"To travel the Feathre Forest, you cannot take the ground. To travel on the ground is to ask the bushes to claw at you."
The residents of the Feathre forest take paths less obvious to those outside. The forest is a living, magical entity that slows those who travel the floor and accommodates for those who travel the right way. This slowing can be physical or magical by nature.
Cobrea is an example of physical slowing. The bushes grab at him, at his clothes, without the intent to harm but to slow. They know he's an outsider, they know he doesn't belong, but he is too logical for magical slowing. The forest hides paths animals take, intentionally shifts the roots of trees to trip him up, has bushes reaching and grabbing even when he knows he stepped around them.
Fenne is slowed magically. Scents and sounds are dulled, hard for her to track, and she can't rely on her sense of direction. This method works because in forest traversal classes, she didn't pay enough attention. She feels weighed down by something even if she hides it through cheer and graceful skipping.
The forest is a natural defense against invasions. It is probably the only region of Animai that doesn't need close watch, as fires only last as long as a spellcaster can supply the mana, plants are constantly trying to regrow where removed, this isn't a region that can be tamed. The villages in the forest are there because they choose to struggle against nature, struggle against the regrowth.
There are few villages near water. The magic in the forest is at a high concentration, fueling the growth of the forest, and adding water to the mix makes the window to take over an area small. Villages in the forest are a mark of stubborn endurance against an entity that thrives on their presence just as much as it tries to deter them. The forest in the latest snippet is near water, and is one of the oldest villages in the Feathre Forest. The rarity of villages like this is why Fenne and Cobrea do not encounter a village in their travels through the forest.
@bardic-tales @craftyhal @kitcatling @savvyminnow (not a snippet but related to the village from the latest snippet)
I have yet to decide if Ayumu and Hawks have had any romance hidden by a time skip but it amuses me that I am starting to give him reactions to the potential of Ayumu dating.