The Lost Woods: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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'''Gimli''': Nature Boy is right. When was the last time anyone saw a regular, non-enchanted forest? You can't grow two trees next to each other without some wizard or demon coming along and enchanting them.|''[[DM of the Rings]]''}}
Besides your usual forest creatures, all manner of strange things lurk in the shadows. In any setting, it may be home to a [[Tree-Top Town]]. In ye olden days, the Lost Woods were home to [[The Fair Folk]], the [[Big Badass Wolf]], [[Plant Person]] and [[When Trees Attack|the occasional tree out to kill you]]. In the modern day, it's home to the [[Ax Crazy|axe-wielding]] [[Serial Killer]], and campers- particularly those of the teenage variety- had [[Don't Go in The Woods|better stay out of them]]. In [[The Future]], it's home to cloaked snipers who want to make a hunt out of you. And Ewoks.
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May be a [[Shadowland]] for even [[Arcadia]], but even more likely for [[Shining City|a brilliant and happy city]].
As a setting for [[Video Game]] stages, The Lost Woods are a cousin to the [[Green Hill Zone]], and frequently occupy the second
Frequently a [[Genius Loci]], but it's not required. For a slightly more realistic setting, see [[Wild Wilderness]]. Compare [[The Hedge of Thorns]].
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* Harry Turtledove's ''Tales of the Fox'' series has the forest around Ikos, where strange things live, which has a mind (or mids) of its own, which doesn't necessarily care for people, and roads only exist at the forest's sufferance. It can also make unwanted travelers vanish in unexplained but silently ominous ways. It's implied that the forest exists to protect the Oracle of Ikos, placed by the all-seeing [[Physical God|god]] Biton.
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' has weirwood forests, especially those with a heart tree, due to their association with the children of the forest and the old gods. A more malevolent version would be the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall, due to the Others.
* In [[Chivalric Romance]], where the knights went on their [[
* A benevolent version is the setting of Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''[[Green-Sky Trilogy]]''. The forest covers the entire world and is a friendly, nurturing place to the tree-dwelling Kindar people. The Erdlings, who have spent many generations trapped underground, eulogize the forest as a lost paradise, but the first Erdling to escape from the caverns experiences the forest as both lonely and threatening at first.
* The Forbidden Forest in [[Harry Potter]] is filled with [[Our Centaurs Are Different|centaurs]], unicorns, [[Giant Spider|giant spiders]], and other magical beasts to the point that students are punished by having to go in it at night.
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== Tabletop RPG ==
* ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' plays on the idea of
* ''[[Exalted]]'' has the far East, surrounding the Elemental Pole of Wood. This serves as the source for the vary ''concept'' of plantishness in Creation. Eventually, the trees grow so thick that the branches and leaves fill up what would be the sky, and the roots crowd out the earth itself, leaving nothing but an endless procession of trunks, roots, and branches.
* [[Ravenloft]] has Lost Woods in spades. Much of the southeastern Core (the main landmass) is covered in thick, primeval forests. Notable areas include Verbrek (full of savage werewolves), Kartakass (full of intelligent wolves that hunt humans by shapeshifting into seductive human forms), and Tepest (where the goblins are the least of your worries compared to [[The Fair Folk]] and the hags).
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* The Viridian Forest, Ilex Forest, Petalburg Woods, Eterna Forest, Pinwheel Forest, and Lostlorn Forest in ''[[Pokémon]]'', particularly the second, fourth, and sixth.
* Vine Valley in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', Gloomy Gulch in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]] 2'' (which is [[Hailfire Peaks|also]] a [[Big Boo's Haunt]]), Kremwood Forest in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]] 3'', and Forest in ''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]''.
* Fungi Forest in ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' downplays the
* Mazewood in ''[[Romancing SaGa]]''. {{spoiler|It is also the Domain of the Forest God; Cyril.}}
* Boggly Woods in ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' is this area with a twist: the entire area looks like a photo negative. The later Twilight Trail is dark and scary, though the ghosts don't show up until [[Big Boo's Haunt|later]].
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* ''[[Folklore]]'s'' "Faery Realm" is a cross between this and technicolor [[Ghibli Hills]].
* [[World of Warcraft]] features a few of these, typically anywhere [[Our Elves Are Different|Night Elves]] make their abode. Ashenvale is the most prominent example, with the lighting always at essentially night-time levels and full of things like giant wolves and big, stompy four-story walking trees.
** Also present in a small part of the Blade's Edge Mountains where the night elves have set up their lone town (versus Cenarion Expedition outposts) in Outland, which they've terraformed into a small slice of
*** Terrokar ''Forest'' would perhaps be a better example.
** Duskwood qualifies as well.
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** ''Seiken Densetsu''/''[[Final Fantasy Adventure]]''/''[[Sword of Mana]]'' had the sacred land Illusia, located atop an unreachably high plateau and being home to the game's [[World Tree|Mana Tree]].
** ''Seiken Densetsu 2''/''[[Secret of Mana]]'' had ''several'' of these, with playable areas being small parts of bigass undeveloped forest land covering vast stretches of the world map. The [[World Tree|Mana Tree]]'s forest is located on the island of Pure Land, inaccessible from the water because of high cliffs, and inaccessible from the air because of dense clouds that never clear. With its deceptively peaceful zen-like music, Pure Land actually [[Everything Trying to Kill You|has some of the most difficult normal enemies in the game]].
** ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'' had the Mana Holy Land, actually set apart from the main world map and occupying a separate space. It is home
*** The game also has a forest maze that hides a [[Hidden Elf Village]]; the correct trail is marked by glowing flowers at night.
*** And in Carlie/Kevin's routes, the final dungeon is hidden beyond the [[The Maze|Jungle of Illusion]].
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* ''Neopets'' has the Haunted Woods.
** Post-[[Colony Drop]], Faerieland has become a non-dangerous example of this. We hope.
* The [[Noka|Tensian Forest]] north of Sterling is teeming with [[Hell Gate|gates]] that periodically allow anything from simple steam, to outright [[Eldritch Abomination
* [[One Hundred Yard Stare]]: Macy might have wandered into this in episode five.
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