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shamanicdata) wrote2014-01-07 04:55 am
shamanicdata) wrote2014-01-07 04:55 am
guide to the forest of the gods
the island
The Forest of the Gods (mostly referred to as "The Forest" by residents) is a mysterious island shrouded in fog that can be in the northern part of the Digital World. If you ask Digimon from any other part of the Digital World, they'll spin you a tale about how the fog surrounding the island only lifts once every seven years, but nobody's ever reached the island. Basically, it's the Digital World equivalent of Hy-Brasil. This is only partially true: the island is surrounded by fog that rarely lifts, but there are people there. You remember Sakuyamon (shamanicdata), right? She lives in The Forest, as do all of the members of her faction.
Despite the island being surrounded by fog, the island itself is not foggy. It is always spring in The Forest, despite the fog that surrounds the island, and appropriately sunny - although the sun filters through the dense trees so some parts of The Forest are sunnier than others. For the most part: the father one goes from the only village, the thicker the forest becomes.
Unlike many other places in the Digital World, The Forest largely eschews technology. Although some technology is present, much of what would normally be run by technology (such as lighting and plumbing) is powered by The Forest's magic. Think of your favorite medieval-esque fantasy world, and you'll have a good idea of what life in The Forest is like.
As a final note: it is impossible to reach The Forest without the help of someone who has been there and knows how to part the fog.
visuals:
(click to enlarge.)
shamanicdata), right? She lives in The Forest, as do all of the members of her faction.Despite the island being surrounded by fog, the island itself is not foggy. It is always spring in The Forest, despite the fog that surrounds the island, and appropriately sunny - although the sun filters through the dense trees so some parts of The Forest are sunnier than others. For the most part: the father one goes from the only village, the thicker the forest becomes.
Unlike many other places in the Digital World, The Forest largely eschews technology. Although some technology is present, much of what would normally be run by technology (such as lighting and plumbing) is powered by The Forest's magic. Think of your favorite medieval-esque fantasy world, and you'll have a good idea of what life in The Forest is like.
As a final note: it is impossible to reach The Forest without the help of someone who has been there and knows how to part the fog.
visuals:
(click to enlarge.)
the folk
Although not very big, The Forest is home to a rather large number of Digimon, ranging from fresh to a few megas. The vast majority of the Digimon living in The Forest, though, are either in-training or rookies. The residents are calm and quiet folk who don't want any trouble, but who also really just want the Digital World to be a nice and peaceful place. In general, their views are as follows:
- Everyone is worth saving. Everyone.
- Killing is wrong and is to be avoided. However, it is recognized that not everyone shares in this view and therefore it is imperative to realize that sacrifice for the good of others is preferable to killing.
- In the case of interpersonal conflict, talking it out is always preferred over physical altercations. (If things escalate to a physical altercation, all involved parties will be thrown into the Metal Nest.)
- The Forest provides what you need. Do not ask it for more than that, and do not treat it badly, or you will suffer consequences.
the locale
As far as places Digimon and Chosen will want to be go, The Forest is rather lacking. Although The Forest is on a rather large island, the inhabitants of The Forest aren't big on development, so most of it is limited to the singular village in The Forest. Click the image to the left to view the map of the whole island showing where the locations below can be found.
For reference, it takes roughly three hours to walk along the river to get to the lake if you're not in a hurry. It also takes three hours to walk from the village to the tree at the same pace, or just across the village itself (although not in the trees). The church can be reached in about an hour, but it takes 9 hours to reach mirror pond and 6 or so to reach Rennes la Chateau or the beach. Of course, these times assume that a Chosen is walking on foot. Times can be cut significantly if you hitch a ride on a fast digimon or are just particularly athletic.
the village
(first row, l to r: map of the the grounds, map of the trees, combined map.
second row, l to r: the grounds, the trees, hookmon's ship. click to enlarge.)
There is only one village on the entire island, which is more or less split into two different levels: high and low. Or, as you might hear it put: the trees and the grounds. Thankfully, these two levels are highly interconnected and it's fairly easy to go from the trees to the grounds for most Digimon and Chosen. For those that cannot go between the trees and the grounds, don't worry. It's seen as perfectly normal to stay on whatever level you find the most comfortable, and the levels are mostly independent of one another.
