The Dashao Rainforest

Thanks to the lower gravity and thicker atmosphere of Aeras, the jungle was able to be not just big, but huge. It is what can be best described as a mega jungle. The average height of trees in the jungle is about 360 feet, with the tallest trees reaching heights of over 400 feet. It is a warm and wet environment with almost near constant rainfall thanks to the mountains to the west of it and sea to the east. This rainfall allows the native Amphin to be able to traverse the jungle without worrying about drying out their skin. However, it is also fairly hard to find dry wood for fires so the natives generally carry dry charcoal with them to start fires to heat and dry the wood, but more often then not go without fire.

### The Amphin

The native people of the Dashao Rainforest are the Amphin, amphibious humanoids. They have small gills and fins, webbed hands and feet, six sensory tentacles growing from the back of the head and neck, blueish- green skin with dark blue markings all over their bodies, and a double eyelid for seeing on land and underwater. They are hunter-gatherers who live in small roaming bands of about 50-60 people organized into loosely united tribes of at least ten bands, all scattered throughout the jungle.

### Fauna

#### Predatory Fauna

Due to its near geographical isolation, and to the mountains and sea almost completely surrounding it except for the very bottom and top, this environment has lead to some of the most unique life forms on Aeras. From the Harmrok, a large amphibian with six legs and and a length of about 15ft and height of about 5.5ft that has two verticle slits in its carapace for mouths; to the Kokronuro, a gigantic tree frog-like beast that can grow to the size of a bus. Deep in the northern jungles and across the pass into the Koorkikseo region are also large snake-like hydras that can regrow their severed heads. The most feared beast is the Jawarl, a very intelligent and very large ape/rodent/wolfish sort of predator covered in bony armor. There are many types of bony plated animals in the jungle, including a few types of macaques and baboons, which have hard plating over their faces, spines, and hands. An other type of primate that calls the jungle home is the rainbow mandrill, which does not have bony plates, but is very brightly colored, with fur colors ranging from light tan, brown, to pitch black and facial colors including bright reds, bright yellows and oranges, and bright blues and purples. There are also plenty of aquatic predators such as gators, eryops, and a species of octopus introduced from tsiltung which has grown significantly larger and spikier then its cousins, known as the Dashoku.

     There are also many other types of predators such as jaguars, tigers, panthers, and cougars in the jungle. These big cats, with the exception of the solitary and ill-tempered tiger, have been partially domesticated by the native amphin, in lieu of wolves and normal cats domesticated by other civilizations. These cats are raised from cubs in the bands, usually along with amphin children and are used to help hunt and guard the village at night.

#### Insects, Arthropods, Arachnids, and Detritivores

Many types of insects come in their normal sizes, but most also have larger varieties that can also grow exceptional sizes. For example, the average dragonfly, known as a gemfly (Meganeura), has a wingspan of about 25 inches, and millipedes and centipedes, known as Arthropleura, can grow to 1-7.5 feet long. Beetles can also grow to be quite large, like the black horned beetle, which can grow to be over 12 inches long.  The rainforest is also no stranger to mosquitoes, however they are of types that migrated from outside the jungle and are less common than in most jungles due to their lack of adaptation against the myriad predators that eat them. They are all smaller than average, making them much harder to find than if they grew like most insects. There are also dozens of types of spiders across the jungle, from 4ft tarantulas to the tiny (2in) Spore Spider which has a symbiotic relationship with a certain type of fungus, allowing it to grow on its body and spread spores wherever to goes in exchange for an easy snack. Other giant spiders include giant versions of Daddy longlegs, Wolf spiders, Black Widows, and Trapdoor spiders. It should also be noted that there are myriad kinds of parasites and insects that that implant their eggs in host organisms. One should be wary of tapeworms, pinworms, a dozen other kinds of worms, and of course a few kinds of flies and wasps that bury their larvae in animals. One such kind of fly lays its eggs in the skin of people; when the eggs hatch the larvae secrete a poison that paralyzes the host within a day or two of hatching so they can be eaten alive without being able to fight back. These maggots, called Fire Grubs, are voracious once hatched and are very painful to have under one's skin.

     There are also many types of detritivores, such as flies, a few types of beetles, which can grow up to 10 inches long, and large leaf mantises, among others that help the ecosystem prosper. There are other detritivores include slugs, worms, woodlice, termites, ants, fire ants, snails, leeches, venomous leeches, and giant snails. Some giant snails, such as the Mazar-bal (walking skull) snail, which has a large shell with a black face like pattern on its shell. Most giant snails can grow to be about the size of a watermelon and can be found across the jungle, frequently using the thicker tree branches to move across the jungle. Many an amphin has been killed by a giant snail falling off a high vine or branch.

