Matriarch Grove

More aptly described as a swamp than rainforest, Eaalaaem is home to the majority of leaves across Matriarch Grove. The region of Eaalaaem is mostly comprised of swamp-like forests and contain predominantly a particular type of tree—one of if not the last species of tree in Matriarch Grove to bear leaves. The leaves of these trees grow high above the forest floor, which is usually covered by water or at the very least, a dense mist. As they are consumed by the local wildlife, the remains fall into the water, where a chemical reaction heats them up, causing more mist and humidity.

It is due to this cycle of the nutritious material being consumed by the region’s endemic species (the Laaem) that makes this region unique. The air is so dense from the humidity that many other animal species find it difficult to survive let alone thrive as exclusively as the Laeem do here. With the lack of animals and solid ground, many plant species have unique adaptations that allow them to live either far from the water—like the leaves of the trees—or at least partially submerged.

The oldest Region in Matriarch Grove, and contains the oldest celestial bodies other than Astran in Omneutta. Elder Greens finds itself home to rushing rivers as a result of its sudden precipitation, where wide swaths of land are little more than damp for weeks if not months at a time before having torrential rain that lasts for days. The rolling hills of the area are good for funneling this water into rivers to fill the usually dry valleys between them.

The trees, as well as the planet-stars and star-planets here are among the youngest in The Known Universe, and may be post-Timekeeping Reset. Nuuafooraes is known to all those outside it—even other Quarryn – as New Growth.1 Here, the tree-homes are grown extremely large, often towering over other geographical features beneath them, and are visible – to those above the tree tops—for several kilometers. New Growth is also the most welcoming Region in Matriarch Grove, in large part to the large communal trees. While the Quarryn prefer to live in trees, non-Quarryn often build dwellings underneath the cover provided by the large trees that are more accommodating to them.

Though mostly dead and dormant, new and unique plant life has begun to appear in small sections of Withered Woods. Tree-homes have not been grown in Withered Woods in many centuries, and efforts to grow new ones have failed, indicating a problem with the climate or soil. The husks of many older tree-homes still dot the landscape, and some rivers still carry water in a season or two throughout the year, but much of the land runs dry during the colder seasons due to Withered Woods sporting the only cold seasons in Matriarch Grove.