Malata Mixed Coniferous Forest

Place

Place Name:

Malata Mixed Coniferous Forest

Biome:

Mixed Coniferous Forest

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

The mixed coniferous forest is a part of the Itkali kingdom and forms the seat of power for the Ahe Kin'toni Clan, and is administered by the noble clan of The kin'toni. The The nobles are the cupbearers to the Vlasok, and held in high esteem. The administration of the coniferous forest was given to them after the time of the shattering for the unique role they played in ensuring that the interests of the Itkali kingdom were preserved. The Ahe kin'toni are the not only an important noble clan of the Itkali kin'toni kingdom.

But they are also the head clan of the Church of the Shepherd and this is evident in their administration of the coniferous forest as well for more prevalent that any other structure in the forests is that of the shrine for the Shepherd, characterised by the mark of the crook on its zenith, and the image of the Vlasok king carved into the wood. The coniferous forest in not that different from any other region of the Itkali kingdom, barren, unforgiving and bone chillingly cold, the region only differs from the tundre in that it is able to grow coniferous tress.

These are are able to break the passage of the coldest of the wind systems, allowing the region to be a little less colder than the rest of the kingdom in the heart of winter. Due to the unique history of the Itkali people, the city founded in the coniferous forest is the only city that has been allowed to remain after the shattering, and as such it is the most culturally advanced city of the whole kingdom. Evidenced by the fact that nearly all residents of the Itlkali capital are able to both read and write, but doing so is frowned upon unless done for the purpose of the administration of the kingdom’s records itself.

Here too the oral traditions of the Itkali kin'toni are followed. Another difference the mixed coniferous forest has with the rest of the kin'toni world is the unique architecture of the buildings and habitations that are built in the forest by the resident kin'toni. The primary difference is that the Itkali builders have been inspired by the shape of the coniferous trees that they are surrounded by and as such the building of the Itkali capital are not only the tallest in all of the kin'toni nations but they are tiered and have sloping roof.

The unique design of the roofs allows the massive snow that generally falls in the region to simply slope off the roof without causing the structural integrity of the building itself which had initially been a concern when the city was first established by the Vlasok kin'toni clan. The Valsok palace which houses the king and chosen members of the clan is formed of a series of towers that are etched all over with the symbols of the Valsok histories and the passages from the accounts of the shepherd.

Since the very beginning the Vlasok kin'toni clan has been wedded to the religion of the shepherd, and is widely known that the shepherd himself whispers in the ears of the Vlasok king.

Geography

The region as mentioned earlier is just as cold as the tundre, but its increased time in the sun allows the soil in the region to warm and thaw allowing the evergreen needle forests of the prevalent tree species that is referred to as rock pine in the region. Due to the very acidic nature of the soil in the region though little else grows here. The acidity of the soil is said to be due to the fact that all of the minerals that are deposited on the ground inevitably is leached by the action of the melting snow into the lower layers of the soil.

That process is further aggravated by the litter that is dropped onto the forest floor and is made up only of the needles of the rock pine tree, these needles are very high in silica content and are as such very slowly to decompose, the organic acid produced from the decomposition of this litter ruins the quality of the soil and prevent it from supporting any other kind of vegetation. The trees through affect the kinds prevalent within the confines of the city, the coniferous forests are encouraged to grow in a circular pattern that completely encapsulates the city located within the forest.

This tree cover, prevents the harsh wind of the Itkali land to penetrate the depths of the city and allows the city residents a modicum of warmth during the summer months in the city. It does not snow year round in the coniferous forest but is limited to the time of autumn and winter, in the summers though there is plenty of rain, and the spring is therefore the only dry time of the region. Be it snow or rain, precipitation is frequent in the region, paired with the terrible fertility of the soil in the region, the forest does not have quality needed to support growth of food for the feeding of the blood stock.

That is kept in the villages of the Itkali Kingdom. Instead there is a robust lumbering practice here in the Itkali capital, the wood produced from the rock pine in the region is the primary means by which the Itkali seat of power earns enough resources to support its people. Due to this robust lumbering mechanism, the Itkali capital is visited often and as such is connected to the rest of the kin'toni world very well, the wood supply chains means that the capital is also able to import large almonds of good from the other kin'toni nations.

Therefore the bloodstock for the occupants of the city is supplied by means of trade, although as tradition, a small population of the yak, which is the traditional blood stock of the Itkali, is maintained within the city limits. This is the most well connected region of the whole Itkali kingdom, and only place where foreigners do not require express permission to enter, as there are no gold or silver mines in the region, a foreigner may freely visit this part of the kingdom, however to gain access to the tundra or to another part of the kingdom where the Itkali mine their gold and silver.

The foreigner must be granted the privilege directly by the king himself. In the past 2 centuries, this privilege has only been offered to the members of the Turenth Lush river city state.

