Lore Writer's Blog: Finding the Forgotten Forests (Patreon)

Today we are going to talk about our first Submap of the Mega Map, the Forgotten Forests. 

The Forgotten Forests is a 16km x 16km map full of lush vegetation, rolling hills, mountains, caves, trees, grassy prairies, rivers, and lakes. The Forgotten Forests is the native lands of the Shadow Scale, Acid Spitter, Blitz Striker, and other temperate-loving Dragons. Most spawn points are in the south west portion of the map where there is a lot of water and vegetation. Players will be able to explore the other areas of the map if they'd like to venture into the mountains or other areas. 

Being that it is a temperate forest, all species can survive and thrive on this map, there are even some places where hot and cold loving dragons will be able to claim as suitable nesting sites such as the lava trenches or frostbite caves. 

The Forgotten Forests were named by the Shadow Scale clans, who for many centuries lived on small island clusters scattered across the Great Ocean which provided them plenty of fish which is their main source of food. When the Venom Wyrms of the islands, having decimated their natural prey population, began to prey on Shadow Scale hatchlings, the Shadow Scale populations across the islands began to decline and eventually an entire generation of plasma dragon young were lost. The Venom Wyrms were silent nocturnal predators, attacking the young while they were sleeping, with only one bite from their powerful venom needed to kill the young dragons. During the day, the Venom Wyrms would hide in small caves where the adult Dragons could not get to them. With their future generations and the survival of their species at stake, the Shadow Scales were forced to venture off the islands to find a new home. 

One night, as the adults and elders of all shadow clans gathered, they talked of finding a new home in the cold Winter Winds. One of the Elders remembered hearing his father, a frequent traveler to the Winter Winds, talk of these lush temperate forests full of food Westward across the Great Ocean and South of the Winter Winds. These Forests would make for ideal nesting sites for future generations of Plasma Dragons. The Shadow Scales asked to hear more and the Elder continued, "I remember a riddle my father would tell me of the forests South of the Winter Winds. He'd say, 'Fly West to the Winter Winds, then South across the frozen snow, the frostbite caves will take you there, where forests are green and grow.'"

The Shadow clans had no other choice and so it was decided. Find these "Forgotten" Forests or go extinct. On the morrow, the Shadow Scale clans ventured across the Great Ocean into the chilling Winter Winds, and then South, through Snow and Wind and chilling breeze, with frostbitten wings and frozen feet, they flew until they came to the frostbite caves. Into the caves they went, traveling for days on foot, doubt and despair had been their daily diet, until one day, they saw light. Upon exiting the caves, they took to the skies, flying to the mountains they saw the trees and lakes and rivers. It was the Forgotten Forests - forgotten no longer. The Shadow Scales had found their new home.