Bois-Câlin

Bois-Câlin is at once a wood, a village and a community. It appears on no map of the Kingdom, and few Animals know it exists. The influence of Corktown and Cat Tree City does not reach this far.

The forest, long tended, has reclaimed its rights. It has spread and thickened, and now covers the remains of the old human occupation: cracked stretches of tarmac, rusted fencing, moss-covered bollards, vehicle hulks slowly dismantled by the roots. A small stream, the Frisson, runs through the wood and the village before continuing toward a nearby valley.

The village

The settlement is half perched, half buried. Huts hang in the tall trees, burrows are dug into the ground, and roosts are linked by rope walkways and monkey bridges. The buildings mix plants, earth and material salvaged from the surrounding ruins: satellite dishes, cables, keyboards, electrical boxes, robotic arms, all reused without their inhabitants ever knowing what they once were for.

The inhabitants

The community is made up mostly of hedgehogs, whose families descend from exiles who came seeking refuge in this remote wood several generations ago. They live by the bow, follow traditions handed down from their original tribe, and wear brightly coloured clothing. Wary of strangers, they are nonetheless hospitable once trust is established.

Their undisputed leader is Yrna, an immaculately white hedgehog whose age and powers inspire as much devotion as respectful fear.