Ecosystem of Styx
One might assume the caverns of the Deeplands to be barren rocky wastes but they are anything but. In gigantic caves lit by the glow of Greenbright Crystal many plants flourish just as well as above ground.
Many types of grass, flowers, herbs and even trees grow in the caverns of Aman-ya which Styx is located in. The cavern stretch farther to the north, south and west from Styx and beyond the Leshivoi Forest lie other cities and lands.
The forest itself would be classified by naturalists as somewhere between boreal and temperate, its is primarily made up of larger conifers, spruce, fir, and pine trees as well as copious amounts of thick and dark underbrush.
Many plants that can be found above ground can be found here as well, academics of the natural world argue wether the specimen found in Aman-ya constitute as separate genera due to their adaption to the glow of Greenbright Crystal as opposed to natural sunlight but most are almost identical to their topside counterparts apart from this. Of course the caves and caverns are also home to many types of life not seen much above ground, there are forests of giant mushroom and even myths of sapient moss and animated beings of vine and root that persist among the superstitious countryside dwelling peasants around the Leshivoi Forest.
The Leshivoi Forest in general is avoided by them, caravans only cross it heavily guarded and shipments are lost frequently, even with the aid of the Union of Woodwalkers and Leshivoiwards the forest remains a dark and terrible place to most that dwell in Styx.
Dark spirits of the forest, savage beastmen and abyssal creatures are all said to stalk between the tall trees of Leshivoi and there is only few roads through it that are maintained due to the dangers.
The city of Styx relies on the forest for firewood, building material, game and foragable herbs and mushrooms but the Leshivoiwards and Woodwalkers only ever skim the edges of the deep dark forest, cautious as to not lose the lights of the city from sight.
There is a saying among the citizens of Styx that goes “the one who steps out of sight of Styx into the forest will never return, the forest eats them whole” but of course there is not only the forest in terms of plant life in the Deeplands.
Near Styx proper the peasant farmers till the soil, planting fields of mushrooms, root vegetables and grain as well as tending to lifestock. In terms of lifestock the Sumraki-Ashaī live diversely, they keep both normally surface-bound animals like cows, sheep, goats and pigs and dark-dwelling creatures like giant spiders and insects.
A favourite among the citizens of Styx are the secretion of the black-carapaced Cow Beetle, also called beetle juice or bug milk, it is consumed either as part of prepared meals or drank raw. To the north of Styx lie the great mushroom forests of Dru-andor, where animated mushroom people consume dead bodies in the shadow of lichen-covered great stalks of mycellium and gigantic bugs make survival for any other life forms impossible.
Many types of grass, flowers, herbs and even trees grow in the caverns of Aman-ya which Styx is located in. The cavern stretch farther to the north, south and west from Styx and beyond the Leshivoi Forest lie other cities and lands.
The forest itself would be classified by naturalists as somewhere between boreal and temperate, its is primarily made up of larger conifers, spruce, fir, and pine trees as well as copious amounts of thick and dark underbrush.
Many plants that can be found above ground can be found here as well, academics of the natural world argue wether the specimen found in Aman-ya constitute as separate genera due to their adaption to the glow of Greenbright Crystal as opposed to natural sunlight but most are almost identical to their topside counterparts apart from this. Of course the caves and caverns are also home to many types of life not seen much above ground, there are forests of giant mushroom and even myths of sapient moss and animated beings of vine and root that persist among the superstitious countryside dwelling peasants around the Leshivoi Forest.
The Leshivoi Forest in general is avoided by them, caravans only cross it heavily guarded and shipments are lost frequently, even with the aid of the Union of Woodwalkers and Leshivoiwards the forest remains a dark and terrible place to most that dwell in Styx.
Dark spirits of the forest, savage beastmen and abyssal creatures are all said to stalk between the tall trees of Leshivoi and there is only few roads through it that are maintained due to the dangers.
The city of Styx relies on the forest for firewood, building material, game and foragable herbs and mushrooms but the Leshivoiwards and Woodwalkers only ever skim the edges of the deep dark forest, cautious as to not lose the lights of the city from sight.
There is a saying among the citizens of Styx that goes “the one who steps out of sight of Styx into the forest will never return, the forest eats them whole” but of course there is not only the forest in terms of plant life in the Deeplands.
Near Styx proper the peasant farmers till the soil, planting fields of mushrooms, root vegetables and grain as well as tending to lifestock. In terms of lifestock the Sumraki-Ashaī live diversely, they keep both normally surface-bound animals like cows, sheep, goats and pigs and dark-dwelling creatures like giant spiders and insects.
A favourite among the citizens of Styx are the secretion of the black-carapaced Cow Beetle, also called beetle juice or bug milk, it is consumed either as part of prepared meals or drank raw. To the north of Styx lie the great mushroom forests of Dru-andor, where animated mushroom people consume dead bodies in the shadow of lichen-covered great stalks of mycellium and gigantic bugs make survival for any other life forms impossible.
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