Endather Forsaken Forest

History

Geography

The Endather forest is located on the northern banks of the River Ayazaz, which flows into the Sea of Ayaz. To the south of it is the Aightu rockland, whose inhabitants rivaled those of the forest for many centuries, while the west is surrounded by vast plains. The north of the forest is bounded by the River Stacryx, a tributary of the Ayazaz that begins at some point near the center of the forest and ends up merging with the Ayazaz at some point outside of it. There are no major mountainous features within the forest, though there are various hilly areas that can be seen for miles around the area. These hills are referred to as the “forbidden hills”, for it is believed that the curse placed upon the forest was placed while on one of these hills; however, the validity of these theories is unknown.

The Endather forest is mainly composed of wetland near the boundaries of the River Stacryx and the River Ayazaz, and otherwise is composed of dense temperate forest. The wetlands formerly served as the sites of various ports of the End-Athai, with remnants of them still visible at some points; however, like the rest of the civilization, these ports have since fallen into decay and have been replaced with overgrown shrubs. The farther one goes inland, the wetlands of the outer forest are replaced with thick, dense forest, with vast networks of trees that make it near-impossible for those outside of the forest to traverse through it. The various attempts to explore the forest have noted various ruins that increased in frequency and size the closer that they got to the center of the forest – however, they were not able to enter the middle of the forest for unknown reasons.

Each of the so-called hills – used as a way point for travelers on the Route of Heyaz, which passes nearby – contains tower-like structures that are stated to have certain powers, though for the most part this is mostly dismissed as unreasonable speculation. Sightings of these towers late at night make note that various rituals occur late at night around these towers, suggesting that they play some importance to the Tonmorrak culture. The towers are also revered to an extent by the nearby Perine zu'aan, as they are seen as the “northern edge of the world” (as they have remained confined for the most part to the south of the Ayazaz). Thus, attempts to conduct historical analysis have suggested that the towers played some part in the past of both of these tribes, or that they share a common ancestor.

The towers are also used to usually mark the boundary between the forest and the wetlands that surround it; thus, the wetlands surrounding it are usually kept in much greater condition than the forest that it surrounds. However, the Tonmorrak have — in more recent years — begun to attack the people that tried to maintain this area, perhaps in an attempt to begin reclaiming portions of the forest. However, the true reasoning behind this is unknown.

Plants

The plant life of the Endather forest is situated mainly in the forested sections of the area, given attempts by local tribes to keep the wetlands nearby from being reclaimed by the forest. Because of the difficulty in accessing the forest, very few examples exist of flora that are indigenous to it; however, the species that are known to have come from it have been examined various times over the years, resulting in vast amounts of documentation surrounding them. While other species are speculated to exist, these are mainly dismissed by local tribes as rumors and speculation, and not backed by any physical evidence. The most well-known plant from the Endather forest is the aptly-named Endather tree, which can reach up 50m in height and which can grow over the span of hundreds of years.

The oldest of these trees is estimated to have begun growing sometime in 3E 3350, making it some 570 years old. In the past, these trees were harvested every 50 years or so by the End-Thara civilization; however, over time, each Endather tree has grown longer and has also grown vast networks of branches that have interconnected – in other words, “locked together” – with other branches from nearby trees, making it nearly impossible for the average person to pass through the Endather forest. Ancient expeditions into the forest have noted, though, that the wildlife indigenous to the forest have learned to navigate the so-called “network of networks” with ease, deducing that at least a part of their lives is spent learning to navigate what is considered impossible by other humans.

Peering into the forest, one can see many shrub-like plants that are located near each Endather tree; there are usually 3 to 5 of these around them, on average. These plants – referred to as the ay’tan – are no larger than the size of one’s ankle, and are usually connected in some way to the wider Endather tree. These ay’tan are used as a gauge by the Endather tree to gather information about the ground around it, including where to expand next. Thus, the location of an ay’tan usually indicates where an Endather tree has decided to set up its roots. Meanwhile, around the wetlands of the forest is a mix of tall grass and smaller trees.

This tall grass – known as Thanian vine – is somewhere between 3 and 6 feet long; it is somewhere between a mix between a thin blade of grass and a vine, and consists of a thick green root that comes out of the ground. The Thanian vine is known for ensnaring unsuspecting passer-bys into its grasp, though it doesn’t take much to escape it. On the other hand, the smaller trees surrounding the forest are called the vayte and are somewhere between 2 and 3 metres tall; while these are used in some cases as lumber, these are mainly overlooked in favor of the Endather tree. Because of this, the Tonmorrak zu’aan began to plant these trees in an attempt to begin re-claiming the area from nearby tribes, who – over the years – had cut down many Endather trees.

Animals

The most widely-known animal of the Endather forest is the sayak, a human-like creature that is anywhere between 4 and 7 ft in length. Stated to have been sighted numerous times by the Perine zu’aan, the sayak is stated to stalk any person that enters the forest through the branches and trees (though it is seen occasionally walking the forest), attempting to lure them into their vicinity through sweet-sounding songs. Once a person enters this vicinity, what happens is unknown, though it is speculated that the unsuspecting victim will have a gruesome ending. There have been various theories that the sayak that prowl the forest are in fact the descendants of the original Tonmorrak zu’aan – however, this has been for the most part dismissed as wild speculation.

There is nonetheless a remaining portion of the local population – especially the Perine – that believe them to hold such ancestry. Regardless of whether or not this speculated ancestry is true, the story of the sayak has spread all throughout the Sea of Ayaz and beyond, to the point that the stories of its’ sightings have become well-renowned throughout the former territories of the Xerean Empire. Besides the sayak, the crakis – a small, cow-like herbivore – is another well-known animal coming from the Endather forest. Despite its small stature & horns, as well as its red-white color, the crakis has been known to be either wildly aggressive or completely passive, depending on who it encounters.

The crakis is stated to have arrived alongside the early settlers of the area, originally as livestock that these settlers would use for meat. When the End-Thanai civilization fell, the crakis slowly transitioned from a domesticated state to a wild, feral one – through this transition, it became very territorial, seemingly threatening any being that tried to step within its territory and refusing to step outside of its boundaries. Thus, the crakis has remained within primarily within the forest, though there have been cases where the crakis ended up establishing its territory out of the forest and within the wetlands that surround it; the ones that do end up having to compete with the rekravit, another cow-like creature that – while nearly similar in behaviour to the crakis – has different characteristics than the crakis, resulting in it being classified as a different species.

Another animal located within the wetlands of the forest is the Tryseran bird; this bird is all-black in color and prefers to make its residence on the vayte that are located around the wetlands. During the nighttime, the bird makes a mating call that has been described as anywhere from a “distorted bird’s call” to a “corrupted scream”. In an attempt to rid the wetlands of this animal, the local tribes have attempted to rid the vayte (and, by extension, the Tryseran bird) so that they no longer have to hear its calls at night; however, this has met opposition from the Tonmorrak zu’aan, who usually respond to such attempts with violent behaviour. According to various excerpts of Tonmorrak mythology that were recovered from ruins, the Tryseran bird is seen as the representative of their messenger god, and thus its calls signify the times to perform their rituals.

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	Tonmorrak Tribal Zu'aan}