Fang and Claw, and Unspoken Understanding
The Black Forest region was exactly what its name suggested.
The basin known as Tukugul was covered in towering trees.
Coniferous pines dominated the area, their branches interwoven and blocking out the sky.
Their crowns screened the sunlight, and their shadows blanketed the earth. The dark brown bark and deep green needles gave the forest its gloomy hues, hence its name: the Black Forest.
Noxian settlement of the Black Forest dated back hundreds of years. After the Frontier Edict was issued, Noxian citizens who didn't want to stay in the Immortal Bastion were free to move to the Black Forest region. There, they enjoyed tax breaks as well as exemptions from military and labor service.
Not all Noxians were warmongers, and not every Noxian wanted to earn glory on the battlefield. Many who didn't want to serve the war effort chose to go to the Black Forest and contribute to the Noxian Empire through pioneering.
That was how the settlement of the Black Forest began.
However, little progress had been made in developing the Black Forest over the past few centuries. Even now, it had only a handful of large settlements, and food still had to be imported. Some of the pioneers who had moved to the region soon left, while others struggled to put down roots but couldn't make further headway.
The reasons were simple. There were two main obstacles: the climate and the vegetation.
Dragon Ridge Mountain had opened a gap into Tukugul, allowing Anivia's Breath to pour unimpeded from Tukugul into the Black Forest. Even though the vast stretches of coniferous forest slowed the icy winds, the sharp drop in temperature was unavoidable.
As a result, winter came early to the Black Forest, and it was bitterly cold.
Furthermore, the pines