Guide: The Forest

[Maeve]

Weather and Climate

Normally a moderate climate, the thick forest keeps the place cool in the summers and warmer in the winters. It is more prone to rain in the winter then snow, though the northern regions of the forest do receive snow annually.
Spring and fall are wet seasons when the forest gets most of the rainfall it needs. The wettest places in the forest are on the eastern side where the forest meets with the high mountains.

Flora and fauna of note

Mou rice- a rice that grows in the swamps to the south as well as in some cultivated areas to the north seasonally.
Tussle Tree- A thick trunk tree with a white bark and willow like branches. It grows the famed Tussle Nuts.
Omi beans- A purple kidney like bean that is a valuable source of protein.
Bumbleberries- A bright yellow berry when ripe, they are about the size of a thimble, juicy and sweet they are usually turned into a pie or jam

Wildlife

The forest is teeming with life of all manner mundane and magical. Some creatures to note:
Black Wolves: One of the top predators of the woods, they are highly intelligent, and some stories say they can talk, though no evidence of this has been proven. They come to a man’s hip and almost three times a man’s weight. They have hard jaws and usually hunt in packs of 3 to 6, but can travel in as many as 20.
Deer- They are plentiful in the woods and are a usual source of food.
Swamp Boar- a boar that lives to the south, they are very big, about the size of a cow and it is a group effort to bring one down, but can easily supply food for a month to a village as well as produce a very strong leather useful in armor.

Other (non player) races
See also the bestiary!
Griffons- Clearly the top predator. They have an eagle’s or hawk’s head and claws and wings with a cat’s body. They are a magical creature and are considered intelligent.
Fairies- They come in all shapes and sizes. Of note are the flowerfairies, willow fearies and the leave fearies.
Faerie Horse -hese magnificent white or black horses have fiery tempers and breath a green steam through their nostrils at times. Their eyes glow red in the dark, and their hooves make no sound.
Faerie Tree - These gigantic trees dwarf even dragons. They are wrought and twisted and often covered with moss. They sometimes eat humans and the more evil races but stay away from elvin and fairy breeds. They are known as guardians. There are rumors that they even walk, or at least move.
The Wild Hunt - The Fae come in all shapes and sizes, and legends about them abound in the stories of Tazlure's peoples. No one knows what type of Fae The Hunt consists of, though in paintings and art they are usually depicted as akin to the Valkyries. They serve as the militant arm of the Fae. They often wear the heads and skins of animals on their heads and bodies- or some versions claim they simply have the heads or hides of beasts - and ride on Faerie Horses. They are fearsome, relentless, and unchanging. They hunt down those among the Fae who have transgressed against their own kind - and perhaps they hunt those outside their own kind as well.
The Grand Ladies - Pale white as if radiating moonlight, tall and slender and of an eerie kind of beauty, these fae are part ghost and part fae, gracefully sliding over Tazlure during the edges of eveningtide, between the shadowworld of fearies and reality, wearing elaborate dresses. They are the spirits of elves of the past that have not found a resting place. They are not known to speak often, only whisper amongst themselves, sometimes giggling, or screaming in anger. The color of their clothing (grey, white, red, black etc.) announce their current lifestyle. They eat light things such as almonds, grapes, dew of ivy, honeysuckled perfume. Their long hair is coiled and held back by a band with a veil. Red & Black ladies have eyes that glow red in the dark, and feline teeth.
Dryads- green forest spirit that lives in symbioses with one particular tree.
Nymphs - blue skinned water spirits that live in symbioses with one particular river, pond or lake