Svartwald

The Svartwald, also known as the Grandtaillis, is a vast area of mountains and woodland located in western Vildskanor and eastern Tol Nuit. Formerly two separate forests known as the Svartvald and Grandtaillis, the Sundering and the creation of the Vildskanor-Tol Nuit Wayrift connected the two areas, forming the modern day forest.

The Svartwald has historically been regarded as ill-omened and cursed, a view that has only increased following the Scourge Invasion of Vildskanor as the Svartwald, like much of southern Vildskanor, was devastated by the combination of undead and the plague, which combined with the local disease known as the Black Plague to infest the forest's flora. As a result most of the eastern reaches of the modern Svartwald have been twisted into a rotting parody of their former glory, while the western forest, located in Tol Nuit, has mostly escaped lasting harm.

Etymology
The name Svartwald comes from a combination of the Skanoric words Svart (Black), and Wald (Forest), so named because of the dark colouration of the forest's tree trunks and the low light in the area due to the canopy.

The Baradi name for the forest, Grandtaillis, comes from the words Grand (Grand), and Taillis (Forest), so named due to the forest being the largest (and practically only) area of woodlands on Tol Nuit.

Geography
The Svartwald borders the highly fertile Neuenstrom Valley to the east, the plains of Westfalä to the north, the Nuitois Lowlands to the west and the Great Sea to the south. The majority of the forest is relatively mountainous and elevated, with the northern and western edges comprised of forested slopes and rounded foothills.

Meanwhile, the southern coastline of the Svartwald forms shear limestone and sandstone cliffs. This cliffs transition to steep ravines and gullies further inland and along the western bank of the Neuenstrom, while the north-eastern border of the forest is valley slopes that have been partially cleared for farming.

Climate
Due to its southern position, the Svartwald has a cold, alpine climate, with constant rainfall more common than snowstorms. The elevated southern areas of the forest form a barrier to most storms coming off the Great Sea or Frozen Sea, resulting in the northern areas of the forest receiving far less annual rainfall.

As with most of Vildskanor, large blankets of fog and mist commonly shroud the lower areas of the Svartwald. The location of the Vildskanor-Tol Nuit Wayrift within the forest causes additional affects on the climate, most notably lightnings storms around the veil of the rift.

People and Culture
The most common inhabitants of the Svartwald are the Skanoric humans, although the forest is home to other races such as dwarves and various beast-races.

Humans
Due to its adjacent location to the Neuenstrom Valley, a part of the heartland of Vildskanor, the edges of the Svartwald have historically been home to a significant population of humans, although these settlers avoid the heartland of the forest for various reasons.

Most of these inhabitants are descended from settlers who arrived from the Neuenstrom Valley or the minor tribes that inhabited the forest before the fall of the Arathorian Empire. Human inhabitation of the Svartwald is mostly confined to minor villages on the edges of the forest and smaller, solitary farmsteads located further inward. These villages are generally focused around a mine, lumber mill or fishery, although in the north east much of the forested slopes have been cleared for widespread agriculture.

Following the Scourge Invasion of Vildskanor, most of the forest's villages were left defenceless and destroyed by the undead or beastfolk. However, the creation of the United Democratic People's Councils of Skanor saw the primary logging and mining industries of the forest revived by new settlers, living and dead alike. The VDVS currently administers these settlements as part of the Democratic People's Council of Bayland.

Human presence continues in a normal fashion on the western side of the forest, in Tol Nuit, as the Scourge were mostly unable to pass through the Svartwald's heart.

Dwarves
Although far smaller than the human population, the Svartwald is also inhabited by a substantial number of dwarves. The dwarven populace is mostly centred around strongholds located in the heart of the forest, with the strongholds focusing on mining and logging in the same way as the human villages.

To avoid traversing the thick woodlands in the centre and south of the forest, the dwarven settlements are interconnected by underground roads and, more recently, underground railways. These tunnels also connect to cliff side ports on the forest's southern border, which give the dwarven strongholds a safe way to transport goods between the forest and the dwarven holds of the south.

The self-contained and secure nature of the dwarven settlements meant that they were unaffected by the Scourge invasion.

