Laqto Rainforest

The Laqto Rainforest (pronounced LOCK-toh) is a large tropical forest. Despite its name, it is not entirely a rainforest, and some regions of the Laqto would be better described as jungle. Divided by the Southern Fangs, the western and eastern halves of the Laqto are culturally quite distinct.

Inhabitants

Prior to the collapse of the Kingdom of Eita, a number of elven cities and outposts were established in the western Laqto, especially around the Itkahi Bay and the Okoton Estuary. These were abandoned following the elven society's contraction back to the Cradle, but their ruins remain, many repurposed in the modern day. These regions continue to be the most densely populated parts of the rainforest. The nations of Okoton and the Broken Traverse thrive under a mutually beneficial alliance, their vibrant cities often visited by traders from Kea Racha and elsewhere. It is often said that the Arteries of the Rainforest, as the many rivers that feed into the Okoton Estuary are collectively known, inevitably bring together everything and everyone in the Laqto.

Elsewhere, the peoples of the western Laqto are rather less unified. Settlements ranging in size from villages to small cities can be found throughout the rainforest, especially along the rivers of the region, which are crucial for travel and trade. Disparate nomadic peoples live in the Laqto as well. Many travel regularly from the Laqto to the less densely forested landscapes of neighboring Brightmarch, moving seasonally to take advantage of opportune weather, plentiful food, and the migrations of animals.

Compared to the west, fewer live in the eastern Laqto Rainforest. Persistent blights, dangerous creatures, and other hazards have led to the area being much harder to thrive in than the west. Still, some do - for example, semi-nomadic tribes of catfolk especially have established communities along the Prince of Yearning, and a handful of seaside settlements dot the Jarohi Coast. In the far east, some Talmithen settlements have pushed into the Laqto as well.

Peoples of many ancestries can be found in the Laqto Rainforest. Elves still have a strong presence, as do humans, catfolk, anadi, grippli, kobolds, shisk, half-elves, and others.

Geography

The Laqto Rainforest is separated from the arid expanse of the Sangora Desolation to the north by the mountains of the Fangs of Khurazar. To the south, the rainforest meets the Mhasmuth Ocean. In both the east and west the it gradually thins out into grasslands and less dense forests: Brightmarch to the west, and the somewhat drier landscapes of Talmithe to the east.

The mountains of the Fangs also extend south into the rainforest itself. Smaller and more eroded than the rest of the range, the tree-covered Southern Fangs almost divide the Laqto Rainforest in two.

Innumerable rivers run through the rainforest, feeding into each other then eventually out into the ocean. The largest of these in the west are the Arteries of the Rainforest, most of which begin in the Fangs before flowing out into the Okoton Estuary. In the east the largest river is the Prince of Yearning, which directs much of the water that falls on that side of the Southern Fangs into a large fluvial delta.