Winter Forest
Basic info
Winter Forest can be found in the Mountain area, close to City of T@Ö#Ä3. It may look small on the map, but make no mistake - the forest is actually quite big. There isn’t too much to find here, apart from dead trees and shrubbery, and if you’re lucky, you might spot a foxcat or even a snowbunny. Be careful not to fall into the river running through here. It’s frozen for most of the year but still. If you fall through the ice you’re not getting out of there alive.
Nature
Though Winter Forest seems empty, it has some interesting plant and animal life to offer. The most obvious ones are the dead trees. These can be found in many areas of T@Ö#Ä3, so it’s no surprise they can be found here as well. Though they may seem dead, they aren’t completely dead - the little life they maintain requires very few resources and so are able to survive in the harshest conditions of T@Ö#Ä3.
The next thing you’ll notice here are the dead shrubs. Though a relative of the dead flowers that are found in other parts of T@Ö#Ä3, they are not to be confused by them. These are only thorny shrubs that don’t have much to offer. At least no to moles.
The shrubs and the leaves they may grow in the warmer parts of the year are the food of snowbunnies that live here. They are white and fluffy, to stay warm and also hidden in snowy landscape. They are a close relative of the domesticated fluffy bunnies, whose fur is used for warm wool that can be made into a variety of soft and warm clothing items and accessories. Snowbunnies themselves hide away and rarely come into contact with moles, who only rarely come here anyway.
They aren’t the only animals inhabiting this area though. You are slightly more likely to run into more social and playful foxcats. They are easier to spot due to their black tip of the tail and paws. They are pretty curious and often some close to settlements close to their homes. They are a subject to many stories people living in T@Ö#Ä3 close to mountain area tell each other. One of the more popular ones is the one parents tell their children. As the story goes, foxcats will come and chew off your toes if you don’t cover your feet well at night. It’s very unlikely this ever actually happened, but it’s a way for parents to make sure their children will stay warm in the cold months and so less likely to fall ill.
Significance
Winter Forest is considered to be a counterpart to the Haunted Forest on the opposite side of T@Ö#Ä3. But contrary to the creepy and mysterious Haunted Forest, Winter Forest seems more benevolent. There are no spirits of the dead haunting you and no homunculi who may be capable of unspeakable deeds. It’s a quiet place full of friendly and curious snowbunnies and foxcats. However, it is still a vast and very cold place where one may get lost quickly and die out there, never to be found, so people tend to avoid going in there. While in other parts of the world people may challenge each other to enter these unexplored and potentially dangerous areas, the cold here just isn’t worth it.
And keeping people away from here is exactly why Winter Forest exists. Somewhere far beyond the forest there are the mountains that are known to be the location of Ice Palace, and home to Glitter God and Satan. Because of this, Winter Forest is considered to be the border between the world of morals and the world of gods, similar to how Haunted Forest is the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
All of this contributes to the mystery surrounding Winter Forest and people’s speculations of what may or may not be found there.
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