Beastfolk
Descended from Night Elves cursed during the War of the Ancients, strange bestial tribesmen with a similarity to Satyrs inhabit the deeper parts of the forest. These beastfolk partially take on goat, pig or the forms of other horned creatures and mostly consist of the original descendents or afflicted human settlers, though other races such as cursed Taunka are found within the clans.

These cursed tribesmen have historically proved hostile to any attempts to settle the forest and are responsible for multiple raids on the local villages. In recent years many tribes have been afflicted with the Plague of Undeath and have pledged allegiance to the VDVS, although the deepest areas of the forest still hold "pure" clans who are hostile to all outsiders.

In addition to the cursed beastfolk, there are a number of more normal bestial races inhabiting the Svartwald, most commonly kobolds and gnolls.

Economy and Resources
The economy of the Svartwald is primarily focused around mining and forestry, along with minor contributions from agriculture and fishing.

Mining
The first of the forest's primary industry, mining in the Svartwald is mostly done via tunnelling, with the main deposits consisting of iron, lead and silver, along with small amounts of coal. The majority of metal mined in the Svartwald is exported via cart or, more recently, rail to river ports such as Mönstad and Nattfurt, where it is then sent upriver to foundries in Neuenland and Westfalä.

Forestry
The second industry, forestry in the Svartwald is conducted mostly to produce timber for the construction of ships, both merchant and naval alike. Formerly these logs would be sent via river to supply shipbuilders in Tol Nuit and, more further afield, in Kul Tiras. However, in recent years logs from the VDVS-controlled areas of the forest are instead sent down to the mouth of the Neuenstrom River, where they can be used in the creation of ships for the Neuenic People's Navy, although the Nuitois mills still supply their own shipyards.

Aside from the production of timber logs, the forestry industry of the Svartwald also produces large amounts of potash and charcoal for use in smelters and foundries.

Agriculture
Only occurring on a large scale in the north-east, agriculture in the Svartwald is mostly subsistence, as the nearby Neuenstrom Valley is farm more fertile and thus a better place for commercial farms. As with the other Skanoric forests, this farming typically takes the form of slash-and-burn, with farmers moving throughout the edges of the forest and allowing areas to recover.

Unfortunately, the majority of beastfolk tribes in the Svartwald consider burning the forest to be a great crime, meaning that farms in the forest are subject to numerous raids. Additionally, the fertility of the forest was sorely affected by the Black Plague, meaning that surviving farms in the east have had to switch to hardier crops such as mushrooms.

Fishing
With many mountain streams and lakes, the Svartwald is also a prime place for fishing. The fishing villages of the forest mostly produce of salmon, with their catches being salted or smoked and sent to feed Skanoric cities or used for the living members of the Neuenic People's Navy or the Nuitois Navy in the east and west respectively.

The destruction of the forests ecosystem by the Black Plague caused great damage to the fishing industry, as many lakes are now choked with fungus and only inhabited by infected fish (though this hasn't stopped the VDVS from using them as rations).

Other
There are numerous minor industries in the Svartwald, the most notable of which are glass-making, engineering and jewelcrafting.

Glassmaking
Although a minor industry, the glassmakers of the Svartwald are renown for their creation of what is known as forest glass. This glass is made from sand or quartz from the forest's mines, which is combined with locally mined magnesium and potash and is yellow-green in colour.

The majority of this forest glass is used for mundane creations such as glasses. However, forest glass is also used for stained windows in chapels and cathedrals on rare occasions when the quality is high enough. Finally, the low quality of most forest glass made it cheap enough to be used in Meric Greenhouses and as such the destruction of much of the forest glassmaking industry by the Scourge dealt a dire blow to agriculture across Meria.

Engineering
Due to the isolation of many villages in the Svartwald, a unique industry of precision engineering developed, to allow for the ability to repair logging and mining equipment. With the industrialisation of Vildskanor, these skills were turned to the creation of watches and ornate cuckoo clocks.

Though many such items are deemed "frivolous" by the VDVS government, the industry continues, mostly due to the funds it brings in for said government.

Jewelcrafting
The last of the notable minor industries, the Svartwald's jewelcrafting industry developed in the same way as the engineering one, with precision skills put to new uses following the industrialisation of Vildskanor. This results in the production of various pieces of jewellery made with local stones and metals and has been allowed to continue under the VDVS, once again due to the money it brings in.