Bladegrass Lake

Blade Grass is a large dark-green type of grass. The individual stalks are razor sharp and should not be touched. It can grow up to 70 m high and is often found in burrows and hole-like valleys. Seen from above it looks like a meadow about 10 cm deep, but when you step on it you sink. A common cause of death here is suffocation, because the deeper you sink, you can't breathe properly or blades of grass get stuck in your mouth or nose. This is the best case scenario because if you don't tend to wear full plate when going for a walk you'll probably get shredded into ribbons by the razorsharp stalks. You can often see the skeletons of deer, squirrels or sparrows that accidentally jumped in being brought to the surface by the overgrown grass. Entering such grass lakes is strongly discouraged. Not much is known about animals that live in such lakes, so far only the mostly scavenging grass-blade moray is known to be a resident. It is an unsightly creature that feeds mainly on the corpses of unwary wanderers and can reach the length of a small wheat field. A crafty hill dwarf race living on the fringes of the great Grass Lake have developed a technique for sailing on the Grass Lake in small ships made from a special type of light wood. However, unskilled grass gliders are strongly discouraged, as the slightest mistake means a painful death.
== The deadly grass ==
The lands around the Hayakker Sea are vast extensions of tall grass, covering the region as far as the eye can see. The fertile lands have access to very seasonal rains, with the only storms of any value occurring during summer. Those are not mere storms, but usually bring a lot of lightning with it, which can spark fires during the first weeks of summer, when the plantlife is drier and it’s more vulnerable to sparks. This has led to a fierce competition between the species of grass in the area, growing taller and faster to outcompete and deny other plants from soil and sunlight. They have also developed a great resilience to fire, which helps them spread throughout the land.
In particular, there is a kind of grass that has become more and more common each year, and has made the region very dangerous to inhabit. The Blade Grass is seemingly a normal kind of tall grass, seemingly unremarkable for the common eye. However, those approaching the blade grass would find a very painful fate, as they would fall into the trap of the plant. Blade Grass is able to grow up to 70m high, and it preferably grows in deeper and lower areas, such as fissures and crannies in the land. However, it rarely grow to its full height. Instead, it grows to a height tall enough to simulate regular plain terrain. The animals that pass through the area would trip and fall into the unseen gap, and they would then be trapped in the lower parts of the grass. The grass is cover in small, but incredibly sharp thorns, able to cut very thick hides with ease, and being stuck on everything it enters in contact. The Blade Grass then feeds off the spilt blood, or if the victim dies, off the carcass itself.
The strange behavior of the plant does not end there. The blade grass’ roots can grow very deep, and grow much faster than other grasses’ roots, choking them out of resources. The roots are also able to dig through the soil in irregular intervals, creating the uneven territory they use to hunt their prey. Even if it has the capacity to outcompete the rest of the grasses in the region, it somehow knows to stop expanding if the animals in the area become too savvy to the whereabouts of the Blade Grass. The attempts of cleaning up the land from blade grass to turn it into agricultural land have ended up in failure, to such an extent many think this plant is not of natural origins, but it is instead an alchemical creation. This theory is supported by the closeness of the Kingdom of Tarot, well known for their alchemists and alchemical studies.
The animals in the area have developed behaviors to avoid the blade grass. They generally walk slowly and more carefully not to fall in the blade grass holes, protecting themselves with bulk instead of nimbleness. Many species have also developed gliding skills, such as the grass flying squirrels, capable of avoiding entire patches of suspicious grass if they need to. The main predator in the area is the bladegrass moray eel, a species of terrestrial fish that’s immune to the stinging touch of the bladegrass. Due to this, they can move freely through the deadly grass, stalking their prey and bringing them down by dragging them to the grass, where the plant’s deadly touch will weaken them enough to be subdued.
== The Grass Sailors ==
At the east of the Hayakker Sea, the density of the blade grass lakes is considerably higher, with miles and miles of open field full of nothing but blade grass lake. In this conditions, the grass has grown to its fullest size, tall enough to swallow giants, and carving the terrain in such a way there’s no way to just walk through while heavily protected. However, this has created a perfect habitat for the grey flamingo, a species of bird that has evolved to feed off the insects and small crustaceans that make the deeper parts of the grass their habitat. They have evolved feathers immune to the tall grass, and since there are no real natural predators in the area, their numbers have skyrocketed in the hundreds of thousands.
The amount of grey flamingoes in the area became a great lure for a group of tribes of nomadic dwarves, the Kayakkers. The Kayakkers were nomads through most of their history, until they managed to establish themselves near the Hayakker Sea. They had travelled all through the lands belonging to the Northern Khenomeric Empire, and had gained quite a lot of knowledge from all the places visited. They had worked for many years in the docks of the many territories of the Northern Khenomeric Empire, becoming good shipbuilders and fishermen. They had also became quick friends with the alchemists in the Kingdom of Tarot, learning their trade and their arts. It would be this combination of skills, which would lead them to the Hayakker Sea. In the year 1.602 ABE, the authorities of the Northern Khenomeric Empire brought many groups of Kayakkers to the Hayakker Sea, to exploit the resources of the great lake, since no one wanted to risk establishing themselves in the area due to the isolation caused by the blade grass. Seeing it as a great source of fishing, they went there, and there they saw the absurd amount of grey flamingoes growing unchecked. They decided that they would develop a way to hunt the birds for meat and the valuable feathers, but the bladegrass lake made it a deadly proposition.
Undaunted, the Kayakker tribes began the development of different ways to move through the miles of the deadly plant. Combining their sailing and alchemical knowledge, they designed floating platforms to move around above the grass. Using balloons with a mix of alchemical gasses, the platforms stayed afloat the danger, but they were rather static and very poor means of transport. They then began combining it with different designs of sails, turning the platforms slowly but surely in small ships. This would prove a great success, using their new gliding vessels to hunt down flamingoes. The problem was always keeping the ship above the piercing effect of the grass, as well as keeping the vessel stable enough to not rock and sink into a grueling and painful death. The difficulties to make the secret alchemical mixture of gas also forces the gliders to be small, only fitting three-four dwarves inside, or just one if he wants to fill the ship with flamingoes.
The Kayakker now live in the eastern coast of the Hayakker Sea, creating cities that live of fishing and trade. The grey flamingoes’ feathers are quite valuable, both from an aesthetic perspective and for their defensive properties. Many high-class ladies from eastern Giantstep will make their dresses out of grey flamingo feathers to gain an elegant protection from any of the dangers of high society. Many kingdoms have become very interested in acquiring the secrets of the kayakker gliders, but the dwarves are protective of their secrets and inventions, and do not allow it to spread anywhere else.
Category:Geographic location
Category:Giantstep