Ingem Dead Forest

History

Ingem Forest's history before the kin'toni plague is murky as the old Xerea Empire had a facility hidden beneath the forest where chemical weapons were researched, so there were multiple attempts of censuring and getting rid of the locals followed that were heavily covered up. When the plague started the researchers began working on a toxin nicknamed Agent 772 but, before they could produce stable batches, an outbreak of the plague caused the facility to erupt into chaos as the infected swarmed the underground labs, causing a massive explosion that covered the forest with chemical fire. The Doutspol tribe was formed from the descendants of the few local inhabitants that banded together to hide from the kin'toni that attacked the facility.

They hid in the caves and grottos of the region and reemerged a week later to find Ingem Forest looking a lot like how it does today, though pink flames would light the night sky for almost a year. Ingem Forest was further destroyed over the years as its polluted enviroment perpetuates itself through acidic rains and fine layers of ash choking already dead soil that struggles to nourish anything but the most resilient plantlife of the Shattering Age. It took almost two centuries for some form of zu'aan civilization to reapper in the region as old traditions died off and a new people suited for a new age of blood were spawned beneath the thin shadows of the Xynep trees.

Though life is, even for this age, harsh, and the Doutspol tribe suffer tremenduously, they are also a people of outstanding resilience, craftiness and resolve and have menaged to make a home out of such a horrifying, awful place like Ingem Forest.

Geography

Ingem forest is hilly, rocky terrain that is generally difficult to traverse. Due to the nature of the area, old roads remain mostly intact though they all lead back to the scorched ruins of the old secret facility hidden in its center, which is barely recognizable as anything more than a massive crater. The lowest levels of the lab are still intact but its extremely hard to access and old lockdown protocols are still active, containing another outbreak of Agent 772. There are few bodies of water, mostly small ponds heavily contaminated with unstable Agent 772. The largest ones being Lake Myaric and Lake Oyello, though they are largely avoided by animals and zu'aan.

There are three notable Doutspol settlements in the forest in the form of Gnaven village, Nescen village, Muslow village, and Unbras with only a couple hundred inhabitants each, built on the healthy patches of Ingem land scattered around the vast territory that the forest covers. Zu'aan presence being hardly noticable unless you are already close to one of their homes, as locals porpousefully avoid altering the terrain or cutting down xynep trees. There are also quite a few Doutspol ruins like Abillo which was razed early in the history of the tribe after a powerstruggle caused by accusations of proeminent leaders being secret kin'toni. Vaurap is a mysterious and eerie reminder of Ingem's hostility as it lies completely preserved but also totally empty, not even the xynepi want to lair there for some reason.

Ustrod and Ylessi were smaller settlements that were abandoned by their inhabitants to form the larger Gnaven Village after a political marriage between their leaders sealed a permanent allience between the two clans. The locals also weekly gather around the Rock or Tears, a massive, flat rock surrounded by small cairns; both zu'aan made, they were built and worked on by the Doutspol using crude masonry tools. The place is used as an altar and mass burial ground where the dead are left to be eaten by oculen and far, far away from any xynep swarm as to avoid helping them in their nigh-unstoppable growth across Ingem. This is something most Doutspol consider to be honorable, but those that aren't deserving of an honorable have the Black Pit as their destination.

The Black Pit is a small cave filled with thousands of bones and bodies of not just zu'aan but other unidentified creatures, sitting ominously close to Abillo. Of note there's also Death Maze, a place where Xynep trees grew closesly packed and multiple Demon swarms grew exponentially from there. Kounul's Fall, the place where Honorable Kounul, a legendary chieftain fought defeated Bloody Madron, the last living kin'toni in Ingem. Tectio Point which used to have the same religous importance to the people of Ylessi as the Rock of Tears currently has for the Doutspol in general. Etnest Lake is actually an pre Awakening water reservatory that has remained uncontaminated by Agent 772 and has turned into a stagnant pool of water, largely unfit for consumption but capable of supporting life;

Howlec is a mysterious building not erected by any of the locals, even their forebearers, and is a source of great anxiety for all those who stumbled upon this enigmatic stone obelisk lying almost entirely forgotten in the middle of such a dangerous place.

Plants

Ingem Forest is largely devoid of plant life with its most famous flora being the scorched xynep trees that give the area its name. The soil, rendered sterile by chemical fire used to contain the Kin'toni Plague, is covered by dozens of thin layers of ash that cause the ground to look black. Despite common belief, a handful of plants do still grow in the forest in the few, small patches of healthy soil that there are left, though they also seem to be slowly dying out, poisoned by acidic rain from the contaminated bodies of water that dot the region. Blessed Grove is the only place where yoffa berries grow and it is is highly guarded against intrusion by unouthorized locals and wild beasts; Lightning Strike, a massive xynep tree completely uprooted after so many Dynesi crashed full speed, face first onto it.

The more notable flora in the area consists mainly of plants hardy enough to survive in heavily polluted enviroment such as Ingem Forest.