#### Bioluminescent Fauna

There are several types of nocturnal lizards, frogs, butterflies, crickets, flies, snails, and beetles, that are bioluminescent, along with many types of plants. These animals generally look very plain during the day time, usually in shades of Browns and greys to blend in, but with special bioluminescent patches of skin that look plain in the light, but are very vibrant at night. Most of the carnivorous bioluminescent lizards and frogs feed on moths that are attracted to them and are some of the most brightly colored creatures in the rainforest. Many herbivorous bioluminescent animals use their bright colors for mating and finding each other in the darkness when their avian predators are mostly asleep. The amphin believe that these plants and animals are one of the many manifestations of a departed loved one’s soul incorporated into the environment. The amphin believe that when one dies their soul becomes part of the greater soul of the world, the Worldsoul, whose consciousness is their goddess, and the source of all life in Aeras.

#### Avian Fauna

There are many types of other animals in the Dashao rainforest. Some birds in the rainforest include, red headed woodpeckers, toucans, a dozen types of parrots, a dozen types of songbirds, and a few types of peacocks, and a dozen types of hummingbirds. There is also one type of large hawk, known as the Spirit of Death, that lives in the western part of the jungle and in the mountains. It has a large, hard beak, very large feet and talons, and bony plates on its head. It has a white feathered underbelly and brown feathers everywhere else. It is a very large bird with a wingspan of about 12ft that hunts giant insects, other birds, and small lizards, fish, and mammals, really, whatever it can kill. There are also large eagles [haast's eagle] as well that live closer to the mountains. Many of the other types of birds in the rainforest are very brightly colored and live high up in the canopy.

#### Reptiles, Amphibians, and Mammals

There are many types of snakes, alligators, lizards, turtles, salamanders and frogs too. There are several types of turtles and snapping turtles in the rivers and streams. There are about four dozen different types of frogs in the jungle; some regular aquatic frogs, one type of river dwelling frog that can grow to 4ft long, and dozens of types of tree frogs, many of which are poisonous and brightly colored. There are about a dozen types of small lizards that live in the trees and one type that lives near the water. There are also several types of salamanders and alligators, including the unique Trapjaw Gator, and the native Amphin themselves who are amphibians. It should be noted that there are dozens of types of snakes in the rainforest. There are boas, pythons, anacondas, plenty of venomous snakes like bush vipers, tree snakes, one type of bioluminescent tree snake, a few types of semiaquatic snakes, and a few types of giant boas and pythons that can grow to 40-50ft long, and more. Most snakes are constricting and ambushing predators.There are many types of herbivorous mammals too. One can find pygmy elephants here, which have downward curving tusks to help dig up roots. There are several types of capybaras, tapirs and boars, some small deer, and also some omnivorous rats and mice as well as chinchillas, wombats, Dashao devils (Tasmanian devils) and other critters. Further north, especially northwest and on the islands there are apes, orangutans, and mountain gorillas as well. All primates are highly territorial and fairly intelligent.

#### Fish and Aquatic Fauna

The Dashao rainforest is home to several major rivers and major lakes, but also vast areas of swampland and smaller streams, ponds, and waterways. In these waters are thousands of different types of freshwater fish other aquatic life that are native to the rainforest and found nowhere else in the world, like dunks (dunkleosteus) and coelacanths that can grow to enormous sizes. There are also several types of fish that exist elsewhere in the world, such as bass, and dozens of types of fish in the sea east of the rainforest. One such species are paiche, which are a large bonytongue fish, and one of the largest freshwater species in the world; able to grow to 10ft easily. There are also payara, peacock bass, piranha, and arowana fish, all of which are carnivorous. Species like, pacu, and giant pacu, are

omnivorous and there are plenty that are herbivorous. There are also of course toxic marine life like nudibranches, blue-ringed octopi, pfeffer cuttlefish, some lionfish around the reefs in the eastern coast of the Dashao, and most recently, a new type of large, sharp spiked, highly intelligent octopus species: the Dashoku. They are the ancestors of Tungoku octopi that were introduced to the region and quickly adapted or died to the hostile waters of the Dashao. There are also several types of eels, including giant eels and Dashao plated eels along with small striped eels. Some ancient fish species, such as the dunkleosteus and coelacanth that call certain lakes and rivers of the Dashao home. One other type of aquatic life in the rainforest are manatees, called Water Grazers by the natives. They are a docile species of marine mammal that live in the waters near mangrove trees.

### Flora

#### Trees

The flora of the rainforest also comes in many varieties. Such as bromeliads, large waxy bowl shaped plants that can hold several gallons of water, and more The trees are also generally extremely tall, reaching hundreds of feet and have high buttressed roots, that can grow at least up to 20ft high and extend up to at least 10ft, this is because nutrients are not found deep in the soil so most roots need to be closer to the surface but still able to anchor the trees. Another type of tree, the giant Mangrove trees, which grow in wet, muddy soil at the water's edge which can be subject to tides and flooding. To support themselves they develop several aerial pitchfork-like extensions from the trunk which grow downwards and anchor themselves in the soil, trapping sediment which helps to stabilize the tree. Cyrpress and Mangrove trees extend their roots deep into the waters of the lakes and rivers and provide cover and shelter for countless animals as well as the native Amphin on occasion.

