.
Only the giants of Colossus Reach were present to witness this change – if not its cause – else it would be presumed that the Verdant Expanse was simply always an anomaly. Within the first new season, small communities of goblinoids began to spring up, growing and propagating into the current population. The Verdant Expanse was mostly unchanged after – all of the events of Argent never changed its cadence, as the land seemed to self-correct like a spinning top tipped to its side.
The only force great enough to shake the Verdant Expanse was the flood triggered by Facit’s wrath. Goblinoid settlements and tribes – known as ‘trees’ – were wiped out just as the elves and dragons were, and the Green Sea was once more transformed. When the waters faded and the world recovered, new, mystical materials could be found all across the region. Beyond a physical transformation, magic suffused into the land was discovered by goblinoid sages. Rather than give any one individual credit for the discovery, the spoken history of the goblinoids declare that it was the final gift from their ancestors. With this new discovery, druidic and shamanistic magic began to proliferate. First in the Expanse itself, then south to Wildhome, then north to the Colossus Reach, and more recently, into the Seddenese Shell.

Alternative Name(s)

The Green Sea

Type

Forest, Boreal (Coniferous)

Included Organizations

• The Wagadu Forest
• Wildhome

Related Ethnicities

• Vahtra-Vasta

Housing Mechanics

Demand: Low
Land Quality: Wild
Possible Docks: Planar, Water
Special Rules: The lands of the Verdant Expanse are vast and untamed. You can only claim land here. Wild land here is considered modest for the purposes of determining profit. Due to the rich, fertile soil, workshops constructed here roll an extra d10 when producing for herbalism kits, poisoner's kits, or alchemist's kits.