Hail and Merry Meet Traveller!

 

The lands in the realm of Ebonloch are laden with both peril and mystery; as well as no small measure of reward for those brave enough to venture therein, and mighty enough to venture forth once more.

 

Some of these wonders have been discovered by adventurers over the ages, but a great many of them have yet to be unearthed or touched by the hands of mortals. Below you will find a list of the various wonders that have been discovered within the lands to the farthest reaches of the realms. Perhaps someday you too shall count your name among the explorers of this page as one of the great discoverers of the world around us all.

 

~Laendyron~

 

The Tolkwood is as dangerous a place as any forest within the realms. Though when compared to the lands within the Nightwood or the Bramblethorn, the Tolkwood would seem rather friendly to travelers.

 

The forest is a grand affair stretching for several miles to south of the region. The deeper reaches of the wood can be dangerous but the outer lands of the forest are amiable lands to the casual visitor. The forest is thick with broadleaf trees of all kinds, and as such the areas near the ground are relatively free of branches, as the trees boughs wrestle with one another high overhead stretching towards the light of the sun.

 

It is said by the learned sages in Charynth that there are literally hundreds of types of wildflowers which grow in the Tolkwood and even a casual observer would have to admit that perhaps they are correct in their claims.  Even in the dim light, the floor of the forest is wrought with all colors and hues that one could imagine, from the red Jisyth blossoms near the forest's edge to the indiginous azure blossoms of the Starflowers nestled deep in the heart of the wilderness.

 

Common sights within the Tolkwood are merchant caravans and travellers coming from the southern realms, or sages and herbolgists studying the flora and fauna of the area. Rumors have persisted for decades of a sisterhood of dryards deep within the heart of the Tolkwood that dance and sing amongst the blossoms of the Starflowers as they open their petals to the evening skies, but these have never been proven. Indeed also there has been whispered tales of a silvery maned unicorn within the wood though none have lain claim to actually sighting the creature with their own eyes, rather only citing that they have seen signs of its presence.

 

 

The Nightwood is a formidable place under the light of any day for it rests thick and unwelcoming to those seeking to explore its depths. However it is from the time when the sun sets that the forest derives its name. When the light of day leaves the lands outside its thick canopy the forest's very nature seems to change, there are those who ever claim that the forest itself awakens with evil intent.

 

When the sunlight fades and the shadows lengthen within the murky interior of the wood, the wind rustles through the trees seeming to give the forest voice in the night. A dry, hissing voice as the wind winds amongst the trees like a restless and ghostly apparition. The trees seem to grow closer to the paths, reaching out with dry and crackled limbs to pluck at their clothes or block their path.  The mournful and haunting cries of owls cut the night as does the baleful howls of the Nightwolves, the large pack of timber wolves that prowls the forest under the light of the moon. It is said that to lay ones eyes upon a Nightwolf when the moon is new, and black in the sky, is an omen of great woe.

 

This particular wood is a place of dark beauty; laying claim to mighty oaks, maples, and varieties of large pines. The paths through forest are many, for several types of large game are said to make the Nightwood their home and their trails stretch for miles. There are several open groves within the Nightwood which are claimed as different places by the various people of the realms; some claim the groves belong to the druids of the realm who use the groves to draw upon the energies of the night and of the moon, some claim that the Nightwolves use these groves to hold great moots in the light of the full moon, and  yet others claim that the spirit of the moon herself ventures forth upon a great moonbeam to walk with her children of the night within the lands of the Nightwood.

 

Common sights within the Nightwood are quite difficult to say as even in the light of day the forest blankets all within a shadowy cloak, and low hanging gnarled limbs of dying trees block sight beyond a close distance. In most locations within the wood the limit of sight is perhaps a dozen yards at best, in the great glades sight extends up to a hundred yards or more.  It is rumored that during the night all manner of fell creatures leave the barrows and hollows in which they spend their days in shadowy slumber. Beasts of darkness, and vengeful spirits are said to make the Nightwood their haunt in the eve, and woe upon any traveller who lay their gaze upon these creatures as they are seldom heard or seen again.

