"There are no executioners in Kushan. We simply send monsters to the place that monsters live" (Kushan guard when questioned on what will become of a captured bandit)
Haunted Forests are wildlife preserves for some of the most dangerous or visually disturbing species of biomorphs to be created on the surface of Soi.
Kushan has the highest concentration by far of any nation for the existence of these locations, with occasional haunted forests being found around Lost nations or in the Unclaimed lands. The Kushani people use haunted forests as a combination of jail and execution method for particularly horrendous criminals.
Each forest tends to have its own micro population of a unique biomorph of sometimes Ab human species not populous enough to be well known.
Once a year, the Kushani people have a ritualized hunt to beat back the encroaching wilderness and keep them from spreading into inhabited areas
Kushan Haunted forests
Kushan have a unique relationship with haunted forests as since the dawn of the first age they have cultivated them as wildlife preserves that function as a kind of prison or execution method depending on the severity of crime. The forests range in danger from completely safe if disturbing to so dangerous one must bring a small army to safely pass.
Biomorphs unique to Kushan haunted forests
Wretch eating scavenged meal
Kushan's prominent life shaping temples allowed the Phoenix and its people to experiment with creating countless micro breeds of biomorphs which exist in these forests as a kind of macabre menagerie. Many of these creatures are not nearly as dangerous or aggressive as they appear. Over the centuries a few of the species have began widely propagating and becoming dominant species of their own territories, however these creatures are prevented from spreading to other forests by the annual hunts to keep them contained.
Safe
Weeping willows-Trees that grow in the shape of twisted almost emaciated in rigor mortis looking human forms. The branches and leaves grow in such a way that the wind blowing through the leaves creates a noise similar to soft sobbing.
Babbling Crows-Dark feathered avian species that are able to mimic and repeat many phrases in human speech. They remember phrases for years at a time and often choose to repeat phrases with patterns.
Grinwings-A species of giant moths with bio-luminescent properties on its wings that form a pattern similar to a grinning human face. When perched in the dark they appear to be an impossibly wide grin shining from the darkness.
Cloaked Hermit octopus-A unique land dwelling octopus with extremely long tentacles often a hundred feet in length. This creature often mimics other creatures it sees by forming itself into the rough shape of what it is imitating. When confronted with humans, it has been known to form itself into a human shape and attempt to clothe itself sometimes in discarded clothing from previous travelers in the forest. The Octopus will collect and store items of clothing if it has encountered humans before, or will otherwise collect animal hair and bones to carry when confronted with animals.
Conditional
Wretches-A large and diverse family of omnivorous simian creatures that crawl on all fours. Wretches are mainly scavengers but have been known to attack humans if threatened or in packs. They are biologically similar to chimpanzees.
Dead Man's Hand and unfortunate adventurer
Dead man's hand-A carnivorous plant which grasps its prey and feeds them to a central mouth. The area around the central mouth is covered in sensory stalks, that when stepped on trigger the "arms" of the plant to snap forward and strike at the area that has been triggered, grasping the prey and dragging it to the mouth. The "arms" end in structures that resemble human hands. The "Mouth" has features the resemble a gaunt human face, but house no important organs.
Dreadleaf-A small flowering plant that grows in large vines all over the trees of haunted forests. When in bloom releases psychotropic pollen that causes fear and anxiety in any that breathe it in. In some cases an allergic reaction can cause the formation of long term reoccurring night terrors. These are one of the few species to be propagated in nearly every haunted forest.
