Ishnor Jungle (Ish-nor)
In all of the world, no jungle is as massive or mighty as Ishnor. Hundreds of miles wide, this mass of foliage dominates the center of Venrir and splits the country into three sections rather than a single unified region. This Jungle is OLD, with many secrets lost in its foliage.
Geography
The Ishnor Jungle spans far and wide over the penninsula. In the west, the great trees taper off into rolling plains that make up the Venrir heartlands. On the north and south, great gulfs of water constantly pour rain on to the sea of trees, keeping them especially inundated. Far in the east the Yarcord Mountains hem in the last of the Jungle and trap any moisture from escaping from the prevailing winds. Multiple gigantic rivers snake across the landscape, moving great torrents of water for miles over the surrounding heartlands.
Ecosystem
Gigantic trees surround the landscape, standing hundreds of feet tall oftentimes with only the barest minimum roads carved between settlements. Ishnor is a multi-tiered jungle, with the tallest of trees basking in the sunlight and smaller trees and shrubs further down each filling their own ecological niche. In the deepest parts, broadleaf trees serve as poor shelter from the constant downpour for most of the year. 7 out of 8 days of the week, it's raining on some level. Generally, this results in rather poor farming conditions except near rivers with a high flood point. So most foliage is very old and therefore VERY large with the lower forest floor made up of a smattering of low light plants.
In certain areas, floodplains have created miles and miles of swampland, coming high up on the treeline as everywhere for miles is submerged. This is where many predators, sentient or not hunt for their next meal amongst the water.
These scenarios have created a perfect opportunity for hunter gatherers. Both animals like birds and rodents that collect bugs and berries on the ground to the wild predators that hunt them as well as the wild people that live amongst the jungle, each with their own definitions of civilization.
Localized Phenomena
With two types of exceptions, Ishnor is a normal jungle just on a massive scale. However, both examples are to be heeded and feared by all man or beast alike. If you spot one it is best to mark it down on your map and return home, asthese phenomena are considered dangerous by most anyone but the bravest adventurers.
Storms
The milder of the pair are weather fluctuations caused by portals to the Faewild. Each portal to the Faewild can connect to a "forest" locked in any one of the four seasons. These are not directly tied to the jungle and can spew out a completely different environs. A few "forests" are mostly linked to the Jungle, so no real change can be noticed until you stumble upon the portal but some can be radically different. In particular, the summer and winter forests can, if channeling the "right" forest blast desert heat and sand or icy winds and snow within a domed area of about 500 feet. If you stumble upon jungle trees dead or frozen solid from cold, safe to say you've found a portal. The more extreme of these come from magic that makes the fae look calm and collected. Over the centuries groups of magic men, demons, elemental beings and unknowable things have done something or other to the forest. Like an uncloseable wound, a storm hangs overhead unleashing magical discharge of some sort on to the ground below. There is no consensus method to damage the jungle like this, nor what the effects are. While most are a disc of constant rain and intense lightning the more violent can be downright hellish. If not for the jungle seemingly having its own aura, many of these apocalyptic level storms would burn the entire forest to the ground!Replenishing
Somehow, some animals of the jungle cannot die out. Yes you can kill members of a certain species of dinosaur, even to the point it should be theoretically extinct. But if you give it a few years, even the largest superpredator will eventually return. On one hand, this means certain animals hunted for meat/fur/sport can't be hunted into oblivion. On the other, there's always a bounty to deal with a man-eating displacer beast. It's suspected that ths is not the work of the fae, but other spirits deep within the jungles. Some sources even claim to have seen the beings that bring them back to life. However, one can see a lot in the trees and few are what they seem.Climate
Besides a temperature change later in the year, little changes from month to month. The low is (68 Farenheit) at best, while the high can reach as high as (98 farenheit) across the canopies. Rainfall varies little except during the occasional hurricane blowin from the Gulf of Vonhill. Except for a few weeks of cool weather, expect hot muggy rain all year round.
Fauna & Flora
Across Ishnor there are a wide array of plants, animals, and thinking creatures that roam the land. This is by no means an exhaustive list and will be added to at a future date. For now, these are perhaps the most famous.
