The Whispering Woods is the common name for the area controlled by Waldan’s Windwalkers. The sprawling area is roughly from Hightower in the West to Twilight’s Crossing in the East with the Ungart Mountains to the North and bounded by the Benevolence River in the South. The Diamond Curtain Lakes surround Windwalker Keep. The Ember Grove sits at the foot of the Ungart Mountains
The area is vast but most people live in villages and towns near the river and along the roads connecting the boundary cities. Many of the original small homesteads that were typically given to refugee families following the Reclamation and supported by Waldan’s Windwalkers still exist, though typically with extensive expansion and renovation in the past 50 years as families have grown, combined, and mixed with other families and settlers. Most of the houses that are close to the main road between Ft. Waldan and Twilight’s Crossing are more traditional with cleared areas for gardens, crops, or livestock.
Those that live farther from the road and more in the woodlands tend to be more dedicated followers of Waldan. Their houses are less traditional and more organic as they blend with the environment. These dwellings range from caves and hobbit holes to water mills and tree houses. These homes tend not to have large areas cleared for crops or livestock and instead prefer to incorporate these areas into the natural surroundings.
Those that live in Windwalker Keep are the most dedicated followers of Waldan. They embody living with nature blending both with magic and technology. Here dwellings are magically shaped from trees and other flora to provide interior living spaces while not harming the trees themselves. Vines and roots connect the trees to each other as bridges and ladders for people to traverse as well as providing cover for large spaces.
Windwalker Keep is a bit of a misnomer. There is no traditional Keep. Rather the Diamond Curtain Lakes provide much of the boundaries of the Keep functioning as Curtain Walls. The Lakes get their name from the sparkling diamond effect on the lake during the day. This magical enchantment makes crossing the lake difficult because of how bright it gets during the day. At night the lakes are covered in an unusually dense fog. The land between the lakes is magically dense forest and thicket to keep out intruders.
Creeks and streams from the Ungardt Mountains are common in the entire area. Watermills are common for powering everything from archimedes screws to sawmills.
Most of the people practice Permaculture and other sustainable and regenerative farming techniques in order to be able to support themselves and their communities.
Examples https://www.nal.usda.gov/collections/stories/three-sisters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfqPlDzWwjM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl2Ma_heuLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZIdEsg5AU
Dead Hedges are the typical fencing and boundary markers when needed.
https://felderrushing.blog/2023/08/04/the-dead-hedge-is-alive/
In addition to traditional crops, many people experiment with cultivating more wild crops to produce larger yields or cross breeding varieties to find more palatable and survivable crops.
Crops and livestock are shared throughout the community. While many families grow for themselves, there are dedicated farmers that tend to larger farms to ensure not only enough food for everyone but also for sale to help fund community needs. There are also some individuals that specialize in niche and luxury crops or livestock https://strawberryplants.org/japanese-strawberry-growing-secrets/
Waldan’s distillery has even found a distinct corn for their whiskey making Waldan’s Finest something truly unique
The Whispering Woods get their name from the local legends that someone was always watching. During the early days of New Radiance, many Wind Walkers would constantly patrol the area looking for criminals, spies, or any other threats trying to avoid detection by going through the Wood. What they didn’t know was how all of the magical plant growth was affecting the Forest. The enhanced growth not only affected things about the soil but below them as well. Over time, the root systems of the Waldan Wood Trees began connecting, forming a network that sprawled the entire Whispering Wood. This was unknown for several years until Rawina Ember Awakened one of the Waldan Wood Trees and discovered it could feel the wide ranging root network. Rawina traveled the forest Awakening trees to help increase their ability to detect threats to their lands. This network expanded rapidly in recent years when Rawina’s nephew Rowan, returned from his adventures and was able to assist.
Harvest Blessings Festival - held on the winter solstice
To celebrate the previous year and bless the next, the Festivale is a Thanksgiving-like community holiday. The faithful gather before dawn to travel to the fields. As Waldan used to do, they spend the day preparing the fields for next year’s plantings. The ground is tilled and fertilized. Prayers and blessings are given and asked for. (This is all done as part of Plant Growth - Enrichment 8 hour ritual.) When the rituals are over, everyone prepares for a great feast and celebration.