The Witchwoods

Location
To the north-west of Abriar, near the kingdom of Aldenshire, lies the Witchwoods. These woods are the border between Aldenshire and the tribes of northern Ferranthus. The woods 'officially' begin after the trees become more cluttered and dense, giving more room to hide other creatures, though even some of the surrounding area is sometimes considered part of the Witchwood. Some of the northern parts of the forest aren't as defended, as they are less dense for shelter, have a generally colder climate, and the tribes respect the forest, thinking the inhabitants are their ancestors' spirits defending them from the south.

History
The tribes to the north believe the ‘Witchwoods,’ dubbed so by Aldenshire’s citizens, is inhabited by nature spirits and those who would not wish them harm as long as they are not disturbed. They often see pale faces in the branches of the trees, watching them. They are both wary of the woods and at the same time comfortable with them being there.

The kingdom of Aldenshire dubbed the Witchwoods as so because they believe not that the pale faces they see are faces, but hidden witches, warlocks, and demons. They were inhuman, with pointed ears and long faces, and enemies of the kingdom to the south.

Loggers who had entered the forest often returned half dead, cuts covering them or worse. For the larger foresting groups, almost all of them were found with black feathered barbed arrows in their throats, the axes burned or shattered. Wagons they had with them would be smashed into bits, and any children that were in the group were the only ones left alive. Aldenshire decided that the ‘demons’ were perhaps not without souls, though they were merciless against those that would hurt the forest.

The army of Aldenshire often passes through the woods on the way to fight the northern tribes. Most of the soldiers are spooked or scared to wander far when they pass through, as they have heard the stories and tales of the Witchwoods as well.

The bold in the army that wander off often come crawling back, arrows completely through their knees, and too scared to go back, speaking of moving trees and the eerie sound of voices in a different language above them, moving through the leaves.

Those from Jyrin who wander these woods might recognize the creatures as Wood Elves and Fy’ren, if they had enough time to see their faces. As the men of Ferranthus, both from north and south, have not encountered many other races they would seem odd and alien, hence being called demons or witches.

It is rare for humans of Aldenshire and the north to enter the woods unless travelling to fight battles, and most commonfolk are unwilling, even the younger children never dare each other to even go close to the woods, lest they fall dead like so many others that had ventured into the woods. The people there would never harm the children of course, unless they were trying to harm the forest itself, but they would not know that.

The barbarians to the north have no name for the forest other than Spiritwoods, thinking it good rather than evil, the exact opposite of the Aldenites. Fewer of the tribes of the north wish to disturb the forest, explaining why not many of them have fallen when wandering through the forest, as they have never wished to harm it. As the tribesmen of the north have no maps, on a normal map it would appear as the Witchwoods.

The barbarians are partially right, as a few spirits/ghosts do inhabit the woods, though they like to scare and disrupt peoples' train of thoughts, they can be friendly to other Elves, Fy'ren, Fauns and Satyrs. They do not speak to humans unless to confuse them and lead them on false trails, to lead to eventual death by starvation or dehydration, or getting mauled by animals.

Wildlife
The wildlife of the Witchwoods is like that of any other woods, consisting of most animals. Rabbits, song-birds, owls, and most ground animals such as mice, moles, voles, and some of the colder-climate snakes can be found there.

Predators such as foxes and wolves are also common in the woods, making use of the lack of humans for hunting and getting fat and lazy. Bears are the strongest predator in the woods, with the hawk being the most dangerous and accurate. Birds on rare occasion will help the Wood Elves by dropping stones and leaves on top of the humans who try to invade the forest, protecting their own homes and realizing that the more intelligent species there will aid them.

The wildlife are often protected by the Wood Elves, who live up in the trees, and the Fy’ren who only walk where men usually cannot see. It is often dangerous to hunt in the Witchwoods, though most hunters would not even have the guts to go near them in the first place.

Some of the rumors and tales that come out of the Witchwoods are spread by the Wood Elves themselves, leaving the forest for a day and disguising themselves as humans with the clothing scavenged from slain foresters. Most of the tales are true, however, as all humans with intentions of harming the wildlife or forest will be slain or severely injured.

