Bitter Forest
Though there's a hard line on maps, the transition from Carassia's borders to the Bitter Forest is a slow and subtle one. Woodlands thin out, until all that's left are thorns and the skeletal remains of trees. Fields produce fewer and fewer crops, until the soil turns a boney white and nothing edible grows any longer. Streams that flow blue from Carassia turn grey as they wind their way into the Bitter Forest's ecosystem. Here, the only life is a cruel one. Life grows in spite of the surroundings, never alongside.
Angry Ecosystem
Many a traveler, ecologist, scholar, and poet have asked - what makes the Bitter Forest so, well, "bitter"? Why does anything that grows rot from within after only a short time? Why are the beasts larger and more powerful, but so violent and dangerous? Why does the soil crumble like dust and poison that which grows in it? For years, scholars presumed a lack of magic in the soil had allowed it to wither and die, taking any life with it. But this proved paradoxical. The rains that bring so much life-giving magic to Tennerent pass directly over the Bitter Forest. In fact, much of the rain is lost on this landscape before it arrives in Tennerent. They pondered the inverse. Could it be too much magic? A research team tested the groundwater and compared it to rain puddles, finding roughly the same amount of magic in each, but far different physical properties. The groundwater is thick and viscous, and has a grey color; in stark contrast to the natural form of both water and magic. So what then, causes the strange and hostile lifeforms that live only in this ecosystem?Don't Stay the Night
Local folklore has always warned those who must enter the Bitter Forest not to stay overnight. Non-locals assumed this related to the varieties of dangerous beast lurking in the night, or the ease at which you can become entirely lost in the maze-like thorny plants that blanket the region. Often those who have made camp within the Bitter Forest told tales of eyes in the night, strange howls, or the sounds of beasts lurking nearby. On nights when the sky has no moon, the beasts all clamber up into the skeletal trees. The forest floor becomes eerily silent. What happens next was only definitively proved seventy years ago. There are still no answers as to why it occurs. On every moonless night, a thick, purple fog seeps up from the ground of the Bitter Forest. It rises no more than a few inches above the soil, but it evenly coats the land, conforming to the shape of hills or riverbeds. It's a caustic substance - burning the flesh of living things, corroding metal, bleaching and draining plants of life. If you breathe it in or expose an open wound to it, there's a high probability of becoming poisoned. This poison has been known to lead to death in rare cases when left untreated.If You Must
Advice for those who must, for whatever reason, enter and traverse the Bitter Forest:- Pay the utmost attention to the cycle of the moon. Do not remain on the ground on moonless nights. Rest in treetops or upon rocks at least one foot above the ground.
- Mark your trail. The landscape erases all prior paths taken and there are no roads.
- Most of the fearsome beasts that lurk within the Bitter Forest are entirely unfamiliar with sapient species and have no reason to fear them outright, but will avoid open flame.
- Bring plenty of food and water. Unless you're lucky enough to find untainted rainwater, the water of streams or ponds is prone to causing illness. Edible plants are rare, as is small game.
- Watch the weather. Frequent rains can quickly turn the dusty soil into mudslides or other hazards.
- Patch up your wounds. The thorny plants are prone to cutting and pricking travelers, and open injuries have a much higher chance of becoming poisoned or ill by the environment.
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