Garrán an Muisiriún

The Mushroom Grove

Garrán an Muisiriún - also known as The Mushroom Grove, if one must speak in Common - lies deep in the Winter Court's territory. And although Winter has a reputation for being cold and barren, a season when life lays dormant as it waits for the sunlight and warmth to return, the Feywild has a penchant for defying expectations.
No, Garrán an Muisiriún is anything but meager and desolate. It's brimming with life of all sorts, and it's impossible not to feel it. Here mushrooms have grown as tall as trees, twisting and reaching for the skies above. They are blue, and green, and purple, and red, splashes of color competing with each other for dominance. Some are ever bio-luminescent - rays of green and blue light pulsing underneath their caps, holding them in place, like veins that carry glowing power within. Animals chirp, sing, and call and fill the air with their melodies which means the Grove is never quiet, but never overwhelming either.
Most of the light in The Grove is due to this luminescence, present not only in the mushrooms which name the place, but in the other plants which have grown with them, which turn them into their homes and thrive along with them. They sprout from the mushroom's stems, are an intrinsic part of their rings, or run along the ground, mixing with the earth, the roots, the bushes. Their seeds float in the air along with the animals that buzz and fly among these colossuses, that make their homes and their lives in and around the mushrooms. This is why this area looks as if it has been painted with swashes of blue - even its light, its air, is made from the life which grows within the Grove. The blue glowing wisps and fireflies and mysterious animals that fleet about Garrán an Muisiriún are as much a part of it as the mushrooms themselves.
Several attempts have been made in the past to build something within the Grove, a city, or a settlement, but Nature itself has a strong personality here, as chaotic as magic itself - as in all of the Feywild - and it will quickly consume unnatural things, or things that simply do not belong in the Grove. This is Nature's dominion at its purest form, and although guests are welcome, that's all they can aspire to be.

Geography

It is said this area once used to be a swamp. Or perhaps a lake which was overtaken by its plants, and had to disappear. No one is sure exactly, and those old enough to know prefer to keep the mystery to themselves instead of ruining it with something as boring as the truth. Either way, The Mushroom Grove spans through several rolling hills, the ground running up and down in gentle slops as luxuriant plants cover almost every part of it. Those that don't have enough space to be comfortable near the ground have simply grown into impossible heights, seemingly attempting to defy the saying that "the sky is the limit".
A river of fresh and constantly cold water snakes around the mushrooms' stems. It's divided in several branches, some smaller than others, which twist and turn as they see fit to continue their travels. This river, an affluent of the one which is born near the capital of the Winter's Court, is always fresh and pleasantly cold, which might be why the air in the Grove is also this temperature. The rain helps keep everything humid but not oppressively so. Some say that if you just pay attention, if you listen closely, the raindrops create a sort of vague melody as they fall and hit the mushroom caps, until eventually they reach the ground.

Fauna & Flora

The mushrooms gained the right to name this location due to their immensity, whether in size or in number, and their seemingly infinite variation of colors and shapes. But they're not the only inhabitants of Garrán an Muisiriún.
A myriad of other plants exist in the Grove. Some use the mushrooms themselves to grow and thrive; others spread throughout the fresh earth. There are ferns, bushes, moss, bio-luminescent dandelions as big or even bigger than people. Their seeds fly all throughout this area, and some even house small creatures which live and die in the span of their flight. There are tiny, tiny mushrooms made completely out of light.There are tendrils which unfurl to greet naive travelers with beautiful flowers... only to catch them and drag them to deep, forgotten corners protected by shadows.
Most of the animals here are of the small variety, for this is the dominion of plants and fungi. Insects or small creatures still roam the Grove, lending it their light, filling it with their calls and songs. They create nests in the abundant moss, in the stems of the plants, burrow deep underground to stay out of sight, or swim in the clear waters of the rivers. Others fly as high as the mushroom caps reach, or accompany the floating seeds in their flights.
The fresh water is surprisingly safe to drink. But the fruits, the berries, the plants, the flowers... those all have their secrets, and if one doesn't know them, one will probably fall victim to them. The natural inhabitants of the Grove seem to be immune to whatever nefarious effects the food they consume might have, but anyone travelling through the Grove should know what to expect, for a innocent looking flower might be the end of their naivete, and the end of their days.
A lot of the plants can change their appearance, albeit only slightly. The life here is constantly changing, shifting, cracking, adapting. What once one thought was safe to eat, might now be a facsimile of a poisonous plant which has adapted to fool unsuspecting travelers. The differences are there, if you pay attention. As welcoming and peaceful as Garrán an Muisiriún appears to be, that is only what lies on the surface. What hides beneath, what seems harmless is what you should be worried about.

Mushy Land 2.0 by Raphael Lacoste

Quick Summary

Alternative Name The Mushroom Grove
Type Rainforest / Mushroom Forest
Climate Temperate leaning towards cold. Rain is common, as is fog.
Resources The fresh water is safe, if it belongs to the river that runs through the Grove. Most of the plants are not safe to be consumed, and some aren't even safe to touch. There are rare exceptions to this, and only those extremely familiar with the area should risk eating anything, for Nature is a capricious thing, and who knows what form the various dangers have taken this day.
Flora Too varied to document. There's a strong presence of bio-luminescence here. Although Garrán an Muisiriún has no trees, if one doesn't count with that exception, if it exists, there's probably something similar within the confines of the Grove. Some are harmless. Others are beautiful. Some are both, although those are not common. Some are one thing one day, and something quite different the next one.
Fauna Mostly small creatures, such as insects, critters, birds, faeries and elfins. Mostly harmless if you leave them alone.
Threat Level Apparently low, actually substantial.
Location Winter's Court territory.
Extras Be careful not to touch anything you shouldn't touch, not to trespass where you aren't welcome. The only way to know these rules is through experience, and luck, perhaps. There is one guarantee, though, that might perhaps bring you some relief: the first time you risk something, might also be your last.