Aokami Forest

Aokami Forest was a spirit-haunted forest, and deep on its heart sat Kyūden Shika, the ancestral seat of power of the Deer Clan. Courts of Stone, p. 44 It boasted emerald ferns. Courts of Stone, p. 81
== Haunted ==
Aokami Forest was haunted by spirits who haled from Chikushō-dō, the realm
of animals, and from Sakkaku, the realm of mischief. The speardancers of the Kyūden knew how to placate both factions. Three foxes with snow-white fur had lived by the three ancient cedars which grew within Kyūden Shika for several centuries. Each of the kitsune had several different identities, mostly as groundskeepers, servants, and other individuals who tended to be invisible to high-ranking samurai. Courts of Stone, p. 46
== Appearance ==
On its perimeter in the four cardinal directions, massive gates decorated with carved gypsum admited visitors to white-tiled paths that led into the heart of Deer territory. Large deer herds fearlessly bound through the trees, unafraid of natural predators. Many trees in Aokami Forest were modified to serve a purpose: ropes, balancing pegs, and climbing walls made the wood an immense training ground for Speardancers, who trained and lived in the forest, surveiling their lands from elevated platforms that criss-crossed the trees. A small number of access roads merged onto the four white paths, leading from open glades populated by farmers or from the Deer's lucrative gypsum mines outside the forest. Finally, the white paths converged onto Kyūden Shika. Courts of Stone, p. 82
Category:Deer Clan Holdings
Category:Chikushō-dō