Each level has things that are strictly unique, however. For the grounds, the river and zen garden are unique. It's not uncommon to see Digimon drinking straight from the river, or to see Falcomon carrying buckets of water from the river up to the trees. They can also be found meditating in the zen garden - or looking for Sakuyamon, who can often be found there. For the trees, the lookout, warehouse, and Aquilamon's are all unique. Aquilamon's is a popular bar-like hangout for the residents of The Forest, although they serve no alcohol, while the lookout and warehouse are exactly what they sound like.
At dusk, floating lanterns appear throughout the village and remain lit until midnight - although they dim significantly after 8pm. The lanterns in a residence can be turned off before then by saying "goodnight, lanterns" and can otherwise be instructed by simple commands (such as "dim, lanterns" or "brighten, lanterns"), but the lanterns out in the village cannot be commanded as such except by Sakuyamon.
Just off the shore, Hookmon's ship is anchored in the Bay of the Gods. Sometimes the Digimon that live on the ship can be heard partying late into the night. If you're lucky, they might even invite you onto the ship itself.
the lake
(l to r: a boat near the lake, the metal cage.)
If you follow the river that runs through town into the forest, you will come across the lake. Several boats are beached on the shore in random locations, and anyone can take them out onto the lake proper. The only stipulation is that if you take a boat out, you pull it back onto the shore when you're done. Nobody likes to go retrieve boats from the middle of the lake, and this task is often given out as punishment.
Suspended in a tree, high above the lake, is The Forest's equivalent of jail: the Metal Nest. In essence, it is a large cage suspended from a branch that hangs over the lake. It sways in the breeze, and is a singularly unpleasant place to be. Depending on the reason why someone has been put there, a sentence can range from 6 hours to a week, and it is a pasttime of the younger Digimon that live in The Forest to bother whoever is in the Metal Nest by throwing sticks and rocks up at it. The older residents do not approve of this behavior, but as the Metal Nest is rather remote and mostly unguarded, little is done to stop it.
rennes la chateau
(l to r: the headstones, the casket)
A fairly new location to The Forest, this quiet spot is from one of the rare instances where another world merged with The Forest. It's only happened once before (when the church appeared). This quiet clearing contains a tomb, old and poorly kept. Inside, twelve stones in various stages of broken are laid in the floor over empty burial sites and each bears the name of an apostle of Jesus. The tomb also contains an empty stone casket placed in front of a roughly carved cross. Nobody really goes near the spot, and if asked the younger Digimon populating The Forest will tell you "it's creepy."
the tree
In the very center of The Forest is an extremely large tree. Digimon that live in The Forest will often refer to it as "The Forest's spirit" or something similar. Although the whole island feels like a spiritual place, it is by this tree that the feeling is the strongest. Sakuyamon's home can be found at the base of the tree, although she can more often be found in the village's zen garden.
the beach
Most of the island's shores are rather rocky, but one small section is covered in sandy beach. Nobody really goes to the beach, but they'll gladly tell you how to get there. Once you get there, it's pretty clear that it's not a pretty beach by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it's mostly shaded and rocks are strewn everywhere. Oh, and the surf? It sucks. Guess that explains why no one ever goes there.
the church
When the Chosen first arrived in the Digital World, Notre Dame planted itself in the midst of The Forest. The Digimon don't really know what to do with it, and they've converted it to a meeting hall where Digimon can get together and talk about the state of the Digital World. They think the building is beautiful, even if they're not sure what it's supposed to be used for, so it is in excellent condition and the stained glass windows are regularly washed.
mirror pond
At the very far end of The Forest, in the part where nobody really goes unless they have a reason, is Mirror Pond. The water of Mirror Pond resembles a mirror in that you can see things in it, but unlike an actual mirror it is said that what you see in Mirror Pond is what you most want to see. Whether or not that's true is anyone's guess - for the most part Mirror Pond just seems to be a regular body of water.
For reference, it takes roughly three hours to walk along the river to get to the lake if you're not in a hurry. It also takes three hours to walk from the village to the tree at the same pace, or just across the village itself (although not in the trees). The church can be reached in about an hour, but it takes 9 hours to reach mirror pond and 6 or so to reach Rennes la Chateau or the beach. Of course, these times assume that a Chosen is walking on foot. Times can be cut significantly if you hitch a ride on a fast digimon or are just particularly athletic.
the village
(first row, l to r: map of the the grounds, map of the trees, combined map.
second row, l to r: the grounds, the trees, hookmon's ship. click to enlarge.)