• Xynep trees, which are almost extinct as 96% of them are charred husks and are usually xynep nests. Living ones are thousand-year old, half a meter thick and 15 meter tall on average with red-brown, thin bark and thick, dark-green, heart-shaped leaves. Xynep wood is dark-red, strong and yet easy to work with, perfect for crafting houses, boats, furniture and tools such as bows, arrows and spears.

• Acaer flowers grow sparsely throughout the forest. They grow to be around a meter tall, covered in razor sharp thorns that protect delicate, white petals wrapped around a small black bud. Because of the soil they draw nutrients from, their pollen is extremely poisonous and can be used to kill an entire xynep unox nest if it grows close enough to one. Zu'aan that get too close don't stand a chance.

• Yoffa berries, also known as Yova barries, are tiny, round, black berries that grow in shrubs in the uncontaminated patches of forest. If ingested they can neutralize xynep ynox poison (those affected are usually paralyzed or convulsing, so it has to be given to them in juice form, which is bitter and unpleasant).

• Telitt mushrooms are small, grey capped fungi that inconspicuously hide among the ash piles of Ingem Forest. Telitt mushrooms while unremarkable in appearance are infamous among locals for their potent hallucinogenic and anesthetic properties. The experience of ingesting one is considered to be "enlightening" but also utterly terrifying and possibly mentally damaging.

• Jummon or Jummon Stars are bioluminescent fungi that fill with air and pop spreading their spores around. They seem to grow all over the forest but do little besides endlessly spreading. They have no nutritional value and are considered to be "utterly repugnant" in taste even by the often desperate Doutspol tribals.

• Agnesps are something different. Unlike the everpresent xyneps, Agnesps are exceedingly rare trees that, despite their rarity are apperently useless. Their wood is brittle and an ugly shade of green; they produce a sticky, bitter sap that burns extremely quickly and intensely. Agnesps are just a part of nature, whats left of it here, and an odd reminder of the days Ingem Forest was a normal place, where life could thrive and develop in interesting ways instead of turning increasingly hostile. Agnesps are usually ignored by the Doutspol, left to exist peacefully and populate the healthy patches of land.

Animals

Ingem fauna is limited and agressive, composed of predators and scavangers that feed on the carcasses of animals, zu'aan, and even weaker kin'toni that wander too close to their habitat. But their populations are inexpressive and dwindling, unlike the Xynepi.

• Xynepi. Also known as xynep yox, these tiny, flying creatures are capable of killing a fully grown zu'aan in less than three hours with their potent poison. They are territorial predators with cannibalistic tendencies that live in hives hidden inside the charred xynep trees. Their stingers, besides being laden with potent paralyzing poison also carry a at least two eggs, which are injected with the poison. The stinger breaks, killing the xynep but from their target a swarm twice as big will spawn.

• Oarlec, a small and docile creature that were, in the past, kept as pets by the ancestors of the Doutspol, and once they emerged from their caves and grottos, became livestock due to their low food consumption and easy breeding. Oarlec are two-legged, feathery creatures with sharp beaks and small, vestigial arms that end in sharp claws. They are relatively common creatures throughout the world.

• Udolocs are similar enough to the Oarlec to be believed to be their a related species though, besides appearance they don't resemble their domesticated cousins in almost nothing. They are big, nearly a meter and a half tall, have long arms and massive talons that they use to climb trees and eat xynep ynox, straight from their wooden nests. Their feathers and skin so tough that the Xynepi's stings fail to properly penetrate them.

• Ademmas, also called Oysoli-Tam by the Doutspol, are medium sized flying creatures that are only spotted high in the sky, flying over Ingem but never landing anywhere in the forest. They are a widespread, migratory species that thrives all over the world and even them avoid the region.

• Oculen are massive winged beasts that descend from the skies and sharpen their talons on xynep trees, causing huge swams of enraged xynep ynox to appear. They can't kill the Oculen but their poison affects this creature differently, making it sleepy. After an attack oculen usually will destroy small sections of the forest, kill thousands of the xynepi and fall asleep mid-air, often crashing in the middle of Doutspol villages. A particularly big oculen destroyed half of unbras with its body and left the rest of the settlement covered in feathers, guts and black blood.

• Dynesi dart across Ingem at unfathomable speeds and with incredible grace. They are said to be able to cross the entirerty of Ingem in a day of frenetic running. They are some of the most mysterious creatures on an already largely unexplored region of the world. It is utterly impossible to catch anything but a glimpse of one though there tales of dsynesi crashing into tress, rocks and people and getting utterly destroyed, because they run so fast theres nothing but a red smear left. Doutspol legends say this strange creature is actually living lightning that heralds storms, as they seem to be more active shortly before a major storm or after nightfall.

• Lonoics are one of the more curious inhabitants of Ingem Forest, if only because they may not be real. Songs and poems tell the tales of lonoics capturing those who attempt to travel the old roads at night, breaking all their bones with unmatched strength and eating their grievously wounded victims but, there are not actual sightings of the creature, which seems to only really exist in the imagination of the locals as a way to dissuade people from travelling at night.

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	Doustpol Tribal Zu'aan