Amador: Western Countryside

Amador: Western Countryside

In the western reaches of Amador, the trees reign supreme. The Old Forest in the North-West merges with the Green Wilds in the West, which in turn is entangled in the Great Marsh in the South-West. The Old Forest is a deep forest of tall trees with a lot of Green Ether flowing around it. A large Wood Elf community lives within its depths and thanks to frequent contact with Amadorian Authorities, are open to outsiders for trade or travel.
Travel is best done by roads, for it is all too easy to get lost in the woods and marshes of the west. Along these roads lie the patches of civilization. Villages and farms are present in much of the Green Wilds and a few in both the Great Marsh and the Old Forest. These communities live off the lumber of the woods, the skin of its animals and tobacco grown in modest fields. Marsh tobacco is especially known for its fine quality and is a luxury commodity for the upper class.
The militia and even Knightly Orders hailing from the west are often rangers that practice woodland guerilla tactics, something which has proven quite effective when dealing with Dark Elves Raiding into Amador from the Tear.

Areas of Notice:
-Alia’s Clearing: When Wood Elves make a village, they first find an area deep within the forest where there is a gathering point for Green Ether. Settlements like this are called “Clearings”, though the word “Clearing” can also be used to refer to the people inhabiting the Clearing. Alia’s Clearing is centered around an ancient Tov’ra tree which “inhales” and “exhales” Green Ether as if it is breathing. Alia is the wise leader of the Clearing and currently one of the oldest living Wood Elves. It was she that originally parleyed with the third Dragon-King in order to keep her Clearing secure and before that she saw the fall of the Eldar all those centuries ago.

-Halden Village: Nestled deep within the Green Wilds with trees growing even in-between the houses, Halden Village nearly surprises you when you travel along the road for without warning you suddenly find yourself in the middle of it. Most of the inhabitants are sheep farmers, hunters and/or tobacco farmers, and their goods are shipped to Cintra after each harvest. On the outskirts of the village lies the Chapterhouse of “the Knights of the Rose and the Vine”, a Knightly Order intently engaged in protecting villagers from the Wilds and the Wilds from the villages.

-Crocodile Camp: There are scarce settlements within the Great Marsh and Crocodile Camp is one of those refuges. Wooden houses and cabins are built on sturdy foundations on patches of dry land in the humid marshland. Some smaller huts even stand atop stilts to keep them away from the putrid waters. Crocodile Camp have most of the necessities for such a remote village to survive, but it is missing a smith since a raid by the Bloodbraided killed their old one.

-The Bloodbraided’s Clearing: Not all Wood Elves live in peaceful sanctuaries in synergy with the other races. The Bloodbraided are a group of Nihilistic Wood Elves living deep within the Great Marsh, and who have declared war on civilization on the claim that it is blasphemy to nature. Their name comes from their custom to braid their hair into dreadlocks and color it reddish with the blood of their kills, giving them a fierce and wild appearance. Be wary of the Bloodbraided, for they strike from the shadows of the swamp without warning and with extreme prejudice.