A vast forest north of Raft, containing multiple distinct ecosystems that each vie for dominance. They’ve somehow achieved a fragile equilibrium.
Geography
The Shaded Grove A sovereignty of myconids lives within the eastern section of the Shambling Woods. The canopy within the Shaded Grove grows so close that sunlight rarely reaches the forest floor. In this shadowed bastion the myconid carry out a peaceful existence. They grow, meld, and die. Many within the sovereignty wish to leave the grove and see the wonders of the wider world, but are confined within the canopies protection from the sun. The myconids consider it their responsibility to keep the undead scourge within the Shambling Woods under control. Under the full moons, specialized short-lived myconids called Raveners enter the Shambling Woods and cull the undead population through the usage of powerful decomposition abilities. The Shambling Woods Beams of sunlight fall onto a quiet brook, a once healthy stream now strangled by algae growth gone awry. Caps of mushrooms crowd the leaf strewn floor. A lack of birdsong or insect buzz creates a smothering silence. A fawn carefully picks its way along the trail, head swiveling as it sniffs the air. It freezes, apparently catching a scent. With a rustle, a doe stumbles out of a dense thicket some ways away, head lolling lazily. The fawn hesitates for a moment before walking to its mother. The fawn nuzzles her chest, though she does not immediately reciprocate, instead gazing blankly in the distance. After a moment she lowers her head to the fawn and returns the embrace. A wet rattle escapes the doe’s chest cavity, ribs exposed like a fanged yawning mouth, as it draws a breath for the first time since the reunion began. She slowly raises her head to her child’s face. Suddenly she lunges and bites the fawns cheek, ripping off a stringy chunk of flesh, ignoring its panicked cries.
Necromantic energy has stained this forest, transforming all creatures within into undead nightmares. Instead of the total collapse of the ecosystem, a strange twisted stability has seemingly set in. Undead beasts still follow the same paths they walked in life.