Falkwood
Nestling in the South Western corner of the land, Falkwood is the smallest of
the major forests of Shardar but it’s one of the most mysterious and
unfriendly. The densely packed trees are home to creatures found nowhere
else in Shardar, creatures that may be dangerous and hostile to humans,
The few villagers that can be found in or around the wood are very often
xenophobic and hostile to outsiders and strangers will receive a cold welcome to
say the least.
To a large
degree the rest of the nation ignores Falkwood.
There is virtually nothing within the wood that is of value to others and
its location is far from the commercial centre of Shardar.
The people living in the forest all share the same physical
characteristics, they are short and stocky, with a dark complexion and most of
them have straight, dark hair. The
majority of them are quite proud of themselves and their heritage and are quite
content to be separate from the rest of the land and very few of them will ever
stray far from their forest homes.
The
villages that are located in the edge of the forest are less alienated than the
ones that can be found in the heart of the wood, but they are still unfriendly
and standoffish. If a stranger ever
does make it into one of the internal villages, they will be shunned by the
women and children and threatened by the men of the communities.
There are exceptions to this rule, but it is common practice for
strangers to be regarded as enemies until they prove differently.
One of the
most dangerous creatures of Falkwood is the DeathBlade Spider.
This creature’s body can grow to sizes of up to four feet across and
its legs will give it a total diameter of over seven feet.
They are fearsome hunters and will act in unison to track down their prey
and trap them. Their webs are very
strong and very sticky and it is possible for a full-grown man to become trapped
in them if he does not watch where he is walking.
Once trapped, it is close to impossible for anyone to escape without
outside help. These horrendous
creatures received their name from the mandibles that they all possess.
These six-inch long fangs are razor sharp and they are plunged into the
still living victims and used to drain the blood from their bodies.
Half a dozen spiders can feed on a single human at one time and the
corpse will be completely drained of blood within a minute in a situation like
this. Luckily, these creatures are
quite rare and are only ever found in the most dense and tangled areas at the
heart of the Falkwood. It is said
that certain nobles and the richer merchants would be prepared to pay well for a
captive DeathBlade Spider but no one has yet managed to take one of these
creatures alive.
Another
creature native only to the Falkwoods is the Silverback lizard.
This creature is only a couple of feet in size at most but it has
incredibly potent venom that can kill a horse within 5 minutes.
The creatures live on the edge of the Falkwood and will often leave the
confines of the trees and undergrowth at night in search of small creatures,
birds, eggs and the like to eat. It
has been known for them to venture into villages to search through garbage for
food and they can be a serious threat when this happens.
When enraged or scared, the Silverback will rear up and spit out venom
much like a cobra can, at its target. The
venom is most often aimed at the eyes and will blind instantly if it hits, but
even if it just gets onto the skin it will kill a man within a few minutes.
The creatures are mottled grey and dull yellow in colour and all have a
shaft of light grey, almost silver, running down the length of their backs.
There is a
persistent rumour that a Soothsayer lives somewhere in the Falkwood.
Many people have ventured into the dangerous forest in search of this
person but few have ever claimed to have met him.
Some have not returned, some have returned empty handed and a few have
returned with no memory of what occurred while they were in Falkwood.
The very few who say they have met the Soothsayer all give different
descriptions of him. Some say he is
old, others young, some say tall while others claim short and some are even
certain that the Soothsayer is a woman. Because
of these vastly varying descriptions it is thought that the people who claim to
have met the Soothsayer are lying for some reason known only to themselves and
are just not prepared to admit that they had a wasted trip.
Falden is
the largest of the villages that are located within the Falkwood and there has
been no contact between this village and the outside world for a number of
months. This might just be because
the villagers have no need to leave and no one from outside has gone into the
village or it might be for some other, more sinister reason.
It would be hard to tell if there was a problem with any of the residents
of villages of Falkwood because they will seldom speak to strangers, let alone
tell them of their private business.
A few of
the streams that run through Falkwood are tainted with salt and this has given
rise to rumours that there is either a huge underground river that leads to the
nearby sea beneath the forest, or there are some kind of ores hidden below the
trees, moss and soil. Neither
situation has much value to anyone, especially when the dangers of the wood are
taken into consideration, but there are a few people who are curious as to why
the salt is found in the water. The occasional Mage has ventured into the forest in search of
answers but no reason for the strange mineral situation has been found as yet.