Rifenmist Jungle
The jungles that cover Tal'Dorei's southern expanses
are a vast wilderness. Many elves call this lush landscape their home, particularly those of the nomadic
Orroyen Tribes . There is no doubt that this jungle is
as magical and mysterious as Tal’Dorei’s temperate
forests, for the jungle’s greenery is home to countless
mystical spirits, ferocious monsters, and arcane
mysteries. The vine-strangled floors of the jungle are
clustered with swollen trunks, spine-laden ferns, and
carnivorous plant life that waits for the unknowing
wanderer to make an incorrect step.
The sweltering heat of the sun-baked peninsula grows even more oppressive beneath the jungle’s humid canopy. Clusters of venomous insects buzz through the mist-shrouded trees, alongside large lizards, and wild beasts in search of carrion. Sunken valleys lead to pockets of marshland or quicksand pit traps, while others are wrought with a dire, spreading fungus. Those who have lived all their lives in this environment know its dangers well and have hundreds of years of precautions to take against them. On the other hand, those who venture into the jungle from northern Tal’Dorei rarely return, and those that do warn others to never make the same mistake.
The farther south one travels into Rifenmist, the denser the jungle grows. Though some elves and humans of northern Tal’Dorei have attempted to colonize the jungles for their vast resources in decades past, they were quickly rebuffed by the Orroyen elves of the jungle. Their message is clear: no cities are to be built south of the jungle’s edge—and if the northern jungles are cleared or burned, the trees’ vengeance will be swift and just. The Tal’Dorei Council reacted quickly as well—the elves of the jungle are to be heeded. The few settlers who have joined the Free Folk of the Mornset Countryside are deeply superstitious about the southern jungles, and rarely travel deeper than they need to in order to parley with their Orroyen allies.
Even the Iron Authority, who has been at war with the trees of the jungle itself for decades, has not managed to destroy their foe. The Orroyen nomads fear the conquerors of Beynsfal Plateaus and the massive armies supplied to them by their authoritarian leaders. Their raids ebb and flow as imperial leaders rise and fall. Each new era begins with a bold and cruel warlord rallying their people against their age-old enemy. War is waged, and countless innocents and Authority soldiers perish in a senseless fight. And then resources run low, morale dips, and the legions return to the Beynsfal Plateau to lick their wounds.
Legend holds that the jungle will never die, so long as even one of the Orroyen lives within it. So far, history has only proved the jungle’s enduring strength.
The sweltering heat of the sun-baked peninsula grows even more oppressive beneath the jungle’s humid canopy. Clusters of venomous insects buzz through the mist-shrouded trees, alongside large lizards, and wild beasts in search of carrion. Sunken valleys lead to pockets of marshland or quicksand pit traps, while others are wrought with a dire, spreading fungus. Those who have lived all their lives in this environment know its dangers well and have hundreds of years of precautions to take against them. On the other hand, those who venture into the jungle from northern Tal’Dorei rarely return, and those that do warn others to never make the same mistake.
The farther south one travels into Rifenmist, the denser the jungle grows. Though some elves and humans of northern Tal’Dorei have attempted to colonize the jungles for their vast resources in decades past, they were quickly rebuffed by the Orroyen elves of the jungle. Their message is clear: no cities are to be built south of the jungle’s edge—and if the northern jungles are cleared or burned, the trees’ vengeance will be swift and just. The Tal’Dorei Council reacted quickly as well—the elves of the jungle are to be heeded. The few settlers who have joined the Free Folk of the Mornset Countryside are deeply superstitious about the southern jungles, and rarely travel deeper than they need to in order to parley with their Orroyen allies.
Even the Iron Authority, who has been at war with the trees of the jungle itself for decades, has not managed to destroy their foe. The Orroyen nomads fear the conquerors of Beynsfal Plateaus and the massive armies supplied to them by their authoritarian leaders. Their raids ebb and flow as imperial leaders rise and fall. Each new era begins with a bold and cruel warlord rallying their people against their age-old enemy. War is waged, and countless innocents and Authority soldiers perish in a senseless fight. And then resources run low, morale dips, and the legions return to the Beynsfal Plateau to lick their wounds.
Legend holds that the jungle will never die, so long as even one of the Orroyen lives within it. So far, history has only proved the jungle’s enduring strength.
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