A few of the snakes, such as rattlesnakes and a few of the watersnakes that live in the small ponds and springs that dot the woods are also poisonous, though it would take a lot to get a rattlesnake to inject poison with their bite, such as if they were defending their young.

Plantlife
Most plants are normal in the Witchwoods that you might see in a regular forest, though poison ivy and oak seems to grow with more abundance than normal, not cut back by the humans who have barely scathed the forest, and avoided by the other creatures who can easily identify it.

There are also various types of odd glowing plants, they are often hidden slightly underground or living in a more damp and dark atmosphere. In the shadow of a large tree next to a small spring, for example. These plants can vary in color, red being dangerous poison and green going either way, healing or death. They are the most elusive and difficult to find, as they are quite particular to what environments they will grow in. They are often called Plants of Change by the inhabitants. On an equal level of elusiveness with the green are the blue, most likely to heal sicknesses. It will speed up the regeneration process, but only by a few hours, making it fairly useless in a large battle.

Inhabitants
Wood Elves and Fy’ren inhabit the Witchwoods, Satyrs can also be seen on occasion. Most of these make up the other 15% of humanoid races that are not actually human on Ferranthus, since humans only make up 85% percent, though they believe themselves to be more and the ‘witches’ to be few.

A few of the other inhabitants are actual ghosts, ancestors of those currently in the forest. They vowed to stay behind even in death to protect one of the few whole untouched forests on Bolei, to defend it from the ever-expanding human kingdoms and empires. Though they can not fight, they are quite skilled at scaring the humans who wander into the woods, speaking mysterious words and confusing them, sometimes making them get lost and wandering for days on end before dying of thirst, if they knew not where to find water or other key locations in the forest.

Culture
The main goal of the Elves, Fy’ren and Satyrs that live in the Witchwoods is to protect the wildlife and the forest itself. The Elves, travelling to Ferranthus shortly after the first Rin invasion of Jyrin, have been told tales by their ancestors of the terrible axe-wielding race of men that would destroy their precious trees and burn their homes to the ground.

The Fy’ren agreed to help the Elves in the Witchwoods after the humans really began to try and start logging. They destroy the larger logging machines that the humans create and any wagons carrying wood. Satyrs help out because of similar reasons to the Elves, having followed the small groups of Elves’ path that led to Ferranthus. As not many left Jyrin after the human invasion, Wood Elves and Fy’ren are more common than the satyrs.

The races that live in the Witchwoods actually prefer to be referred to as witches, demons, and warlocks, as it keeps people away from the forest and wildlife. They have anger and nearly pure hatred towards Aldenshire, simply because some of the logging trips are successful and the forest is diminished by a few trees, the territory growing smaller and smaller. Most of them worship Erore, as the religion that the Elves followed was also brought to Ferranthus by the few that made the journey.

Settlements/Climate
The races of the Witchwoods have no actual settlements, often sleeping in the trees or gathering beds of moss to lie on. They prefer to keep the forest looking dark and empty, so the humans will not suspect anything and gather enough courage to explore and learn that the peoples within the Witchwoods are not actually demons or witches.

The climate of the Witchwoods can differ, though most of the time it cool during the night and around room temperature during the day. Usually a layer of mist and fog covers the forest, both types of air from the north and south colliding, and creating a nearly perfect climate for most wildlife and races. The visibility isn’t all that great most of the time, which is why usually the Wood Elves take care of the humans themselves, as they are harder to spot in the fog and only the Elves can hit them accurately.

The center of the Witchwoods, of which the densest parts are, gets all four seasons and is subject to all types of weather, including the very occasional tornado. The west side of the forest has a warmer climate all year 'round, while the eastern side will be much colder during the winter time and a fairly nice temperature during the middle of winter. Winters are harsh and can lead to blizzards in the east, whereas in the west there can be droughts and the trees on either side are more adaptable and resistant to most types of weather.

Language
The main language spoken in the woods by the inhabitants is either the beast tongue, learned after many years among the wildlife, or a variation of elvish that has altered over the years because of the separation from the standard elven society. Common is rarely spoken, and frowned upon as the men of Aldenshire and the tribes of the north can understand it.