Lorgan's Notes: Greenglimmer

Greenglimmer is a deadly beauty. Become distracted by curiosity, step beyond the narrow path, and there is no guarantee you will return whole--or return at all.

~seedy character I met at the Candenza Library during my last Selaserat visit

(As you guessed, I, Lorgan, returned, hale and whole, and with Laken, who was also hale and whole. You should have seen that efline's face when I whisked back into the library to return the books I borrowed. He thought he'd seen a ghost, teehee)

Research:
Greenglimmer

by our studious hero,
Lorgan the All-nighter

In this Research Document:

all images by Shade Melodique
unless otherwise stated
featured image:
yotrabutda, Adobe Stock Images

Map with layers here

Greenglimmer: Description

Greenglimmer is a northern administrative district within the Elfiniti Rainforest of Uka's Lament. It stretches from Kjiven Bay to the foothills of the Parley Mountains, the original borders that the elfine whizan Kjiven drew millennia ago.

East Greenglimmer

The Dryanflow is the traditional dividing line between east and west Greenglimmer. The east has dense rainforest, the lushest part referred to as the Labyrinth of Trees. The Labyrinth gives way to the Dryan Lowlands, home to the dryan lake Deccavent. The lowlands rise to form the Elfine Highlands, which are not particularly high, but do tower over the lowlands to the south, and the Hoop to the north, which, unlike the rest of the district, is more a tropical, murky wetland couched between the Hopt and the Gouge Rivers.
Further east are the Uprise Mountains. They are not as tall as the Parley Mountain Range to the west, but do form a barrier between the rainforest and the wetlands of western Happendance. The easiest route through them is the Bthederei Pass.
The forest has an abundance of animal life, from the color-changing wrove lizard to thousands of bird species. The giant cats called gyrindi stalk sleek, long-legged yedder and fat, wombly koopets. Venomous snakes, venemous mammals, venemous insects, venemous fish, and greddels make for hazardous traversing the forest and its waterways.
Lake Decavvent has more variety of tropical lake fish than Dryanthium, and is the only place to find the green-sparkle cakoon, a robust lake trout fished for both dryan and local tribes' tables.
Of particular note is the wisp whip, a hanging vine that grows from gigantic wikkit trees, and whose barbs are coated in a watery liquid that infects cuts. Greddels congregate near them, for they can consume the poisoned who are busy fighting to stay alive.

West Greenglimmer

The rainforest of western Greenglimmer is less dense than that of the east, since large farms and orchards cut down a large chunk of it. Several rivers drain the Parley Mountains into the Dryanflow, giving the farm communities ample water resources. This area is known as the Outre Camps, a name given it by Kjiven because he exiled followers who displeased him there, to work the land rather than in his court (and appreciate, how demeaning elite elfines thought this punishment. Ghosts, farming to feed the living).
The Parley foothills are rougher terrain with an abundance of trees and cliffs. The hills to the north are especially rocky, and travel mainly stays on the Parley Trade Road and Hope Road.
Farms raise animals and fish. The gyirindi are plentiful, as they tend to go after the easier domesticated targets. Songbirds and carolings feed off the orchard fruits and insects. Once the forest gives way to the foothills, large, rugged pack canines called long fangs dominate as the top predator. They feed on mewdeer and long stockings, a large cervid hunted for fur, meat, and antlers.

South-eastern Lake Deccavent
orig image by Milada Vigerova, Unsplash

Dryanflow River, between Fikj and Selaserat
orig image Tom Fisk, Pexels

Spackle
image by Jonas Thomann, Pexels

Greenglimmer: Points of Interest

Greenglimmer has an abundance of beautiful places--and a number of scary ones. The foremost on the scary list is the Labyrinth of Trees, which even seasoned forest-dwellers can become lost within.
As with all things Greenglimmer, the flood born from the collapse of a Dryanthium Lake dam caused destruction and death. The forest grew back wilder for it.

orig image by Nicolas Steven, Adobe Stock Images

Dark Waterfall

The Dark Waterfall is the place where Strans of the Twisted Vines first attempted nature magic to tame the Labyrinth of Trees. He spent years within the hole, throwing all he had at the forest. By the time he completed his task, he knew the intricacies of the Elfiniti, and learned the secrets of the Labyrinth.
He offered forest-dwelling beings a way to traverse the trees without becoming lost, and placed an altar at Luck's Hold. If any wished to receive his blessing so they could travel without fear, they needed to make an offering of a flame-on-the-ground flower there.

orig image by Tom Fisk, Pexels

Outre Camps

When Kjiven became upset at a being, he sent them to the Outre Camps on the west side of the river. There is little more humiliating to a ghostly wildelfine noble than to toil in the soil to raise food for the living. Once he disappeared after the flood, the nobles retreated to Selaserat and agreed to support Hrivasine in exchange for their social standing back.
Forest dwellers looking for a place to live took the abandoned farms as their own. In the pools and small lakes that spot the Outre Camps, the farmers set about raising redgrass and fish for aquariums and consumption. The Camps are the only place to see exotic rainforest fish in captivity.

background by Quang Nguyen Vinh at Pexels
heads by David Edkins at Unsplash

The Heads

These flaming heads mark the northern entry into Greenglimmer. Erected by Kjiven after he created the toll barrier across the river, they stand as sentries to Fekj, the town where people who want to take ruin tours or travel across Greenglimmer to the Gate disembark.
Elfines brag about their magic and their craftsmanship, since the heads are still standing after nearly 20,000 years. Most other think them a testament to elfine hubris instead. Still, to sail beneath these behemoths, to feel the heat from the flames raging so high, is awe-inspiring.

orig by Francesco Ungaro, Pexels

The Fingers

The Fingers are a twisted, dark part of the Labyrinth. It is easy to get lost and wander for the rest of your existence. If you have Strans' Luck Blessing and you are feeling adventuresome, when you come across the Fingers, take time to enjoy them. They ooze mystery and a deep, almost stifling, calmness.
A sect of faun Nature acolytes use the Fingers as a testing ground. Without the Luck Blessing, they enter the Labyrinth and search for the Fingers, where an altar to both Strands and the Syimlin of Nature rests. They use their shape-changing nature to advantage, and once they reach the altra, place a tuft of their hair as an offering. They get a unique flower in return, which proves they found the altar.

orig by Icon0 com, Pexels

Red Flower Falls

Found on the western side of the river on the way to Hope's Claw, the Falls are the only place in Greenglimmer to view Healer's Gift, a red flower of rich hue that healers use as a powerful painkiller. They are exquisite, but don't touch. The petals look harmless, but they are covered in a sticky substance that will attach to anything. There are numerous accounts of tourists needing a healer's care after they touched the plant, then another part of their body, and could not get unstuck.
This applies to ghosts, too. If a ghost is in Physical Touch form and they touch the plant, they will not be able to revert to Ether Touch until they see a healer. And yes, there is an enclave on-site.