Winsonville

Winsonville existed for many generations as a modest trading outpost of Human and Elven hunters north of Lake Xiulu and south of Medigeshrin Bay. Its location made it readily accessible by sea to the Northern province of Kyoto. It is nestled at the edge of a forest called Kinen-rin. Both the forest and the city were rumored to be haunted and occupied by only ghosts despite the fact that the city was inhabited by at least 12,000 Yamataian citizens at its peak. It was relatively peaceful and unremarkable until the Second Mishhuvurthyar War in YE 33.

The citizens of Winsonville that were not connected to the Star Army of Yamatai where largely unconcerned with the Second Mishhuvurthyar War until Battle of Yamatai happened. In that particular battle, the war become real to Winsonville as the First Expeditionary Fleet clashed in a massive battle against the NMX fleet overhead. Emergency services managed to evacuate most of the citizens to shelters as the debris from the destroyed NMX ships tumbled towards inhabited areas all over Yamatai (Planet).

Only about 8,000 citizens in Winsonville survived the fallout. But at least another 2,000 perished when they emerged from their shelters and breathed in noxious fumes from the burning forest and NMX ship debris. Wartime shortages caused some rioting as the city struggled to rebuild. Citizens were distributed rations to combat the food shortages.

The years following the war saw the city slowly start to rebuild, new trees were planted in remembrance and the dead honored. Winsonville never fully recovered and the population dwindled as Yamataians relocated to other parts of Yamatai, cutting the city’s populace in half.

On the outskirts of the traditionally isolationist elven nation, Winsonville’s population is broken down as follows: 70% populated by Yamataians of Human and Nepleslian descent; 29.5% Nekovalkyrja; .5% Claim to be of sort of elven descent.

The denizens of Winsonville that are rumored to be of elven heritage tend to favor tall, thin, lithe builds and have the characteristic, slightly elongated, pointed ears. If they are of the Agarorn clan, they favor copper hair, freckles and green eyes. If they are of Tinudant descent, they favor light brown hair, and grey eyes.

There is a deep appreciation for the outdoors and a deep reverence for the forest and what the trees represent but despite that, there is still a strong woodworking culture and woodcraft. The people from here are considered a little rough around the edges and rural.

The Wood Elves that used to live and train in relative seclusion near Winsonville ritualistically planted trees in honor of the dead. They regarded these trees with great reverence and tended them as part of their regular daily activities. They became associated with the blood red trees they favored, the Agarorn, or “Bloodtree”. The other trees that grew in this area with their unique coloration have made this area of forest unique and haunting to behold. The mournful bird calls added to mystique and an air of morbidity clung to the area. Travelers started rumors that the city and neighboring forest were haunted. Those that lived in Winsonville enjoyed the privacy.

At least until people started seeking out this forest to meet their final deaths. No one knows when the practice started but it ended after Great Plague of YE 08. Over time, as more and more strangers decided to perish in this forest, patrols were arranged to stop this from happening or to help locate the dead. Another clan of elves took it upon themselves to act as wardens and guides within the forest, the Tinudant, or “Starfall”. For every death in the forest, a new tree was planted. For every death suffered by the people of Yamatai a new tree was planted. The forest grew in this way until YE 17 when the last Agarorn child was born but in YE 33, the town’s survivors revived the tradition of planting trees to honor their dead after the town was devastated by the Battle of Yamatai. It is also notable that the last Agarorn clan elf in Winsonville died in the aftermath.

In modern times, the forest is a wildlife preserve with hunting permitted only by special permit to control the population of boar and deer. The birds in this preserve are known for their eerie, mournful calls. There are many species of animals that had be reintroduced to the forest after the war to include deer, boar, mink, rabbits, and bats.

In the spring there are a variety of nocturnal blooming flowers and vines.

Agarorn “Bloodtree”- This tree has a deep burgundy bark and ghostly white, smooth, glossy, oval shaped leaves. In spring, the tree produces red, teardrop shaped blossoms that attracts hummingbirds and bees. The ruby sap of this tree smells incredibly sweet but is poisonous to most mammals. The unique coloration of this hardwood makes it popular for furniture and housing.

Úlaire Nimloth “Ghost Maple” - This deciduous tree has snowy white bark and dark purple, almost black hand shapes leaves with rounded tips. The smokey colored sap from these trees is popular for distillation into syrups and liquors. Known to grow to the height of 10–45 m (33–148 ft).

Entgûl “Black pine” - These are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees have pitch black thick and scaly bark with short, deep purple needles. The soft wood from this tree is a mauve color that is popular for furniture, smoking meats and woodcrafting. Its seeds are edible, and its pine needles are used for brewing tea that are both known for being high in vitamin A and C. Known to grow to 15–45 m (50–150 ft) tall.

Winsonville has a direct rail line to Uesureyan Fields (West) and an East line to Dasulim and Ternifac (East). It also has the starting end of the only rail line into Xiuluria (South).

Kim created this article on 2017/12/12 17:42. Vaguely inspired by the Aokigahara. This article was approved for usage by Wes on 14 Dec 2017.