Ustves Golden Fall Grove

Place

Place Name:

Ustves Golden Fall Grove

Biome:

Golden Fall Grove

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Ustves Golden Fall Grove is known for being very serine in atmosphere and having a pleasant landscape. Its even said to have an entrancing effect. Many of the plants in the region have a bioluminescent property of some kind. So, at night the region becomes a glowing wonderland. When the moonlight would hit the plants’ leaves, the light would reflect in a way that looked like it was dancing. When the wind would blow through the region, the leaves and various rock formations would make a whistling sound that at times would mimic faint whispering.

These caused many people who had been there at night to believe the region was serine due to some form of magic, or that one of their various gods had blessed the region. Ustves is located just West of the Enta Rolling Hills and is about the same size (a little under 300 km). While Stepanov had troops in the region, they would set up camps. Some had small shabby wooden shacks left over from the neighbor villages when they would hunt in the region, while most shelters were just huts or tents. Once the D’nyseng formed, they built better wooden homes for those that now lived in the region.

They also made sure that upkeep and repairs were kept on top of so that the homes were always in the best condition. The homes had kitchens with furnaces designed for cooking, which allowed the residents to partake in baking item like cakes and pastries. Barbeques were also common, though the cooking would take place outside over a campfire. For most of the time before Stepanov took control, the Grove acted as a kind of sanctuary and place of relaxation. Anyone who stayed there was temporary, and the other nearby villages only entered to hunt or gather the supplies they needed.

This left the region to live and thrive on its own with little to no interference, giving it its natural and serene beauty. While the gardeners and botanists attempted to keep the region the same, but in a more controlled manner, they lost some of the beauty due to their interference. They were unable to properly replicate the wild and natural growth, so the region began to look more and more like a garden and zu’aan created as time passed. When the D’nyseng took over the region’s care, they worked to undo the changes that Stepanov’s people did. They left the region majorly to tend to itself, interfering only when needed.

Ustves is majorly lightly hilled region covered in groves. The majority of the soil and ground is smooth dirt, though the Western edge of the territory starts having larger rock and boulder formations. They end up syphoning water into the region more like a river path when it rains. There is a large formation on the border called the ‘Forgotten Souls’, as it is responsible for the majority of the whistling and whispering sounds at night. A unique occurrence in the region is that during the day, the wind hits the region from the Eastern side, while at night the winds are exclusively from the West.

The wind is cut down by the groves so that, during the day when it reaches the ‘Forgotten Souls’ its too weak to make and discernable sound.

Plants

The Ustves’ plants were left to its own devices for most of its history. With only the neighboring villages going into the grove every so often, the plants were able to grow in a natural and wild way that was impossible for the gardeners and botanists to replicate when under their care. Due to this, some of the more delicate plants were at risk for some time, as they had very specific conditions that they needed to grow and thrive. One such plant was a flower called the ‘yishmardi’, which has a similar petal appearance to a snowdrop or bellflower.

Its flower is near translucent with how thin it is and has a silvery color that makes it looks like it’s made from moon rays. They grow in small groups and require a recently dead plant to provide them proper levels of nutrients needed for initial growth; when in the care of the gardeners, the dead or dying plants were removed promptly causing there to only be new yishmardi plants where the gardeners had missed a spot or not removed the plant quick enough. Most of the plants, save a small hand full trees (nut and fruit types majorly) and flowers, had bio-luminescent properties.

Those that did not had some reflective property such as sap or micro ridges on the leaves or petals. The Grove was majorly made up of massive trees. They had long branches covered in golden leaves. When it got cooler at night, the leaves would produce a thin layer of sap like substance to prevent cold shock, that gave them a reflective property. At their base, it was common to find funnel shapes mushrooms that would give an orange glow that bloomed each night at midnight. They gave an extremely bright glow, which earned them the name ‘midnight sun’.

A special type of moss grows on the ground, that glows when disturbed. When anything lands on or steps on it, it gives a green glow around the affected area. While not editable, small samples had been sent to other regions for decoration on walking paths at night. Different regions gave it different names, but the D’nyseng gave it the name ‘Nature’s Path’. Its commonly found growing in rings around a plant with a glowing blue bulb at its tip. Its called the ‘Voice of Lost Souls’, as when disturbed it will release glowing purple spores.

The zu’aan who’d discovered it had an allergic reaction to the spores that caused them to hallucinate they were hearing other voices. Not many are allergic to the spores, so they’re majorly considered harmless; those that do have a reaction were in the past (before the Awakening age) thought to have magical properties and could speak to the dead. Nature’s Path moss will absorb various harmless vapors the Voice expels, creating the ring around the plant. Most of the bioluminescent properties of the plants go dormant during the day, giving no indication that at night the Grove turns into a glowing wonderland.

Animals

Inverse to the plants in the region, the animals of the region majorly lacked any bioluminescent properties. The wildlife was extremely happy in the region, as there was a lack of any true carnivorous species in the region, save one singular low population species. There were a few larger species of mammals, but there was never a lack of sustenance for them, so they rarely ever hunted other species in the region. The plants of the region hold high levels of nutrients in them, so all the species of the region were extremely healthy and of excellent quality for the few predators in the grove.

It was rare that the animals of the Grove saw the zu’aan as predators, so would often approach them with little to no fear at times. King Stepanov though, changed that for a long time. When he took over the region, he would hunt the wildlife for his own pleasure. The animals started to quickly recognize zu’aan as a threat to them and would almost never willingly approach anyone anymore. It took nearly 5 times the years, but the D’nyseng were able to regain most of the creatures’ trust. The surrounding villages would only hunt the old animals in the past, using their furs and skins to make clothes.

Due to the high nutrition levels of the plants in the region, it was extremely rare that any of the creatures of the region would get sick. Most would die in old age, from natural deaths, or from being hunted. When being hunted, most of the creatures of the region could only be distinguished as old by their slightly slower movements and change in fur color. They were only marginally lower in quality compared to younger healthy catches, so over time the surrounding villages decided to stick to hunting the old as a way of species control.

The only true carnivorous species of the region was simply called ‘kuthya’. It’s a medium sized creature, similar to a bush-tail possum. Their tail ends in a pom-pom like poof that is bioluminescent, mimicking various plants in the region. It has a neutral gray coat that mimics the color of plant stocks in the shadow. They are not very fast, and are in fact extremely lazy, so they also hunt the old creatures who happen to cross their path. Hunters once full grown only need to eat their weight in food 1 time total per year, so its often that after one or two successful catches,.

They will not eat for the rest of the year, opting to find and make a den to rest in until they start to require more food. Some of the larger creatures of the Grove include an omnivore bear like creature called ‘the Great Climber’ known for climbing the grove’s trees; a deer like creature called Aesis’ visage; and a giant anteater like creature called the ‘sh'irida’. The deer like creature of the region inspired the god Aesis, the god of the hunt, and was renamed over time to Aesis’ visage. They like the god, have two large antlers, though they are heftier than a deer, weighing in at an average of 250 pounds.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	D'nyseng Tribal Zu'aan

Place

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Ustves Golden Fall Grove

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This article is written by Crystal Iris. Copyright 2026 Crystal Iris. All rights reserved.