Difference between revisions of "Chidokai forest"

Revision as of 23:33, 6 April 2013

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Sunset in the Chidokai forest

Danger: Normal
Sub zones: Soral swamp, Chanossa mangrove
Inhabitants: jaykay birds, escalnai slugs, nagas, arboreal frogs, tonorions, pantaurs, chilotaurs, Slug Girls, river mermaids, toxotidas, exovoles, dridders, muris, saslenoths
Characters : Terra, Monty, Kiki

The Chidokai forest is a massive, thick rain-forest that spreads from the east of Negav to the southern edge of Frost peak. It's also called the "forest of the many hiding places" because the tall trees that grow here are narrow, have very dense foliage, twisted hollow trunks, and their roots form an intricate maze with lots of space between them and the ground. Actually, this "in between" zone is almost like a forest under the forest, with vegetation of its own, and even its own inhabitants; a tribe of nekos live in this layer. Even further down is a network of dark caves and more roots, mostly unexplored and inhabited by giant and voracious insects. In Chidokai forest, it's often hard to tell where the trees end and the ground begins. Giant predators such as nagas can have a hard time hunting here as the trees are not only dense, but also quite solid and hard to break. Dryads have much better luck, thanks to their mimicking abilities. With some magic, their wide open mouth can look just like one of the many hiding spots, safe and inviting. Chidokai dryads have become masters at doing this.

Chidokai forest is located under an atmospheric convergence zone, where warm wet air mixes with cooler air from the mountains, causing it to rain almost continuously. Sometimes these rains become so intense that they can flood the floor of the jungle in mere hours. Eastern parts of the forest are perpetually flooded, and are filled with mangroves, aquatic creatures such as fishes and snakes, and giant aquatic predators like river mermaids. The forest is home to the naga Terra, who lives on the border between the forest and the swamps.

Picture by Vaghauk and used with artist's permission. For larger version visit Vaghauk's gallery.

Chanossa mangrove

Danger: Normal
Inhabitants: harpies, jaykay birds, escalnai slugs, arboreal frogs, river mermaids, toxotidas, exovoles, water leapers

Unbeknownst to many who venture there, the Chidokai Forest ends at its southern point in a rather steep and large cliff. Not many notice this however, because the entirety of the area past this drop has become flooded. Trees still grow up from the ground, however due to its depth, only the tops of them emerge, making it look like a regular mangrove with wide trees. If one were to be able to dive down, one would discover an entire underwater forest, or more accurately, an underwater maze. Navigating it would be similar to navigating the rest of the Chidokai forest, with all its small holes, crevasses, and hollowed trunks - except underwater.

The part of the forest above the water is an interesting and unique place as well. The bark of the trees is noticeably paler than in Chidokai Forest, due to some minerals they have taken in from the water over the years. Perhaps the same water had the strange effect of making the Chanossa mangrove one of the greatest fruit producing places on Felarya. Every tree seems to bear fruits there, and they taste sweeter and fresher than elsewhere. Harvesting fruits in Chanossa Mangrove is a lucrative business, albeit a very dangerous one. Adventurers are not the only ones drawn to this food source. The Chanossa Mangrove is home to a wide variety of birds of all sizes, who flock to the trees for sustenance and safe homes. Due to the flooding, the usual tree-climbing predators that would eat their eggs are scare. This means it's a favourite place for arboreal harpies as well who not only get meals from the fruit, but also from diving for fish - and adventurers, of course.

Soral swamp

Danger: Normal
Inhabitants: saurotaurans, swamp dryads, gorudan behemoths,earth mouths, river mermaids, toxotidas, exovoles, gerridis, water leapers

The Soral swamp is situated just between the Chanossa Mangrove and the Great marshes further east, and is bordered on its north side by the Frost peak mountains. It begins where the mangroves give way to a very large muddy lake, fed by the waters from the mangroves and dotted with innumerable small islands. Adventurers crossing the swamp must jump from one slippery, unstable, and ever moving chunk of land to another, some of them no larger than a foot. Moreover, the islands drift at random, creating an ever changing labyrinth, sometimes trapping an adventurer until another chunk of land or floating log comes close enough for him to continue. This makes the Soral swamp a traveler’s nightmare.

The depth of the lake varies a lot as well, from shallow waters to seemingly bottomless abysses at certain points. Some expanses of water are sometimes unconnected to the lake, being ponds in one of the larger islands. The vegetation is scarce and twisted with some rare but large trees, similar to those found in Chidokai forest. They are covered by moss and lichen, giving them a sinister look. The Soral swamp is home to various aquatic creatures and dangerous predators such as river mermaids whose great agility pose a real threat to adventurers, and saurotaurans, who set traps and feed their prizes to swamp dryads afterwards. This place is still much less dangerous than the great marshes however, the visibility here being fairly good most of time.

• Credits to Jaette-troll for writing the description of the Chanossa Mangrove.