Skull Island from King Kong
Surprisingly, I’ve never had the champions go to the jungle region of Ralian. This biome is more common in the Cerascent region, but there is a big one on the southwestern section of Ralian. It has the desert on one border, the forest on another, and the oceans on the others. To be honest, this place will be more important in Book 11, but some heroes will be exploring in Tribe of the Snow Tiger. I’ll get more into how to write divided groups of heroes in the next post. This is all about the jungles.
Trading happens along the coast, which is difficult to penetrate due to the dense trees and the river mouths being too narrow for large ships. So there are coastal towns for this as well as locals that will take their small boats out to the traders. It’s never for money, but supplies that they can’t find in the jungle. A lot of the local economy involves fishing and tropical fruits, but there are a few tribes that barter in furs and meat. The food from the jungle is considered a delicacy and tends to be reserved for nobles.
There is no cohesive government in the southern jungle because it is divided up by several tribes. Scent markers, warning signs, and other clear markers are arranged around the borders. Some tribes have treaties and will cross over to do business or share in a holiday to solidify the peace. Others are always trying to find ways to take over the region, but they rarely take action beyond a few border raids. A big reason for this is that there are various beings that step in whenever one group gets too strong. Some people believe they are fairies while others think they are ghosts. Either way, it makes the tribes rein in their ambition and settle for a few steps here and there. Scattered temples to these guardians and neutral towns have been established to retain some level of civility.
Beyond the tribe system, there isn’t much else to tell about the southern jungle. It’s humid, filled with dangerous beasts, hides a network of rivers, and tends to be isolated from most global events. The big wars have passed it by as well as any advances in technology and magic. Only the borders have been influenced slightly by outsiders, but not enough to change the society. The locals simply have no interest in changing because of their environment. To them, a gnome-made machine will damage the trees or get stuck in the vines and heavy armor would be useless in the year-long humidity. Perhaps the only thing they indulge in are foreign foods, drinks, and jewelry. Beyond that, the tribes are content to live their simple lives.
You may have noticed that this region is simply called the southern jungle. Since the region isn’t claimed by a kingdom or single tribe, it doesn’t have a solid name. Most of the tribes will call the jungle by their name or some version of ‘home’. They are more concerned with territory than the overall region and outsiders have taken to simply calling it ‘the southern jungle’. Not an original name since it’s the only jungle region on Ralian and it’s in the south. Still, not many have bothered to change it. Those that have were conquering warlords who discovered that the local wildlife aren’t friendly to the blindly ambitious.
Legends of Windemere 
“Those that have were conquering warlords who discovered that the local wildlife aren’t friendly to the blindly ambitious” – sounds like there’s a few stories there 🙂
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Nothing that could fill a book. The funny thing about fantasy is that many tales that are said within the story don’t always flush out into their own book. I did think about doing it, but all I had was a warlord going ‘we shall conquer!’ and then he got eaten during the march. Maybe Ichabod Brooks will get involved in something like this, so a short story could happen.
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Lol – yes, that could work. Perhaps the tale of a warlord whose invading party is eaten and he has to make his way back with the help of an intrepid adventurer.
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Either that or Ichabod runs into the invasion party while on a job. So he ends up being one of those dangerous things in the jungle, but only because they keep getting in his way. All the man wants is to go home and give his kid a present.
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A nice helmet that used to belong to a warlord, perhaps?
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It’s usually something the kid can play with or non-military related. Maybe a jungle firefly as a pet.
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I had a safari helmet as a kid. I spent hours playing the intrepid explorer.
Then again, I loved chasing fireflies and butterflies, too. Often, wearing said helmet.
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Thinking about it, would a jungle warlord wear a helmet? Pretty humid around there and metal armor would be brutal.
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A safari helmet, then:)
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Interesting that you’ve thought this all out. I think it would be a wonderful place to send Ichabod.
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Guess this could be adventure #3 since his next one is already scheduled for June blog posts.
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Can’t wait. I’d still throw it out on Amazon. A cover more akin to my Notebook shouldn’t be too pricey.
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I don’t have much to work with especially since I still have the next book big coming out soon. I hope. Down the road, I might remove the Ichabod stuff and put out a compilation, but right now I’m kind of happy to have a low stress serial.
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Sounds like a place that could be an interesting story of treasure seeking or exploitation.
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Various heroes will find their ways there. Though the Cerascent Islands have even more interesting jungles and wildlife.
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Sounds good.
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