Okay, so Dylann is the name for this huge, underground cavern. At one point in time it was heavily populated. There's a river that runs through it and people had ponds stocked with fish and they grew... other stuff. And the way they existed underground was from the light produced by the crystal trees.

The trees come in all colors and sizes. Some forests were green, some were blue, some were white. They glowed, of course, and were slightly warm to the touch. Besides being the lightsource of the entire cavern the trees were also a sort of cobha conduit. Collectively the forests are not quite sentient, but empathetic living organisms. They can sense the desires and the emotions of the people around them and can often respond to that in some way.

For example, if a child is afraid of the dark the trees will glow more brightly. If someone is lost they could point a path. The trees also sing. I haven't exactly worked out anything more detailed than that, I just know that they do. (Like wind rustling through leaves, except there's no leaves and there's no wind...)

Questions? Comments? The forests are one of my favorite aspects of Dylann and, like everything else in my life, Highly Undeveloped.

Now that's a unique name for a cavern... borrowing a common boy's name. Are you pronouncing it like Dylan?

I remember the scene that you posted awhile ago with these trees. It was awesome. The sentient bit is very intriguing and useful for making emotional scenes.

What do the trees look like if they don't have any leaves?

It was. These are cool trees.

How do the trees reproduce? Do they have fruit and seeds? Does anything feed on the trees?

Yup, pronounced the same way.

Well, I call them trees, but they're really more like stalagmites. They branch off like trees, but they connect to each other. (So if you were drawing a forest in winter but connected the branches instead of overlapping them between trees? Sort of?) So they're kind of like rock. Only they're crystal.

So they grow like rock grows, I think pretty much like a stalagmite would. (I could change my mind later.) But water drips, and it turns into rock, and it grows. If it's in a forest then the rock is a crystal and becomes a tree. If it's outside the forest than it's just... rock, like you typically find in caves. The floors of the forests are part crystal as well, so that light flows through them. Sometimes it's pure crystal but sometimes it's marbled with the rock to varying extents. The non-living rock and the crystal trees can meld to some extent also. (trees and stalactites growing together, finding a patch of crystal growing randomly in a cave wall, etc.)

So maybe it's kind of like a living stone. A type of stone that's alive, with a tree sort of growth pattern. (I studied crystals in school, but it was a looooong time ago.)

Awesome. A sort of living rock makes sense.

Is there any particular reason why living rock only "grows" in that area?

Vanya! What a beautiful idea! It's amazing! I love the ideas of glowing crystal trees! Hey, are they salt crystals? That would be handy.

I want to live here!!!! I have no sense of direction, unless I am underground, and I am still scared of the dark (shhhh!!!! Don't tell anyone!). Can I move in?

Well, I'd wait until after the restoration. The forests died in the Betrayal, mostly, and only a few small groves remain.

*cries *

Don't worry! She's going to finish this book and then write the restoration, so we'll be okay.

Oh good. Then I will plan on packing my bags at a later date. *unloads her stuff *

For the singing...what about a sort of ambient chime noise, like glasses of water when you tap them with a spoon?

That's probably a very close description. Another thing that comes to mind is when you fill bottles with water and blow over them.

And for those who've played Myst: the singing stones in the Selenetic age are pretty similar. And the floor on one of the levels of Spire looks and sounds a lot like the forest floor.

*is in heaven * You and I will make travel plans when we meet up next weekend, E dearest!

Not being afraid of the dark is one of the themes of the book.

Link! viewtopic.php?f=117&t=1070

No way, those are connected?! Awesome!

Ohhh! I remember that scene! I remember wishing that you'd write more and that I could learn about the underground forests more.

Wish I could draw the Crystal Forests. *sighs*

I love this concept, it's so original. Looking forward to hearing more!