Plants

As mentioned earlier, the unique pedological composition of the region’s soil, there is only the presence of a singular species of tree that is very difficult to grow in other parts of the world, many have attempted to try and plant these trees into fertile soils with the expectation that they would be able to produce the trees in greater quantity or more quickly. To their surprise however they have discovered that not only are the trees extremely temperamental in being transplanted, many simply dying rather than forming roots, and while those that do manage to grow are severely stunted and produce a much lower grade of wood that is almost brittle and rather flaky. The Itkali claim to be another evidence of the fact that they are favoured above the rest of the kin'toni population.

The rock pines that grow in the coniferous forest have a conical shape and do not have leaves and instead their branches are covered by thing needles that although malleable are still thick and sharp. The needles are so evolved in order to be able to retain the water in the plant without allowing it to freeze in the extreme cold of the region. The needles of the rock pine trees are evergreen, and do not wilt away easily or frequently, made of primarily silica the needles are an incredible organic substance.

The shape and the nature of the trees also prevents the ever present snow from collecting and freezing onto the tree and weighing it down or causing it buckle under its own weight. The true wonder about the rock pine trees however is the nature of the wood they produce. The rock pine trees produce a wood so dense and of such a high grade that when it is still alive, it nearly impossible to cut down, unlike the other wooden trees that are found in other parts of the world, the rock pine grown here cannot be cut down with iron, it is far too hard for the iron to fracture.

Instead the trees are only able to be worked by unique saws that are built of having an edge of bronze, but as the wood dies and begins to age it becomes easier to work, and can eventually be worked by normal iron implements. Besides being the hardest wood known to kin'toni kind, the wood is also remarkably light, relative to its density at least. Although still heavier than normal wood, it is too light for the density that prevents even iron from piercing it, the largest trees in the region are utilised for the purpose of the Itkali kin'toni themselves.

And the most grand of the wood has been used for the construction of the royal resident of the Vlasok clan. The surface of these towers are worked by delicate bronze tools, and then they are fired in order to prevent the wood being affected by the elements of nature such as moisture which is ever prevalent. Those that have seen the incredible facades of the royal resident claim them to be the most artistic creations of all kin'toni kind, and as such are poridly displayed for all by the Valsok kin'toni clan.

Animals

The forests in this part of the Itkali empire do not support a large amount of animals, however some herbivores have evolved the incredible feat of living off the needles of the rock pine tree that grows her in the Coniferous forest, the most prevalent of these animals is the needle hare which is snow white in its fur as it is able to blend in well with the environment, the arra-kal lives within burrows that it digs close to the root of the rock pine trees using the land weakened by the roots to dig a deep burrow that it otherwise would have been unable to create.

This is had the roots not broken the soil first. The breeding rate of these animals is incredible, and although the kin'toni are among the best hunters in the world, a sole kin'toni would be hard pressed to catch a singular arra-kal, their speed and rate of reproduction are perhaps the only reason they have not been exterminated from the land for the arra-kal is the primary prey of the nral-rrek that live within the coniferous forest. The nral-rrek are a pack animal living in large hunting tribes.

They number well above fifty at their largest and less than ten at their smallest. The nral-rrek hunt the arra-kal in packs, watching and observing their prey long before they actually make a move, it takes diligent work by the nral-rrek to bring down a single arra-kal and as such the carrying capacity of the nral-rrek pack is very low. Theirs is a harsh society where young one are left to freeze to death in lean times and injured members of the pack are abandoned to live or die on their own.

The Kin’toni enjoy hunting the nral-rrek but do not underestimate them, for many a foreigners have assumed that the nral-rrek to be little challenge but have found themselves torn into shred and consumed, although a harsh society, the nral-rrek are deeply suspicious of outsiders and loyal to each other, an attack one is seen as an attack on the pack. The Itkali see the nral-rrek as part of the lore surrounding the shepherd, according to the oral histories, when the shepherd walked the lands, he was considered to be a friend to the nral-rrek and part of their pack.

Sighting a nral-rrek in the hunt is seen as a mark of the favour of the Shepherd, for they are truly the phantoms of the coniferous forest. Besides the arra-kal and nral-rrek another animal that has made its home in the snowy forests is the shal-rueal, a large predator of the skies that is perhaps the most efficient hunter of the arra-kal found in the forest.

The trees of the coniferous forest do not allow enough cover for the arra-kal and the shal-rueal is able to sight them from long distances, its excellent vision coupled with its nearly silent flight and powerful talons, the arra-kal so sighted does not stand any chance of survival. The shal-rueal is indeed large enough to prey on your nral-rrek pups as well but given how closely the nral-rrek guard their young, it is not the easiest of prey for the snow eagle.

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	Ahe Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Malata Mixed Coniferous Forest

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This article is written by https://www.freelancer.in/u/anmoldkaushal Anmold Kaushal]. Copyright 2026 Anmold Kaushal. All rights reserved.