The Shaba
"The Shaba"
The Shaba is the centralized cloud forest, that sits upon the newly raised 6,500 feet in elevation plateau, in the area now known as The Sumi Tal-Sha'ba. At approximately 6,000 square miles, it is flanked on the west and east by The Razil Forest, with the flooded Igapo Swamp to the north and the desolate Silt Slopes and Dusty Hills to the south. Just west of its center is a tall, circular cluster mountain range known as The Nest, and just north of it are The Three Lakes Of The Shaba.
Despite its warm equatorial location and bright clear days, this area experiences extreme temperature shifts. Northerly winds bring warm, moist air that cools and condenses as its rises up the slopes of The Grey Crags. This often creates perpetual fog, clouds, and rain, blocking the sun’s warmth for the Shaba area. Sunny days are indeed warm, but the frequent clouds and daily rain often drop the temperatures much lower than expected. Night time temperatures are known to plummet with clear starry nights and hypothermia is just another danger to this foreboding land.
The Shaba itself is a tightly packed, diminutive forest of gnarled, twisted trees covered with green mosses, air plants, and parasitic vines. Several trees species thrive here, especially the Soapberry Tree, Strangler Figs, Walking Palm, Poison Oak, and Verbena. The forest floor is covered with leaf litter and decaying plant and animal remains that are quickly absorbed by the tangled root systems. Various ferns, mosses, lichens, fungi, grasses and other plants compete for the dissolving nutrients and limited sunlight, while several epiphyte, bromeliad, and orchid species have adapted to live off of the ground high in the trees.
Small animals scurry about the ground and trees, in particular the sloths, howler monkeys, dwarf raccoons, bears, and jaguars. Flying through the trees are countless birds, including several quail, screech owl, flycatcher and finch species. The moist environment is a favored breeding ground for various frogs, toads, salamanders, and snails. Many worms, beetles, caterpillars, butterflies, ants, bees, wasps, dragonflies, and mosquitos reside here as well.
The few explorers willing to discuss their foray into The Shaba have returned with numerous wild tales of strange plant and animal species, green bears, shaggy men, and even walking trees. Others have reported finding ancient ruins, mysterious symbols carved into stone, impossible lights flitting between the trees, and vanishing towers. Perhaps most frightening are the stories of party members inexplicably disappearing and long lost voices in the night. Some even profess to have stumbled upon faerie circles or claim to have been abducted by witches. Whether just stories to frighten off the competition or something more substantial is yet to be discovered and remains unexplained.
Type
Forest, Cloud / Water (Subtropical)
Location under
Included Locations
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