#### Poisonous Plants

There are also countless carnivorous plants scattered across the jungle, from Venus fly traps with 1.5ft “mouths” and large pitcher plants, 30ft in length with pitchers that are at least 15 inches long. Several types of pitcher plants are extremely poisonous and are used by the native amphin to poison their weaponry. There is one type, known by the natives as the Bujar Pitcher, whose poison is actually a temporary paralytic, and another, called the Striped Pitcher, named after the white stripes on its pitchers, whose poison is a natural anesthetic. There are countless types of poisonous plants across the jungle, including large red flowering plants with long stalks resembling cattails that are poisonous to the touch, frequently infecting anything that accidentally gets too close. The only exception to this being Masked Macaques, a type of monkey native to the jungle that has thick, bony plates on its face and hands that allow it to push aside the cattails and eat the plant unharmed. There are also poisonous fruits, berries, fungi, and mosses that the natives have also had to learn to easily identify. Such as the Darkhart Moss, which is highly poisonous but looks very similar to non poisonous mosses; the difference is that short black mushrooms have a symbiotic relationship with the plant, so if these mushrooms (which are also poisonous) are found, then the mosses near them are of this variety. These mushrooms, known as Darkhart Mushrooms, also highly poisonous, but not to amphin. To amphin they are strong hallucinogens that are mainly used by their shamans and bored teenagers. There are several types of poisonous plants and fungi, like the Oleander, Water Hemlock, and Autumn Skullcap which the Amphin have adapted an immunity to and which they use in a lot of their hunting. Other poisonous plants found in the jungle include: Deadly Nightshade, White Snakeroot, and Castor Bean, among others.

#### Common Flora

Some of the most common plants in the jungle are climbing vines, ranging from 0.5cm to 13in in diameter, and Epiphytes, or air plants, which grow on every surface, from branches, trunks, rocks, and even leaves and certain insects. These plants are most numerous in the canopy, but can be found in the emergent and undergrowth layers as well. Hundreds of types of orchids also grow in the rainforest, which is quite common in most rainforests. These account for many of the flowering plants in the jungle and can be found in every color in the color spectrum and in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of kinds of flowering plants, including unique underwater flowering plants and bioluminescent plants. Another well known plant in the Dashao Rainforest is the silphium plant, while normally a small yellow plant in most of the world, in Dashao it also comes in light blue; it leaves can be used as a natural contraceptive. There are also many types of bioluminescent plants which attract pollinating insects in the rainforest. There are a few types of flowers that have a pale yellowish-white color with black petal tips and stripped patterns during the daytime, but glow bright blues and purples during the night from the yellowish parts of the petals. Certain mosses and algae also glow at night, usually ranging from green to blue.

### Quotes About Dashao

-"It's like they took everything that existed - even if it was bad already - and gave it poison." -Koda of Baädaka (u/madicienne)

- "As of now it looks to them like a madman's house of death." [speaking of the Yarruk Empire] (u/NinjaTurkey\_)

- "I wouldn't want to go camping there." -(u/Cereborn)

-"There is a very impressive range of biological specimens to be found. I'd love to catalogue all of them, if only I had more limbs I could afford losing." - Dr. Soon Masha -(u/Cereborn)

### Links to More Lore

https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5mn4zn/recreational\_drugs\_from\_dashao\_pt1/

https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5lmxaq/some\_of\_the\_plants\_native\_to\_dashao/

Vesk and Oksana Plot links (plus the kids stories)

-https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5aftj6/market\_monday\_spooky\_edition\_porto\_bara\_on\_the/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5bdjxt/new\_discoveries/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5cxk12/market\_monday\_night\_of\_winter\_fog/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5efsih/the\_explorers\_come\_to\_the\_blazing\_remnant/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5gfgx2/welcome\_to\_dashao/

- https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5n28p4/an\_outsiders\_first\_look\_at\_kerune\_el/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5ohxwg/seven\_years\_later/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5ptktx/wake\_up\_kat\_pt\_iv/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5qpxz5/tootbe\_kat\_receives\_a\_visitor/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5rn37g/battle\_for\_tsiltung\_pt\_ii\_16\_ce/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5ryg43/a\_longawaited\_arrival\_16\_ce/

- https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5sxpyg/wsw\_tsiltung\_unveils\_the\_stormcatcher\_26\_ce/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/5uivax/catching\_up\_with\_tatiana/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/6ba74b/an\_overdue\_vacation/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/6e4oqg/a\_retirement\_party/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/6fy9b5/the\_heart\_of\_the\_ocean/

-  https://www.reddit.com/r/createthisworld/comments/6g3qjz/the\_end\_goshenës\_story\_part\_5/