Ereshkigal Forest

Ereshkigal Forest, known to locals also as The Great Forest, is one of the several existing Outer Realms of the Hexarchy, as of 1686 AN. The forest itself is considered to be one of the single most hostile places to civilized life on Micras, and the people of The Hexarchy have taken measures to ensure that the forest continues to become simultaneously self-contained, self-sustaining, and ever-hostile to undesirables placed into its dark embrace. Named after the native Goddess of Death and the Underworld, the place is a fitting location to deposit criminals otherwise sentenced to death for their crimes. Since killing another person is illegal there, the inhabitants instead cultivated a specific place hostile enough to guarantee that the job is always done for them, thus breaking the cycle of human-centered violence within their borders.

Geography

The Great Forest is a vast jungle rainforest that is located on the country's southern interior. Divided from the River Lands by hilly terrain and shallow soil, the land is nonetheless abnormally fertile for being unable to host the vast trees endemic to the jungle itself. The small portion under nominal control is completely undefended except by surface-to-surface missile systems, in case the otherwise balanced ecology (as dangerous as it is) acts against the developing agricultural settlements on the River Lands to the north and east. For reasons unknown, almost none of the more vicious predators in the jungle ever move past the very well-defined tree line about forty to fifty kilometers from the River. Thus, agriculture has rapidly developed in recent times. Due to the extreme danger posed by enter, the portions under Hexarchy control have become known to local cartographers as Ereshkigal Forest -- aptly named after the Pyraxian goddess of death.

The Great Forest is mostly uninhabited due to the terrain and the dangerous fauna. For the latter, the wildlife is constantly added to, as the vast area serves as a convenient dumping ground for dangerous animals smuggled into the islands. Alternatively, the government has been known to experiment with sending certain animals such as the Jingdaoese valleytiger into the forest to see how it interacts with the other, much larger predators in the region. These constant activities also serve to deter any unwanted persons (mostly prisoners serving on the collective farms run by the Elamite government) from escaping into the forest. It also deters illegal immigrants and poachers from entering the forest except as a part of a specialized hunting expedition. And even then, those expeditions flying in from Pyrax tend to leave the jungles alone due to their vast trees hiding both prey and predator alike.

Defense & Maintenance

Thus, defensive responsibilities of the Great Forest fall to the collective military efforts of Elam and the Eventide Islands, along with their subordinate Realms and Districts. Despite the extremely dangerous terrain, control over the vast jungle has been partially exerted over a stretch of land surrounded by the Great River and Red River on two sides, and bounded by a coastal region under the firm control of the Eventide Islands' paramilitary forces. That portion nominally occupied jointly between these realms relies on the River Lands' districts for day-to-day governance, while overall authority is vested in the Council of Six (although, due to lack of permanent human activity, is moot). Although the forest itself cannot be defended due to the recent addition of wild dragons by the Pyraxians during failed expeditions, conquest has been rendered impossible. On the upside, neither can neighbors reasonably occupy the forest, due to the Hexarchy's control of the only civilized areas bordering it.