Smallwood Forest

> *"The treetops stretch high into the mist past what you can see. If you listen carefully you can hear the wings beating in the mist. Such grandeur of nature could truly make anyone of a civilized disposition feel small and insignificant, even more so when you realize this is hardly all that nature has to offer"* (Traveler's guide to Soi, on Smallwood forest)
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**Smallwood Forest** also called **Screechwood** is a forest biome in the North West corner of the Midlands of

Soi. The forest is known for its giant sequoia trees that cover the landscape creating a forest of giant trees. The name **Smallwood** was given by Woag explorers who found the land and gave it that name possibly as a joke, possibly as a slight against the native denizens of the forest.

## Population

Smallwood forest is home to a group of pigmy humans often called **Daever** that live high within the treetops of the sequoia. They have very little contact with the outside world or **Crael** as they call them which translates to "foot crawlers" which as far as anyone can figure is a derogatory term.

### **Interactions**

The smallwood folk or Daever live isolated from the rest of the world. Whenever outsiders go into the forest, they are often ignored unless they begin attempting to harm or harvest the trees that they live in or around.

The Daevers have developed a unique style of warfare to deal with the larger or heavier armored invaders by dive bombing them with massive (relatively speaking) spears usually tipped with stone or bone heads, however traveling at far past terminal velocity they impact targets with tremendous force, often times they will make specially weighted spears when dealing with heavier armored foes.

Trade with them is not impossible, however there is very little that the Daevers have that is marketable to the outside world aside from their services as messengers or scouts.

### **Morphology**

The Daevers have lived for nearly their entire history in the treetops of the giant trees, growing smaller with each successive generation. They stand at between 4' and 5' and are very wiry in build. They are exceptional climbers

### **Domesticated birds**

The species of gargantuan birds that live in Smallwood has had several strains domesticated by the Daevers and used for hunting, travel, and warfare.

## Lumber industry and conflict

> *"There is tremendous majesty here it is true, and tremendous potential for profit. The sheer amount of material we can harvest from one of these trees could fill our ledger for the next year. Once we determine how long it takes for one to grow to this size and calculate the rate of harvest, we may have an unlimited supply of lumber for the mill"* (Ashed ground survey journal)
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### **Ashed**

Many private lumber companies have started up in the Ashed confederacy with the sole intent of harvesting wood from the Smallwood forest due to the massive amounts of wood a single tree can produce.

While the Ashed put profit as the highest priority, the lumber guild heads acknowledge that if one depletes their supply of resources, they will lose their capital, thus attempt to harvest trees from various areas at a rate that equals the growth rates of the forest.

This however is lost on the **Daevers** who on a regular basis attempt to kill the Ashed laborers attempting to harvest the wood.

### **Goran**

Being on the borders of the **Firelands**, smallwood forest is often host to Goran scouting parties. These groups of Goran often are ignored by the Daevers of the region due to not having any real interest in the giant trees aside from the occasional recreational climb.

### **Tallet**

The Tallet navy has a great thirst for Sequoia wood, being capable of producing unbroken wooden beams of larger proportion than nearly every other source on Soi, they are necessary for some of the larger ships or **Natanis Navale** floating fortresses.

Several excursions have been made to kill the native inhabitants and harvest trees with little success as the Daevers are far too maneuverable or high up for the Tallet war engines to shoot at.

### **Independent nations**

Many independent companies, some associated with the **Family hearth** attempt to harvest trees, constantly hampered by the locals and occasional external threats.

### **Rakkaan**

Rakkaan tribes will sometimes infest the Smallwood forest, being mostly incapable of getting to the local population in the treetops they are usually ignored by the Daevers unless they begin threatening their natural food supply by over hunting or foraging.