There is only one village on the entire island, which is more or less split into two different levels: high and low. Or, as you might hear it put: the trees and the grounds. Thankfully, these two levels are highly interconnected and it's fairly easy to go from the trees to the grounds for most Digimon and Chosen. For those that cannot go between the trees and the grounds, don't worry. It's seen as perfectly normal to stay on whatever level you find the most comfortable, and the levels are mostly independent of one another.
Each level has things that are strictly unique, however. For the grounds, the river and zen garden are unique. It's not uncommon to see Digimon drinking straight from the river, or to see Falcomon carrying buckets of water from the river up to the trees. They can also be found meditating in the zen garden - or looking for Sakuyamon, who can often be found there. For the trees, the lookout, warehouse, and Aquilamon's are all unique. Aquilamon's is a popular bar-like hangout for the residents of The Forest, although they serve no alcohol, while the lookout and warehouse are exactly what they sound like.
At dusk, floating lanterns appear throughout the village and remain lit until midnight - although they dim significantly after 8pm. The lanterns in a residence can be turned off before then by saying "goodnight, lanterns" and can otherwise be instructed by simple commands (such as "dim, lanterns" or "brighten, lanterns"), but the lanterns out in the village cannot be commanded as such except by Sakuyamon.
Just off the shore, Hookmon's ship is anchored in the Bay of the Gods. Sometimes the Digimon that live on the ship can be heard partying late into the night. If you're lucky, they might even invite you onto the ship itself.
the lake
(l to r: a boat near the lake, the metal cage.)
If you follow the river that runs through town into the forest, you will come across the lake. Several boats are beached on the shore in random locations, and anyone can take them out onto the lake proper. The only stipulation is that if you take a boat out, you pull it back onto the shore when you're done. Nobody likes to go retrieve boats from the middle of the lake, and this task is often given out as punishment.
Suspended in a tree, high above the lake, is The Forest's equivalent of jail: the Metal Nest. In essence, it is a large cage suspended from a branch that hangs over the lake. It sways in the breeze, and is a singularly unpleasant place to be. Depending on the reason why someone has been put there, a sentence can range from 6 hours to a week, and it is a pasttime of the younger Digimon that live in The Forest to bother whoever is in the Metal Nest by throwing sticks and rocks up at it. The older residents do not approve of this behavior, but as the Metal Nest is rather remote and mostly unguarded, little is done to stop it.
rennes la chateau
(l to r: the headstones, the casket)
A fairly new location to The Forest, this quiet spot is from one of the rare instances where another world merged with The Forest. It's only happened once before (when the church appeared). This quiet clearing contains a tomb, old and poorly kept. Inside, twelve stones in various stages of broken are laid in the floor over empty burial sites and each bears the name of an apostle of Jesus. The tomb also contains an empty stone casket placed in front of a roughly carved cross. Nobody really goes near the spot, and if asked the younger Digimon populating The Forest will tell you "it's creepy."
the tree
In the very center of The Forest is an extremely large tree. Digimon that live in The Forest will often refer to it as "The Forest's spirit" or something similar. Although the whole island feels like a spiritual place, it is by this tree that the feeling is the strongest. Sakuyamon's home can be found at the base of the tree, although she can more often be found in the village's zen garden.the beach
Most of the island's shores are rather rocky, but one small section is covered in sandy beach. Nobody really goes to the beach, but they'll gladly tell you how to get there. Once you get there, it's pretty clear that it's not a pretty beach by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it's mostly shaded and rocks are strewn everywhere. Oh, and the surf? It sucks. Guess that explains why no one ever goes there.the church
When the Chosen first arrived in the Digital World, Notre Dame planted itself in the midst of The Forest. The Digimon don't really know what to do with it, and they've converted it to a meeting hall where Digimon can get together and talk about the state of the Digital World. They think the building is beautiful, even if they're not sure what it's supposed to be used for, so it is in excellent condition and the stained glass windows are regularly washed.mirror pond
At the very far end of The Forest, in the part where nobody really goes unless they have a reason, is Mirror Pond. The water of Mirror Pond resembles a mirror in that you can see things in it, but unlike an actual mirror it is said that what you see in Mirror Pond is what you most want to see. Whether or not that's true is anyone's guess - for the most part Mirror Pond just seems to be a regular body of water.