Re: Forests and wildlands in Heortland, Sartar, Tarsh

From: Peter Metcalfe <metcalph_at_iaOaCULyiEbfv9JnKowbonHZI4t9KaQaRZxcF6rAawU3kO-F8O7GXyuH4cxJP8KItH1>
Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 16:35:07 +1200


At 03:58 p.m. 30/05/2007, you wrote:
>wrote:
>
> > Except that trees do not require fire and/or smoke to be
> > born.
>
>Sorry, there are plenty of species that do.

Such as?

> Even if_Eucalyptus regnans
>didn't, there are plenty of other species that do, and which evolved
>before humans. In some cases (Sequoia), there are even individual
>trees still standing that might have sprouted before humans arrived in
>their home areas.

Given that the Sequoia resides in damp forests (and the oldest sequoia is about 2,200 years old), I'm not sure how they require fire and/or smoke to be born.

> > That's true but since Umathela is said to be a green
> > and brown elf forest, its characteristics are fixed.

>Sorry, but I just like the idea of a little variety in Aldryami
>lifecycles.

A little variety is fine. Widespread deviation to the extent that a major forest consists of one type of tree genus combined with a uniform level of aberrant elf behavior is far from being "a little variety".

> > >Umathelans were attempting to exterminate the aldryami.

> > They succeeded.

>And our barbarian characters' ancestors helped to bring them back via
>a Lightbringer's quest, one reason why the Aldryami tolerate some of
>the barbaric behavior, such as burning.

But they are elves - they rule. Tolerance for the use of fire should not extend to widespread slash-and-burning, which was the sin that got the Lascerdans exterminated. If I were an elf, I would consider the restriction of the Umathelans fire usage to that of the Tasmanian Aborigines to be a reasonable starting point (no fire starting materials or even knowledge of how to light a fire, limits on the number of campfires etc). A few Umathelans will die every winter but that's natural and thus good in Elvish eyes.

Treating the Elves as reasonable people implies they are humans which they assuredly are not.

--Peter Metcalfe

--Peter Metcalfe            

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