Plants
Jatoba Tree: Perhaps the most famous tree in Ishnor. In the summertime, it produces a bright red cherrylike fruit that serves as the basis of wine in the region. It is also incredibly dense, making excellent shipbuilding and construction material. The Trap: Tiny versions of these subsist on flies, but at especially large sizes they're known to be lethal to animals and men alike! Just pay close attention and give it a wide berth and you should be fine. Should be.Animals
Many beasts stalk Ishnor, these are just a small collection of the monsters you'll find. Displacer Beast: One of the most intelligent hunters in the jungle, this beast has the ability to project its own image nearby. These are not just predators, these gigantic cats are killers. If you see two displacer beasts upon you, running won't work. It's best to take a swing at one and hope for the best. Dinosaurs:The beginnings for paleontology a few centuries ago theorized of a group of lizards separate from dragons that had gone extinct. Exploration into the jungle has proven this false. The herbivores of these creatures often keep the forest regulated and trimmed. It's not hard to figure out what the carnivores eat.Sentient Life
Besides elves and drow having their settlements dot the landscape, there are a collection of other races and sentients that inhabit these jungles. This is far from an exhaustive list of them all: Grung: For a thousand years they have haunted the drow in these parts. Now it's the high elves turn. These halfling sized poison dart frogs have limited encampments as they fight and raid towards their goal of getting slaves. There isn't an even more diabolical motive behind their slavery; they simply hate work. Nothing brings more joy to a Grung tribe's heart than having enough slaves that they can sit atop watchtowers and gaze smugly down on their prisoners. Dinos: Not to be confused with dinosaurs, with the upper half of a person and the lower half of what might be considered a T-Rex, these people are surprisingly friendly though rather skittish around outsiders. Few beings know the jungles as well as them, and even fewer would be willing to guide poor souls to avoid a near certain doom. Though this does come with the price of a feast of usually epic proportions upon completion of their services. Fae: There is nowhere on the planet with as many portals connecting to the Faewilds as Ishnor. Because of that, it is often easier for Fae to move from one end of the Jungle via the material realm than traveling through portals. This means there is a high risk to run into one or a party of these beings while being out and about especially near abnormal weather. Dryads: Similar to Fae, except less chaotic and far rarer. Few people can say they've seen one of these beautiful women, and even fewer can reasonably understand what these gentle giants are up to.Natural Resources
It's not hard to realize that Ishnor has some of the greatest natural wealth in the world. So many plants and animals upon mostly untapped lands leads to some of the most bountiful treasures on the planet, and that's not including the magical ruins!
Farming: Mostly done in the south near Yuethanil where the rains taper off. Orchard villages dot on either side of the river for miles, bringing fruits, cacao and spices southwards to be shipped off overseas. Other low-nutrient plants such as peppers and potatoes can be grown in this climate. Just don't expect grains to greet your dinner table if they aren't imported.
Wood: With the gigantic trees in Ishnor, it's little wonder that most of the Venrir navy is made up of these beautiful giants. Deforestation might be a concern down the line, but for now it's the pride of every Venrir ship that one of the tallest Jatoba trees has been carved into a strong and sturdy mast for sailing.
Fish: While a bounty of fish swims in the Gulf of Vonhill, fishing from freshwater and brackish fish in the Argoza is a major supplier of food and trade for the region. In addition, alligators and limited aquaculture are harvested by the particularly inventive.
Mining: It is suspected that some of the best mineral wealth is hidden underneath the surface of the jungle. Many a mine generates incredible amounts of profit for its owners and operators. Just be willing to bear being so far from civilization in an isolated encampment for months on end.
Furs: While not the near-industrial level of trapping that Pronia supplies back to the Old World, Ishnor gives Venrir a way to bring much needed competition to its rival. Capybaras and other rodents are the cheapest value, while Jaguars and deer make up low tier luxury goods. Though for the brave, truly valuable goods are from rare and especially violent animals like the displacer beast or dinosaur leather.
Tourism
For a land as inhospitable as this jungle, there are a series of tourist destinations all over the region.
Venrir Fishing Pro Tournament: A 27 day long competition among dozens of teams from all walks of life trying to catch the biggest and best fish in a series of environs between the deepest points of the Gulf of Vonhill to miles and miles upriver in the Argoza. There's usually hundreds of spectators and always an opportunity for money if you're willing to work security.
Nature Studies: Simply put, nowhere on the planet has the biodiversity of this jungle. You'll find dozens of research teams from countless nations plodding through the canopies looking for undiscovered life. Some of these are well prepared, others are marks waiting to never be seen again.
Treasure Hunters: Magical ruins don't pilfer themselves! Hundreds if not thousands of abandoned cities, temples and dungeons dot this region. It doesn't help that signs point to the catastrophic event which tore the world in twain centuries ago seems to have mostly spared this region for some unknown region. Therefore, ancient weapons and secrets are piled high to find, and likely in better condition than anywhere besides some dusty tomes deep beneath some mountains.
The Call: A group of professional hunters have created a club of what they consider the greatest hunters in the world. Every year, prospective members are tested by being sent to a random portion of the jungle (by magical means) and must kill every item on a list of targets. Not every hunter has the same list nor even the same number, just the same "difficulty". Most of these are animals of some sort or dangerous predators but some targets can be...unorthodox to say the least.
Alternative Name(s)
The Great Jungle, The Eye of the World, Faegate, Verdant
Type
Forest, Jungle (Tropical)
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Related Reports (Secondary)
Inhabiting Species
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