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Plants
Legend claims that the BlackDance tree only grows above barrow mounds where its roots can find fertile soil. On ColdTime evenings (when the Icy Lady is absent from the sky) and in that time of TrueNight when even a Miner must call for light, the tree branches wave against the night sky filled by the agitation of departed souls seeking escape from their prison within the tree's trunk. By all people of the Settled Lands, these trees are considered evil and are uprooted to free the souls. Conversely, the BoneTalkers are known to cultivate these trees, which they use in their necromancies.
The leaves of BlackDance are a sable purple, glossy and fat, while the dark bark is corrugated and ridged. Their trunks are think and gnarled with roots prominently displayed on the surface.
Burning a BlackDance releases choking vapors and no known herbivore consumes the leaves.
Spreading across fens, stagnant pools, standing water, and swamps are the purple stemmed, broad-leafed DarkHaoaken. It's creeping vines can make travel impassable, and it can so clog a body of water as to make semi-firm footing. It's roots grow through and fracture the strongest stone, and its parasitic growth can consume the largest bole in its wake. Much of the Vastness has become impenetrable due to this plant.
DarkHaoaken have a redolent, acrid odor like old sweat. The plant stem is used in a number of traditional medicines by the People of the Settle Lands, including: astringent poultices to stem bleeding, purgatives for ingested potions, abortificant suppositories, and dried into hallucinogenic Akla powder which is smoked during the ritual of Foregathering.
When carefully dried over a smoking fire, the root tendrils make a crude form of matches.
A brown skinned, thick shelled nut growing in the branches of the ubiquitous Haltcha tree. Haltcha trees are deciduous, with knobby boles which make for good climbing. While their canopy can by quite thick and broad, the trees tend to look squat—seldom growing taller than 30 feet. The meat of the nut is nutritious and tasty when roasted, and the nut shell is often as a natural tanning agent and brown/red dye.
A short, thorny weed-plant with waxy, scalloped green leaves. It is rapidly growing and prefers wet soil near swamps or streams. Stepping into a patch of HistleOat is a memorably unpleasant experience, because, aside from the sharp thorns, they give a nettle-like sting. When dry, they are exceedingly flammable.
Animals
ChiHorn:
A white and black feathered bird with a splendid azure beak, these root, nut and seed grazing birds are as large as a turkey. They travel in flock of over 200 with the young riding, piggyback between the males atrophied wings. While ChiHorn can’t fly, they can run quickly for short distances and a flock always has members scouting the periphery for danger. During mating season (FallTime) they nest among the crannies in Ridge Range rock falls.
While individually harmless, in great numbers they can be a serious threat to many plains predators.
Predatory Ostrich-like birds standing upwards of 8 feet tall. These birds typically hunt in packs of 6 to 20, preying on all manner of plains beasts. They run many times faster than a sprinting man and have two principle means of attack. A HornBill can gut a prey with a stroke of a razor spurred foot or pierce and slash with its eponymous beak. Typically, a hornbill with try to lame its prey with a passing, slashing claw attack and then cut and pierce its prey with the curved, black and crimson-ribbed bill often as long as a man’s forearm. They are lightly protected by dirty grey feathers.
These venomous lizards wormhole areas of the northern plain with their tunnels whose hidden entrances allow Magriette to rush from burrows and surprise prey.
Growing to a length of five feet and weighing 100 pounds, the hides of these creatures are rough and knobbed like a cobbled street and colored with irregular patches of green, black, yellow and brown. A Magriette’s mouth is filled with three rows of ragged teeth and secretes (when stimulated) a brackish, paralyzing exudation. The creatures favorite prey is the marsupial BuckBeater, whom they will spring upon and latching their teeth into some exposed flesh grip tightly as the beast flees--waiting for the paralytic poison to take effect.
The lairs of Magriettes often contain attractive/shiny objects used to attract a mate.
A relatively moderate-sized, red and black mottled amphibious lizard, Shllessshan tend to live in swamps or stagnant water. They feed off small insects, other lizards, birds, and bird eggs. Their skin secretes an irritant whose contact causes rashes similar to poison ivy. They are pacific creatures and typically come into conflict with humans by accident.
Often their skin, organs and brain is used in dark, ritual magicks.
Large herbivores the size of a young hippopotemus, these marsupial beasts are generally peaceful, though they will attack if approached when with young (usually, WarmTime and SpringTime). Their heads are surmounted by long curving horns which can weigh 100 pounds each, and their hide is covered with a think, course, oily fur (quite water resistant) generally black/brown with bands of light yellow limning boney protrusions. They travel in herds of 20 to 200 and are often followed by HornBills.
