Post by The Grove-Guard on Aug 13, 2019 10:33:32 GMT -8
The hidden treasure, buried at the center of the Neverend Forest, Glisten Grove is a beautiful bright clearing at the heart of the forest, easily the size of a capital city, though of course, for the diminutive residents that call it home, this amount of space is more akin to an entire parish or small barony. Clusters of adorable little structures dot the rolling hills and gentle grassy plains of Glisten Grove, most barely rising to six or seven feet in height, with the tallest being about the average size of a typical home in the nations outside of Neverend’s breach. The houses have bright and often fantastical designs, some comparable to doll houses, with vibrantly colored roof tiles, radiant painted walls, and gorgeous gardens of flowers from the surrounding forest. Houses built on the edge of the grove or within the thinning treeline often incorporate natural elements into their construction, built into or under the trunks of the great trees that grow at the heart of the forest. Others are built into bulbous mushrooms, or around sturdy stones or atop cleanly leveled tree stumps, a rare few even built within the branches of the most solid, ancient trees.
A vast majority of the petite buildings seem to stand in small croppings of a dozen to two dozen across the fields, along with fewer solitary shacks. Only a handful of true cities or towns seem present, as there are few larger societies of note within Glisten Grove, the residents here preferring to arrange themselves in traditionally smaller communities. The grove is inhabited by diminutive residents. Spritelings, sometimes also just called sprites, are the curious creatures that call Glisten Grove and the Neverend Forest home. To an outsider, these creatures, even individuals within the same group, can look so wildly different as to be considered different species, but the spritelings are more alike to one another than they are different, the nature of their outward physicality insignificant when compared to all they share in origin and composition.
The most outwardly prominent quality all spritelings share are their stature and physical strength. Ranging in heights from just under four feet to as short as a single foot, the sprites are a diminutive and physically unimposing race in comparison to many of the towering warriors of other nations. They are frail, and a vast majority lack the strength to rival even the children of taller races.
Visitors to Glisten-Grove must find a way through the Neverend Forest. Visiting Glisten Grove as an outsider can be a challenging task, both mechanically and socially, however, as pro-international sentiments grow in the community, it has become increasingly convenient and easy to make a trip to the Grove as a non-spriteling. Getting to the grove itself is the main challenge. One’s best bet is to arrange a trip through the forest with a guide. There are a few guide guilds that establish little outposts on the edges of the forest. These institutions work closely with The Order of Feather and Fur, akin to a border patrol institution.
Being approved for a trip into the Grove can be slightly time consuming, taking an hour or two to arrange the approval, and usually requires a check of emotional aura as well as any and all items being brought into the Grove. Most people approved for a trip to the Grove are accompanied by a single guide, who is responsible for ensuring the foreigner does not threaten the societies within, because as mentioned, even a single human could present massive threat to the Grove communities once inside. Larger groups all travelling together, especially soldiers or political groups, will be assigned a security detail by The Order, usually consisting of a dozen or more spriteling soldiers.
Being approved for a trip into the Grove can be slightly time consuming, taking an hour or two to arrange the approval, and usually requires a check of emotional aura as well as any and all items being brought into the Grove. Most people approved for a trip to the Grove are accompanied by a single guide, who is responsible for ensuring the foreigner does not threaten the societies within, because as mentioned, even a single human could present massive threat to the Grove communities once inside. Larger groups all travelling together, especially soldiers or political groups, will be assigned a security detail by The Order, usually consisting of a dozen or more spriteling soldiers.
If one would forgo making official arrangements through a guide, then they would have to brave the forest unguided, a task which is infamously dangerous and difficult. Very few make it to the grove unassisted by a spriteling. While initially mundane in appearance, wanderers through Neverend Forest quickly become aware of its extraordinary nature. Neverend forest is the first and strongest defense for the vulnerable communities that live deep within its womb. This forest grows in an unnatural way, a convergence of ley lines and an abundance of magical plants seem to culminate in a wholly wondrous composition. The most critical feature of this forest is also the quality from which it derives its name. Neverend Forest is not physically consistent. The paths don’t make sense, the space within the trees is entirely non-euclidean. Walking in a (seemingly) straight line through the forest rarely results in emergence at the other side of the wood’s edge. Tracing one’s steps back through the forest is always inexplicably easy, but pushing on to the heart of the forest is a titanous challenge even for experienced adventurers and woodsmen.