The Penmaerd Forests (pronounced pen-MARED) is a large wooded region of mixed pine and deciduous trees in south-central Thadria. Located between the highlands of central Thadria to the north and the many rivers that flow from the Karn Andur to the south, the forests lie entirely within the Viridian province of Penmaerd.
The Penmaerd Forests and the grasslands surrounding it are home to a number of megafauna, specifically glyptodons and chalicotherium. It is unknown why the glyptodons have evolved such heavy armor, as they have no natural predators remaining in the region, though it has certainly helped protect them from the hunters who seek their bony plates. The chalicotherium, in addition to living wild, are sometimes tamed and used as mounts or pack animals within the provinces of Herren and Penmaerd, where the roads are of a lesser quality than elsewhere in Viridia.
In the modern day the forests are the least inhabited part of Thadria, and of Viridia, by a good margin, with Felaveli as the only major settlement of any size in the region. But this was not always the case, as the innumerable hero-tombs found semi-buried amongst the trees can attest. Prior to Viridia's expansion east the Penmaerd Forests were known by the many Thadrian tribes as a land of plenty where they could thrive by hunting the creatures that dwelled within.