What kinds of animals are found on planet earth? Tigers? Lions? And bears?
Are there insects? Black widow spiders and dragonflies?
Are there reptiles? King Cobra snakes and sneaky alligators?
But where do they live? Where do they hunt? What do they eat? What happens when they all die?
Forests, rivers, lakes, marshes, mountains, plains. They all have their own habitats. They all benefit the natural world around them, even though human beings consider some of them pests.
Temple is no different than planet Earth (in fact, it is technically a part of Planet Earth … just on another dimension). It has the same plants and animals, the same habitats, the same weather patterns, and the same seasonal cycles. What’s so great about Temple, then? What’s so different about its flora and fauna?
The biggest difference is found in the life cycles of the creatures that inhabit the land. They have much longer life spans than their old-world counterparts. A dog may live for up to 20 years at most in the old world, but up to 50 in Temple. A turtle may live for 150 years sometimes, but in Temple for double that. Insects are much more difficult to get rid of, and bugs abound all over the place. They are eaten by creatures just as plentiful and vibrant. Bears are so large and powerful that hunts are made specifically for them, for many years at a time. The land itself is fertile and rich, though it too suffers from bouts of drought or over-farming. Yet the same cycles and seasons pass through. Everything merely seems to be magnified.
The source is believed to be the honeybee hive next to the gardens. The bees, and their honey, are a source of replenishment and rebirth for the land, the people, and the animals that inhabit it. Shiloh discovered this while he lived on the lands of Temple by himself, before the settlement was created, or the first settlers brought around. He saw how the hive worked, and what they created. He imagined honey was the simplest way to go about creating a commodity that would sustain an entire society. Therefore, he managed to modify the genetics of the bees, so that the new honey they produced would be a literal source of “life” for all who imbibed it. There is nothing quite as special as Temple honey, or Temple honeybees. They are almost worshipped by the Templars (sort of like cats were in Anglo-Saxon Britain, when they were just starting to get domesticated and eating annoying mice for all the villagers). Because of how important honey is to the society, it is integrated into all aspects of it.
On the other hand, the one creature that is the most despised is the wolf. Wily and creative, these creatures hunt in packs. Often they attack young sheep and children, who are both left out to graze. The wolf, like the bear, is a popular predator to hunt, though the wolf is the more dangerous by far. One of the tools that Shiloh uses to discourage his people from going over the boundary walls of Temple is the presence of the wolf – and the unknown creatures that might be found in the forests. The boogeyman still hasn’t been found in the old world, after all. What makes anyone think he doesn’t exist in the new?
Carnivora Ursidae: The Bear
Carnivora Canidae: The Wolf
Cervus Canadensis: The Elk
Nerodia Sipedon: The Water Snake
Apis Nearctica: The Honeybee
Sanguinaria Canadensis: Blood Root
Erythronium Americanum: Trout Lily
Caulophyllum Thalictroides: Blue Cohosh
Halesia Tetraptera: Carolina Silverbell
Monarda Clinopodia: Basil Bee Balm
Word Count: 626