Sult Deciduous Forest

Place

Place Name:

Sult Deciduous Forest

Biome:

Deciduous Forest

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Located on a plateau overlooking a valley by the northern mountains, the deciduous forest of Sult encompasses the ruins of Yathar on the three sides other than the cliffs. The dark trees and foliage cover the entire region that rests in the mountainous area in the eastern side of the largest continent. Many years before the rise of the Xerea Empire, the first building was built to house those who were considered a danger to themselves and the rest of the world. It was a large tower near the edge of the cliffs. As more people were designated with similar afflictions and sent to the area to live out the remainder of their lives in relative seclusion.

More towers and buildings were added until the city encompassed one third of the forest region. Walls were added to make sure none of the people could escape. Yet nothing was maintained as these poor tortured souls were left alone with each other and their demons. As the structures weathered and crumbled so too did the humanity of the residents. They began wandering around the woods and some would become afflicted and start screaming in pain and terror. The only compassion they found were amongst each other. And so they remained in Yathar and did their best to repair the damage they found.

Fore while initially they were enclosed to protect the world from them, it had changed in their minds to protect themselves from the world. And then the unthinkable happened. They were remembered and discovered. Because of the fear and ignorance of the rest of the world, armies were sent to the region to prevent the afflicted people from escaping. These armies rebuilt and reinforced Yathar as well as built other buildings in the forest to act as bases and watchtowers to prevent escapes and infiltration. Within the city the built underground cells where they abused and raped and tortured the residents without compassion or even a hint of restraint.

This resulted in the last shreds of humanity and goodness being destroyed in those being tortured, and they broke free and began to fight back against their captors. This began the destruction of the buildings within forest of Sult. To stop the fighting and prevent to possibility of the afflicted escaping and taking revenge on the wider world, the nations of the time completely destroyed the city of Yathar with everyone still trapped inside. They then made sure all in the region were dead before they left the ruins and the forest alone.

Many years passed and allowed the forest to reclaim their hold on the land occupied by the ruins. Those who journeyed into the dark forest in search of proof of the nightmarish stories often found themselves trapped in the old cells through the weakened structures or fell off the edge of the cliffs due to running in fear from perceived ghosts. Near the end of the Xerea Empire a weapons developer hid some of his designs within the ruins that now is home to the Val kin'toni clan.

Plants

The forest of Sult is known for more than just the ruins of Yathar, the stories of monsters and madmen, the kin'toni clan, or the mass of disappearances. The deciduous forest is also known for the dark appearance of the dense vegetation. The land has never been tamed and the only times the vegetation has ever been cut has been when they slowly constructed the buildings that would make up the city of Yathar. Because of the build and then leave mentality that lay behind the staggered construction of the city itself the vegetation was able to grow along the forgotten buildings as they crumbled.

The different afflicted people tended to the vegetation without preventing its growth. However when the armies arrived they cut swathes out of the landscape to build their watchtowers and base and the other wall. The uprising of the afflicted allowed for the beginning of the reclamation by the vegetation as they pulled down the more recent additions to the land. The destruction of the city of Yathar spelled the end of the interference with the reclamation by the forest. For many years, the vegetation enveloped the ruins and hid them as best they could.

This led to many of the unfortunate accidents that fed the stories of the region being haunted.when the Val kin'toni clan made their base in the region they had to cut away the foliage the had overtaken the ruins of Yathar and rebuilt sections of the city. They too left the vegetation alone as best they could. One of the common plants that covers the forest of Sult is o the bathor'nar'rin. The deciduous tree is recognised by its tall stout trunk, high branches, and black bark with dark red leaves that shift to black in the fall.

These trees were used for lumber in much of the construction of the frames of the buildings of the city of Yathar and the military buildings during the occupation. The wood is strong and durable but prone to rot after decades unless treated. The sap can be used as the basis for a solvent with the right ingredients. The solvent is best used against minor adhesive compounds without causing damage to biological matter. The tree itself is often mentioned in the stories about the haunted forest. Another of the local and creepy looking plants within the forest of Sult is the dark kathri'nar'ekk.

This particular variation of nar'ekk is known for its dark grey bark, its tasty dark brown sap, and its black palmate leaves. While not used in the construction of Yathar itself, this tree was used by the armies to build their torture cells. The leaves lighten to a ghostly grey in the fall and gave the trees their horror moniker of the ghost trees. The sap is delicious and often draw several herbivores and omnivores to partake of the stick substance. The Val often use the sap as a lure when hunting.

Animals

The wildlife of the forest of Sult has borne witness to a great many strange things throughout the history of the region. Never fearing the afflicted people or the armies due to their bringing supplies from elsewhere instead of hunting, the wildlife was only mildly displaced by the building of the city and military buildings in the region. Only after the destruction of Yathar was the area plagued by the advent of hunters, however these were mainly of the young and easily spooked variety. Some were hunting the animals in what has believed to be dangerously haunted woods as a trophy for bragging rights.

Others were hunting for evidence of the made up horror stories and for the ghosts that were supposed to be there. Regardless of the reason, the carnivorous animals of the area only saw new prey. Those who tried to hunt in the forest of Sult often found themselves being hunted and even feeding the very animals they sought. However, when the Val kin'toni clan made the region their home the animals finally grew to know the fear of being hunted. The Val captured and tamed many of the more predatory animals and trained them to aid in hunting zu'aan and other creatures for the clan to eat.

One of the most common and most misunderstood animals that call the forest of Sult their home is the athethr-ak-kora. This very docile breed of frugivorous megabat is maliciously named for the dark burgundy colour of their wings. Their head and body are covered in muddy black and brown coarse fur. They have a long snout with visible tiny fangs designed to pierce the skin and flesh of fruit. These medium sized critter is not aggressive, and in the times of Yathar they often befriended the afflicted people and shared fruit with them. However, that fact was dismissed as the stories of the region were altered.

They were changed in the story to vicious bloodsuckers that were the pets of evil mad doctors and the monsters they created. The zu'aan imperial scientist who hid copies of his research in the ruins, intending to sell them to rival countries, returned with one of the adorable critters to be studied for the bioengineering projects. It was quickly discovered to not be carnivorous and instead became a favourite pet to the researchers. In a strange stroke of bitter irony, the bat was used as a test subject for the eventual kin'toni plague.

Thus this singular individual bat became exactly what the demonising stories claimed. And when the Empire fell and the plague was unleashed, the turned scientist who had originally captured the bat brought it with the rest of the clan as they settled in the forest of Sult. That event caused a chain reaction and lead to the extinction of the original version of the bat, to be replaced with the carnivorous blood drinking mutation.

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	Val Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Sult Deciduous Forest

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This article is written by Xoishtar. Copyright 2026 Xoishtar. All rights reserved.