Description:

Close to the entrance of the Sikatou caverns,the mushroom forest consists of hundreds of species of fungi, many with hoods to shield their bioluminescent spore gills. The larger species of mushrooms can have trunks of 2 meters in diameter, and hoods several meters wide. These larger species have branches to form more hoods to help darken the forest floor, ensuring a dark and damp environment to better cultivate their bed medium.

The dense foliage above and around you blocks out much of the light from above. Once your eyes adjust however, you see an area teaming with life. Huge networks of fungi found only in the area, coral mushrooms interwoven with one another branch across like an obstacle course, at the end of each tiny tendril; a glowing spore illuminates the space. Growing up the dark damp mushroom trunks in vast swaths are thick blankets of fungi in varying shades of magentas and greens. Thick vines reach across this way and that, each vine is filled with little mushroom cups.

Landmarks:

• The Gryphon’s Den - More like a tangled mess of hanging lichen and Moss, than a den. This area is a common nesting ground for Gryphons. The small Cat-Dove hybrids feel safe in the dense forest, and come here to rear their young. Occasionally, you may see a retreating form in the thick bundles overhead, or the shallow dips in the earth. While easy for the Gryphons to navigate, one must be careful to not get themselves tangled up and stuck.


• The Cap Woods - Woods of towering, fantastical mushrooms. The wide brim of the oversized caps shades the forest floor from what light makes it into the cave, limiting visibility to the soft blue glow of the fungi and the scattered, small glowworms who call the forest home. The floor is damp, but cushioned by pale moss and lichen that thrive in the dim light. Travel here feels deceptively safe and wonderous, but getting trapped in the spore fog from mature mushrooms can leave tokos and handlers alike feeling dizzy at best, and totally lost and disoriented at worst.


• Sikatou’s Slime Canyon - Thick, beautiful slimes grow everywhere here, but on a scale unseen in other lands. What would be a small Arcyria denudata in some places, grows to a half a meter. The amazing Comatricha nigra with its long trunk and spherical colored tops grow to a height of 3 meters! They line the canyon floor like festival balloons. Visitors to this area, and really most of the forest, should be careful not to burst any dangerous fungal pods, and to carry breathing masks in case of erupting spores.
  
  The Trichia decipiens here grows to several inches high, and is a favorite among artists and photographers.
  
  Visitors should also beware that many of these slimes differ wildly from their cousins in other lands and have a scarily predatory phase in their lifecycle, and these cycles are not tracked by the conservation desk. Enter these places at your own risk.


• Heart of Echoes - A cavern made out of living moss, allowing for the Heart of Echoes to be a unique anomaly. Here, the mushrooms have grown so large that their caps completely block out the sun that manages to creep in through the gap in the cavern’s roof, their bodies like tree trunks. The deeper one wanders, the more all other sound is blocked out. In the center of this living cave, the mushrooms grow into and around one another in a single, ever-changing mass. One can hear no sound but the echo of their own voice. In the absolute darkness of the Heart, only the glowing spores of the great mushrooms give any light.


• Sikori Lake - Deep in the mushroom forest a bright pink colored lake can be found. The sands around the sulfuric lake are a rich black color, full of nutrients for the ever growing mushroom forest. While the water is drinkable, it's not very tasty as the salt content is higher than normal fresh water; making it closer to the salt water of the surrounding ocean. The water is also a warm bubble of humidity for fungi growth. The lake has a guardian in the form of a large dire with a brilliantly white coat which is stained with the different colors of the mushroom spores.


• Sikatou's Mycorrhizal Network - The trees in the caverns of Sikatou appear to be connected by an abundance of mycelium below the surface, allowing the trees to "communicate" with each other. This was discovered after a group of researchers took bark samples from a small area of trees, only to find trees in other areas secreting a thick sap over their bark in the following hours. Bugs and other small pests encased in this sap found on several trees beside those that have marks of bug infestations suggest that this was a naturally developed defense mechanism. Trees in areas with less fungal influence do not seem to have as strong of a response to nearby disturbances.
  
  Recent explorations of the mushroom forest have created a new industry for would-be adventurers to participate in - harvesting the mushrooms for use in skin care. Extracts from Sikatou's mushrooms are particularly excellent for use in products like moisturizers, both for handler skincare and Tokota. One new company has sprung up making a mushroom based wax for Tokotas paws that helps reduce discomfort in very hot or cold surfaces, and they believe many more innovative products could also be created.
  
