Garsul Dead Forest

Place

Place Name:

Garsul Dead Forest

Biome:

Dead Forest

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The forest of Garsul is located in the northwest corner of the temperate zone of the continent and is bordered by coastal regions on its northern and western sides while mountains line the eastern and some of the southern side. Directly south is a small meadow land. There were natural pathways through the dense forest of massive trees that led to the heart of the forest. Before the Empire took control of the region, the heart was a cluster of trees and vines and other vegetation in the perfect collection of natural nests and burrows and dens for the large variety of animals that called the region home.

When the Xerea Empire gained control of the region they built a research station blocking the southern border from the neighbouring meadows. It was there that the different materials were tinkered with before being tested within the forest. It also acted as a wall to prevent others from entering the region during testing, and even more important it prevented the animals from escaping into the other regions and potentially contaminating them. And it was there that the group of eager, and at the time unscrupulous researchers developed the single use weapon that would spell the end of the beauty of Garsul.

The weapon was not actually used or intentionally tested when its effects were triggered. It was in fact being set up for the test went it activated on its own and caught the entire research team in its invisible blast. Ironically this particular weapon was designed to work in a reverse order. The last to be touched would be the first affected. This saved the immediate lives of the team who were at the epicentre. They lived for two years after the blast before the effects finally took hold. And it was long enough to witness the eternal dying of the forest, gather all their old research.

And destroy the station before falling over and dying like the majority of the animals from the region. The act was the final action of destruction to complete the change of the forest from a beloved example of the power and beauty of nature into a twisted husk of frozen death. It was the perfect precursor for the actions that led to the complete destruction of the Xerea Empire by its own hand. And stories warned that to enter the region was to invite death. By the time the Mel’fala clan took control of the eternally dying forest, the region had grown accustomed to its new moniker of The Dead Forest and twisted not just the petrified vegetation but the animals who had remained.

Even the kin'toni became infected as they fed on the previous leaders of the region. In the bowels of heart of Garsul, the Mel’fala built a stronghold for them to use while sending out hunting parties to find and drain and turn any of the zu'aan they are able to find. This stronghold is made of the remnants of the research station.

Plants

The vegetation that once held the world’s imagination used to live in Garsul. It was a paradise of a temperate forest without equal. People used to come from all over the globe just to witness its beauty and its splendour. Artist were inspired just by being within its tree line, and stories of magical events were often set within forests just like it. It was home to several types of flowers, bushes, shrubs, fungi, moss, vines, berries,vegetables, fruit, and of course trees. The ancient societies often speculated that it may have been one of the original cradles of life fore the continent.

This was simple because of the variety of plants that grew within its borders. However, even in nature beauty can not always last when pitted against greed and blind ambition. The nation that would become the Xerea Empire, only saw a rich microcosm of the larger continent in an easily secluded location. They cared not for the unique strains of vegetation that held healing medicinal properties within its structures, or for the myriad of constructive resources held within the region. To them everything in the region was easy to find in the soon to be conquered world.

But to conquer they needed a weapon so devastating that they would never have to use it outside a test that showed it could work in any region they desired. And so they laid claim to the land of Garsul and began testing different potential weapons within its borders to see how the vegetation and wildlife would respond to the different attacks. For years these experiments occurred while the Empire slowly begun expanding their territory. The plants of Garsul proved particularly stubborn and difficult to kill or even seriously maim by the effects of the different materials that were used.

That is until the team stumbled upon a unique strain of bacteria and began combining it with multiple different materials to create a designer weapon they believed would temporarily destroy all vegetation and wildlife in a region while leaving the local people unharmed. In their arrogance, they didn’t look too deeply into what may happen if they were wrong by even an inch. And so they didn’t heed the ancient tales of a possible world killer disease that turned vegetation into hardened shells before crumbling away. They simply carried on with their experiments.

And altered the properties of the bacteria until they believed it was not only stronger but more controllable. The team of researchers would live just long enough to witness how wrong they were. The experiment detonated while it was still being set up, and for a while it was deemed a complete failure as nothing seemed to happen. But when the effects began, it started with the plants first. In a circle pattern that slowly encroached from the outer borders into the heart of the region, the leaves disintegrated. After the last of the foliage was gone.

The remaining vegetation solidified and became eternally frozen in the act of dying. Transforming into a dead forest.

Animals

The lush and vibrant forest region of Garsul was once the home to some of the most beautiful variations of wildlife you might find throughout the entirety of the temperate zone. There were birds whose songs would bring tears to all who listened to their glorious melodies. And there were a variety of animals that were normally hostile and territorial that seemed completely docile and even playful. Those who visited the region could not believe how much of a paradise it seemed to be. And the region inspired them to domesticate animals they would have previously avoided or just hunted.

But the wonders of Garsul were not noticed by everyone, or rather in their single minded greed and ambition they noticed different wonders of the area. The nation that would become the Xerea Empire only saw the region and its dense wildlife population as s smaller version of the world as a whole. In their hopes to conquer the world they began experimenting on the region to see the effects of devastating weapons on the wildlife and vegetation. While the plants proved capable of withstanding much, the different animals were often uniquely affected.

Many would be mutated before they would face death. These mutations effects were studied and often aided in other unrelated research projects. But mutation was not the goal for the Garsul research and so they continued experimenting until they believed they had discovered the perfect answer. Without care for what they may do to the world, they pursued their goal of being able to cause death in over ninety-six percent of the wildlife population in the region. With their final experiment they achieved more that they had bargained for.

And caused the near total extinction of the local varieties of wildlife and the irreversible mutation of the creatures that managed to survive the effects of the initial destruction and the years of living in the tainted land. But the taint rooted itself deep in their genetic code and caused all future generations to remain affected in order to survive in the now eternally dead region. They became capable of hibernating for years waiting for prey to stumble into their territory. There were no longer any herbivores or omnivores in the forest of Garsul.

Instead they were divided between the hunters and the scavengers. Residing in a dead region there was no longer a foodie chain. Rather they preyed on everything the came across including each other. When the Mel’Fala arrived and began drinking the blood of the mutated wildlife, it was discovered that the taint was capable of being passed by the ingestion of the blood and flesh of the affected animals in the region. Thus it was highly possible that some of the generation of mutated birds had begun by a successful hunt from a non native species.

However all the creatures of Garsul are tied to the region. Even if they attempt to hunt outside the borders of the forest, they always return to the desolation in which they were born.

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

Place

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Garsul Dead Forest

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