Foul Grove

Written by orphidor

The Foul Grove is mostly unknown to those who live beyond its borders. Unlike its inhabitants, the Grovedwellers, most who've seen or heard about it regard it with disgust. The general consensus among those who've heard about the Foul Grove but never lived there is that it should be destroyed along with everything in it and its magic should be forgotten.

Geography

Set in a deep valley surrounded by ragged mountains, the Foul Grove is a forest with sloping hills and ponds set in the recesses of the land. Nobody except its inhabitants find it beautiful. Everyone else feels an inescapable sense of dread the closer they get to it.

Ecosystem

The place has the draw of death. Animals from the nearby mountains come here to perish. The flesh trees slowly drag their corpses into the Grove and feast on them in their entirety. The people who live here play a large role in the forest's upkeep, usually venturing into the normal ecosystems at the Grove's borders to hunt, then pouring buckets of blood, bone, and viscera at the trees' roots.

Ecosystem Cycles

In the winter, the trees' already-slow movements become nigh-imperceptible and their muttering becomes almost inaudible. The summer is when they're most active. Their branches and roots writhe, the eyes open and close, their twisted hands grasp, and their mouths wail and whisper cryptic things in cracked voices to nobody in particular.

Fauna & Flora

The animals that live here are just as strange as the trees. They are usually twisted and unlike much else that can be found in the Middle Realm. They feed off of the carrion attracted by the Grove or the non-meat vegetation that grows at the bases of the flesh trees. They never eat the trees.

Alternative Name(s)

The Flesh Forest

Type

Forest

Location under

Tasawa

Included Locations