  It appears that most of the fungi that grow naturally in this forest are incapable of living outside the biome. Various scientists have tried to get these life forms to reproduce in other parts of tokotna, but have been unable to do so. Whether it has to do with the light that only appears in this forest or with the presence of the gryphons is unknown.

Lore:

• Aga's Font - This pool of still, almost black water is so well-hidden and difficult to find, even Artemis’ hunters swear its location moves. Tokotas who do happen across Aga's Font are said to be granted a blessing of knowledge. It is said that splashing water onto or dunking one's face into the sacred pool will give a vision or epiphany, something to aid the traveler's troubles, whatever may be vexing them. The knowledge is not always apparent, but the faithful will be guided by Aga toward it in due time.


• Sikatou's Sun River - An underground river that cuts through the fantastical territory. While narrow, it is exceedingly deep and notably hot like a spring. This is because the water moves parallel to a vein of lava for most of its path, its surface is encapsulated in a thin shell of glowing stone and can be viewed as a radiant floor if one were to look down. Very few creatures call this steaming river home, a few small minnow-like fish, some aquatic insects, but the only unique creature amongst the moss and wort is a specially adapted species of Olm known to pick at unfortunate bugs that fall into the water from the cave's ceiling. There are myths about the river's healing capabilities as well, both physically and spiritually. It is thought to be good luck to take a dip before and after a hunt to ensure the body is tempered and rested.

Creatures:

• Gryphons - See their dedicated page here.


• Mushrimps - small six legged creatures that inhabit the glowing mushrooms. Due to the bioluminescent nature of the mushrooms that the mushrimps use for shelter, their soft fur gives off a soft glow under the evening light. Though they may look like a quick Tokota snack, their skin gives off a bitter scent/smell when they sense predators. However, some Tokotas must learn this the hard way.


• Sikatou Flying Squirrel - The squirrel population found in Sikatou is unique indeed. Larger than most squirrel species, these critters are commonly found using the skin flaps between their limbs to glide among the giant mushrooms found throughout Sikatou. Also like other squirrel species, they are able to eat mushrooms that would be dangerous and even deadly to most other creatures. Mushrooms make up a large part of their diet and they spend most of their lives in the tree-sized fungi, helping to spread the spores across the environment whenever they do venture down to the ground.
  
  While they share their adorable looks with other flying squirrel species, be careful about touching them. Their main defense is to chew up poisonous mushrooms and spread the resultant saliva over their plush fur. Depending on species and individuals, this poison armor can cause anything from painful skin irritation to death- especially if a pesky predator were to gobble one down.


• Basidian Bat - otherwise known as the Sikatou Bat, Basidiochiroptera sikatouensis
  
  Species can develop as a result of isolation and chance circumstance - as is seen on Sikatou with the Basidian bat. Researchers believe the ancestors of this isolated species accidentally made its way to Sikatou from a typhoon-like event. Over the few thousands of years that Sikatou is believed to have existed, this bat species has developed some sort of deep-ingrained symbiosis with the fungal species that resides on the island. All Basidian bats are born with sight. However, the fungal hyphae seeps into the cornea of the bat, syphoning nutrients and rendering it blind. This actually benefits the animal, as Sikatou's caverns are too vibrant and overwhelming for a bat with sight. The blindness hones the animal's echolocation and sense of smell. Glowing basidiocarps will grow on the back of the Basidian bat, but instead of hindering the animal, the mushroom sends out spores that attract various insects that can then easily be hunted by the bat.
  
  The caverns of Sikatou are covered in familial colonies of Basidian bats. At dusk, their evening mealtime routine is a spectacle that gives even the most well-traveled explorer goosebumps. The cavern and sky become a flurry of glowing dots - the mushrooms growing on the backs of the bat. They have a mild temperament and have not been seen intentionally biting anyone.

Location inspiration from contributions by Aracollie, Dendariiis, DoctorLinnec, Ellanoire, Lachtaube, Leafstep, Lem0nlion, Lostmymarbless, Redetsky, Salencee, Sims2Freak273, tidesage and the Tokotas Admin Team
Location art by USERNAME