The Hunting Forests of Southshire

Though known for its mountains and rivers, Southshire plays host to many stocked hunting forests throughout its lands - the largest and most famous being found within the Vale of Oldreach, though countless others appear further southwest towards the Bay of Swords.

Predominately, the game of these forests are deer and rabbits - the bears and wolves of these lands have largely been hunted to extinction, though wild boar and small amounts of wildcats still remain. These animals make for good hunting for the nobility of the realm, with each forest protected and owned by different Houses to prevent and punish poaching at the hands of commoners or wandering knight errants. The game within these forests is, by legal right, the property of whichever house the forest belongs to - though permissions are often granted by said nobles to the people in their duty of care to hunt small game for food and commerce.

The hunting forests of particular note in Southshire are as follows:

• Pinewatch - located in the Vale of Oldreach and owned by The Lord of Oldreach

• Fallen Sword Pass - located in the Vale of Oldreach and owned by The Lord of Oldreach

• Traven's Crossing - located in central Southshire and owned by The Lord of Stormberg

• Quickward - located in southern Southshire and owned by The Lord of Deerhill

Pinewatch is a notably large hunting forest, known for its heavily populated woodland - both in the cases of game and of human population. Small encampments and hunters lodges scatter the treeline of Pinewatch, as well as logger camps that provide the timber for the ships of the Stone Coast. With such a short distance to the Bay of Stones, the overseeing nobility benefit from ample financial gains by allowing the Stone Coasters logging rights to the woodlands' eastern perimeter.

Fallen Sword Pass is a connecting forest to Pinewatch, characterised by its large stone sword that makes up a bridge across its raging river. The sword once belonged to a large statue that stood, carved into the mountain sides, but now lays derelict and repurposed as a crossing point for wagons and foot traffic. The forest benefits from fishing rivers and ample game, but lacks the security and patrols of its eastern counterpart - Robber Knights and Bandits are commonplace here, with the sword bridge itself being the only truly well protected area.

Traven's Crossing is unique in its highland quality, being a sparser forest that its siblings but making up for that in its harder to hunt game. Wildcats and the rare mountain lion are found here, with elk and deer being commonplace. Two rivers find their sources at Traven's Crossing, with salmon and other river fish being trapped here in nets for feasting and sale. The forest itself, however, borders onto Tarfield and Brimmouth Bridge, two less than reputable places in Southshire - making its visits by richer nobles less frequent.

Quickward is a deep valley littered with trees, where game is trapped largely in the bowl of the mountains. This is the favoured forest of those seeking a relaxing hunt rather than a challenging one, with focuses by the nobility of Deerhill to preserve its natural landscape rather than allow for logging and lodges to be built. Hunts here are tranquil and focus largely on roe and rabbit, with larger game being less common. Quickward Forest is also the site of Southshire's famed Ancient Oak Tree known as The Green Lady's Chair, for its unusual shape and ancient lifespan. The site is of great religious importance to followers of the Cornayan faith, and regular visitors have scared away larger game.