The Celebration of the Poison Woods

The Story of the Poison Forest

When the Scavenger Folk seek to become the First Tribe, they arrive at the site of Home Village. But the land is poisoned from the work of the Hungry Empire. Falsenight’s oil has saturated the soil. Starheart’s radiation contaminates the dust. The Harvester’s chemicals have leeched into the earth and the water. And the human waste left by the Devourer has left human transmittable diseases. People get sick. People develop lead poisoning. People get cholera. People get radiation poisoning. People get typhus.

First Mother seeks out an answer and meets with a witch named Ghost Talker. The Witch is willing to help, but demands something in return. The Witch teaches the tribe vermiculture composting in exchange for their modern vehicles and fuel. After many failed attempts to compost, they finally succeed. But the people are still sick. There are still contamination illnesses.

First Mother meets with a witch named Red Cat Crimson, who teaches how to use super-accumulator plants to remove toxins from soil in exchange for their modern fertilizers, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, and household chemicals. The people use super accumulators. But they do not know where to put the super-accumulators. People mistake the Super-accumulators for food plants and somebody eats them and gets sick.

First Mother seeks advice, and a witch named Granny Cat’s Paw offers help in exchange for all their canned food. Granny tells First Mother her to the have the people create the Poison Forest: a place to put the toxins. The Poison Forest will serve as a sacrifice ground where people try to bioremediate and bind toxins as best they can. The tribe begins to build the Poison Forest, but people are still getting sick and it is hard to grow food.

First Mother meets a witch who calls herself the Blackwood Lady. She offers to help First Mother in exchange for the coal that the Tribe is still using for heating and cooking. The Blackwood Lady shows the people mycoremediation. With the witch’s help, the people encourage mycelium and mycorrhizal fungi to grow and the plants begin to flourish. But people are still getting sick.

First Mother seeks out help, and a witch called the Red Ring Lady offers assistance in exchange for all their remaining plastics. The Red Ring Lady teaches phytoremediation for the purpose of transforming toxins into less toxic versions. But people are still getting sick.

First Mother meets a witch called Ash Mother. In exchange for a promise of safe passage for those who practice witchcraft and wizardry, Ash Mother teaches humanure composting and proper latrine building. And finally, with everything learned and their last connections to the Hungry Empire gone, people stop getting sick.

Keeping a Poison Forest

A Poison Forest is not a garbage dump, but a living ecosystem built from plants and fungus that can breakdown and sequester human toxic chemicals. Every Free Tribe maintains a Poison Forest. The village cemetery is built within the Poison Forest. Any things contaminated by the Hungry Empire are left in the Poison Forest. The Poison Forest in far enough from the village to keep the people safe, but close enough to be within walking distance.

The Celebration of the Poison Forest

The Celebration of the Poison Forest is a ceremonial cleansing of homes. Homes are cleansed with high proof alcohol and boiling water where possible. Possible contaminated items are offered up and a parade is held to the Poison Forest. The contaminated items are left to the Poison Forest and the tribe spends time managing the Poison Forest. Prayers and Offerings are left at the Poison Forest’s altar.