[Kartoffelstampfer]

The noticeboards of different settlements seem to be sporting a new report, written as if it came from a typewriter. The occasional local might be able to see small dolls made of flesh and bone, weaker drone homunculi, put them up in duos as they have to stand on each others shoulders to reach the height required.

This is an observatory report on the jungle of Meranthe, currently occupied by Kindleheim, over a 5-year period.

The jungle itself is home to a teeming amount of local flora and fauna. This has rested largely undisturbed (aside from small-scale fighting between magi) until the arrival of the hyenas and the creation of Oasis.

Oasis itself had a mild impact on the biome itself. The structure itself was a singular building, along with a campfire and patches of tents. Local culture (no matter what your opinion on the banditry is/was) was partially handled by a shaman, tending to different places and improving the biodiversity.

Kindleheims buyout however has caused a large-scale issue for the local biology. In place of trees, people now will find multiple buildings, a blast furnace and non-native plantlife. While pavement is largely absent, this does not reduce the overall impact this had on the area.

Large amounts of the jungle have been cut down for farmland, housing plots and projects originating from goldlight. The odd mix of sheng-style buildings and tree houses is, from a personal standpoint, an eyesore that the imported flowers do not mask. If anything, it is a sign of the displacement of the local flora.

The wellspring rain that has happened not too long ago, while good on paper, is disregarding a need for the local ecosystem entirely. A healthy layer of decaying matter is important for any jungle and forest. Local mushrooms and insects rely on the leaf litter and otherwise. While this rain has brought a boost in vitality of the plantlife, these organisms had a part of their food cut out due to this.

The dismantling of Oasis and arrival of Kindleheim is nothing short of an ecological disaster happening before our eyes. No amount of plant-golems, begging for druid-help in large-scale projects and otherwise is going to reduce the impact of deforestation to build housing, the dig through dense jungle rootworks from your homunculis project and the growing farm operation Kindleheim has on the local flora and fauna. At the moment of writing, more than half of the jungle has been cut down already, severely reducing biodiversity and reducing the living space of local fauna.

Ways of mitigation should be considered, like the following:

• Destruction of Kindleheim itself. An obvious solution that can rescue the now endangered biome.
  
• Removal of all housing structures in favor of tree houses. Kindleheim already has a few tree houses. While I personally disagree with the practice, the impact on the local ecosystem is mitigated through it. Talking with people of Sheng descent has already revealed the practice of wearing Sheng culture like clothing to be questionable at best and disrespectful at worst. Nothing will be lost with leaving Shengs culture to people of actual Sheng descent and instead integrating oneself better into the ecosystem itself.
  
• Removal of foreign flowers in favor of local flowers. A large amount of buildings seem to be sporting flower decorations from non-local sources. These are invasive at its worst and should be removed in favor of more local plantlife.
  
• Stopping the homunculies project. If it is anything like what has been seen in goldlight, it should be reconsidered to go further with this project. Large dig sites that cut through tree roots will always be endangering the health of fauna.
  

The current predictions for further growth from this settlement are endangering an entire ecosystem and, if this keeps up, can result in an entire ecological collapse and replacement. I implore local druids to continue observing this area of Meranthe with a critical lens before offering unrestricted aid in any projects and to help with better integration as the first priority instead.

Signed

Vionnelle Crest

[Skellytoon]

An old being of blackened crow-like wings and scarlet red eyes soon steps out of her cottage momentarily to find such upon her home's notice board, finding it and carefully reading it over before she feels a need to give a reply with some historical insight or such, along with afew other things. Why does she do this? Who knows, it gives her something to do, a change to her usual routine briefly.

"I will give credit where credit is due, you're care for the jungle life of such an area is respectable, planning such when building a new home for many should be expected and I do employee some druids to aid Kindleheim with integration and such...

But let's truthful with ourselves shall we...?

This is also a laced excuse for you to dis-way people from this place due to you at the least, and possible by extension your people at most, feeling thee once-snowy mountain home now volcano is yours and yours alone by some sort of blood right or some other related reason, and people getting close or messing with it bothers you, especially when so many brilliant minds like Miss Basil have moved over in support, and not wanting to be out shined in the flesh fellows department by another individual living there. 

Being as old as I am, I can tell you worse things have settled and changed those jungles, and once those where gone kind people as well too, the worse being a nation by the title of The Golden Keep, an extension to the Empire of Skarnfel during Varrach and Sak'noth's reign of terror on Meranthe that deforested a large chunk of the jungle for a castle fort, and a tower. The second being Lodestar I believe, a small town built nicely, I visited once or twice helping a woman... There was also that small developing nation lead by a Teneris? Tenebris? It's also where Ragnarok took place long ago as a piece of trivia but I am dragging with that...

Eitherway, alot on this report shows a view of someone potentially not quite liking their new neighbor, especially when you openly list their destruction as the first option to solve the problem you've stated, rather then just everything else listed below, honestly there's probably more I could poke at this showing underlying motive, but I am an old bird...

Let everyone else pick at such. 

Do yourself a favor, and I say this to anyone with a certain mindset, I recommend losing this obsessing over who rightfully owns that specific destruction left behind by Varrach and Ragnarok, if your going to fight over it atleast do it for more sensible reasons like resources and such, as for the jungle itself I trust personally with what I've read from many sources it will do well, and even when all is said and done should Kindleheim fade or such, the jungle will handle itself, nature tends to do so.

Or don't, some of you are stubborn enough to not care about this note and just continue in place of your own view, and we'll just leave it at that."

                                                                                                                                                            -Signed by Set

[Lammy]

A collection of druids have assessed the ecological impact of Kindlehelm and found the following:
Previous report, bad. Rain is good for jungle. Added rain good for new plants. Plants found are adding to the biome. Helps make new species of flora. No leyline surges. Streams add water back to land-- is good! Fauna is unchanged. Animals still reside. Made better with human add. Must. Plant a few more trees, for, smaller critters.

Nine Gardens out of Ten

From, Paladin Caelen.