  

 

The Bramblethorn rests on the western banks of the Lake of Stars and is one of the most unwelcoming of the wildland areas of the region. The name of this forest is derived from the thick tangles of brambles which choke the ground beneath the vaulted conifers of its borders. The area as a whole is mostly wilted and desolate in its appearance. In many spots travellers are required to hack their way through the thick vegetation and underbrush of the forest in order to make progress through its realm, and even then the thorny brambles pick and tear at the clothing of those seeking to make passage through the wood.

 

Where the other two forests; the Nightwood and the Tolkwood are rich in beauty regardless of good or evil, the Bramblethorn is a hollow shell of those other locales. There is no beauty within the Bramblethorn, only death and decay. What little color there is to be seen in the area if nestled high overhead in the greenish-brown needles of the pines, and firs that grow here. It is rumored that in the deepest heart of the forest there grow a single rose, a rose as black as night from which the dismay of the forests current condition stems.

 

Local legend suggests that a great woodland spirit once dwelt within the Bramblethorn in the days before its fall from grace. In those days it was a place of unsurpassed beauty and life. Creatures of darkness journeyed from the Nightwood in those days, so long ago, seeking to take the beauty of the Bramblethorn for themselves. In their jealousy they killed the lively woodland spirit and took the forest for their own. In the location where the great spirit took her last breath the black rose known as Bramblethorn's Sorrow grew. As this rose blossomed all beauty left the Bramblethorn and it passed into the years of desolation that it is in today. The dark creatures left and returned to the Nightwood, leaving the Bramblethorn in their wake.  It is believed that should the darkness in the Nightwood ever be destroyed that the Bramblethorn would then return to its former glory and Bramblethorn's Sorrow would wilt and itself fade from the lands.

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The Dreadmire Swamp is as desolate an affair as the Bramblethorn to the south. However where the Bramblethorn is devoid of life and its richness, the Dreadmire is teeming with all manner of it. The swamp is home and haven to all manner of creatures, good and evil, large and small. For here they have little to fear from man.

 

While the swamp does not encompass nearly the same volume of area as any of the three forests it is still quite a grand affair easily quite a bit larger than any of the cities of the region and far more dangerous. Despite all its beauty, the swamp is still a forlorn place. The Beldarine River flows into the Ebonloch and creates a delta of sorts.

 

The soil of the Dreadmire is, even its sturdiest areas, quite damp and spongelike to tread upon; and much of the area is submerged in stagnant water ranging from two to fifteen or more feet in depth. The flora of the area is quite rich and green, and home to all manner of plantlife ranging from peat moss to great willows that drape over the dark and mysterious waters.

 

With such a forboding atmosphere one would consider that the swamp would be devoid of much life, though the reality of the matter is quite to the contrary. The swamp is one of the most diverse environments of the region, both in sights and in danger.

 

While it is common to see mundane creatures such as great herons, bats, all manner of snakes, and lizards it is also equally rich in dangerous creatures such as large carnivorous plants, the much feared Dreadmire Trolls, and the tentacles of the Black Marsh Creeper the body of which has never been sighted by those who have lived to speak of its horrid visage.  While only a handful of creatures is named within this writing, suffice to say that hundreds of different creatures large and small reside in the Dreadmire and it can be said that being prepared for anything is this forlorn land is paramount if one wishes to again cross the borders and leave.

 

 

The Trelen Hills receive their name from the first of the explorers that had ventured forth to the west from the newly founded region of Ebonloch. The explorer Trelen Restlen came across the hills as he and his expedition circumvented the great lake via the northern way.

 

Here he came to the same breathtaking sight that many of today's travellers still marvel at when they first glimpse the beauty of the hills.  Tall and golden grasses crest the hills and the subtle valleys that lie between them. From the western shores of the Ebonloch, the hills stretch on as far as the eye can see to the western lands, where eventually their summits grow larger and spread apart wider from one another, trees beginning to root upon their soil and eventually they stretch to the foothills of a great mountain range far to the west.

 

The hills are home to the nomadic Jeshiru and Jarkatha tribesmen, two tribes of herders and nomads that make the rolling hills their homes; building tents and allowing their herds of wildlife to graze upon the thick, rich grasses of the area. The people are quite conscious of the environment and once an area has been fed upon enough they take great care in packing their belonging, stripping down their tents, and moving the herds to richer soils to avoid depleting and area too much.  Such care do they take in keeping the lands as they find them that where a tribe has passed, nary a single trace can be found of them, only the markings of their beasts can be seen.