The plain of petrified trees - La llanura de los árboles petrificados

Beyond the duchy of Kattland stretched a plain, a vast territory unknown to many, a place where nature had shaped giants of stone and wood, whose trunks were as thick as a city and whose crowns were lost in the clouds. They were the petrified trees, natural monuments of an impossible size, standing proudly in the middle of that inhospitable plain, silent witnesses of the history of that land.

None was the same as the other, each with its own shape and color. Their barks, composed of sheets of stone, were a labyrinth of cracks and hollows where some creatures had found refuge. Among them, a tribe of gnomes, a solitary and distrustful people, who lived among the branches, and rarely let themselves be seen. Short and wrinkled, they had little to do with their neighbors and did not even want to understand them.

Thorne and his companions were exploring the region on a mission to reopen an ancient and abandoned branch of the famous Jade Road. They had to draw up a map and contact the inhabitants to avoid problems. Although they had been traveling through the area for several days, they still marveled at the landscape around them. They had never seen anything like it. Although they had seen some truly strange things on their many trips, this had taken them by surprise.

That morning they felt uneasy. Something had changed in the atmosphere. It was as if nature was watching them. They were all walking together, protecting their flanks, and could not help but keep their hands on their weapons.

Más allá del ducado de Kattland se extendía una llanura, un vasto territorio desconocido para muchos, un lugar donde la naturaleza se había encargado de modelar unos colosos de piedra y madera, cuyos troncos eran tan gruesos como una ciudad y cuyas copas se perdían entre las nubes. Eran los árboles petrificados, monumentos naturales de un tamaño imposible, que se erguían con orgullo en medio de esa llanura inhóspita, testigos mudos de la historia de esa tierra.

Ninguno era igual al otro, cada uno con su forma y color. Sus cortezas, compuestas por láminas de piedra, eran un laberinto de grietas y oquedades donde algunas criaturas habían encontrado refugio. Entre ellas, una tribu de gnomos, un pueblo solitario y desconfiado, que vivían entre las ramas, y que pocas veces se dejaban ver. Bajos y arrugados, tenían poco que ver con sus vecinos y ni querían entenderlos.

Thorne y sus compañeros exploraban la región con la misión de reabrir un antiguo y abandonado ramal de la famosa Ruta del Jade. Debían elaborar un mapa y contactar con sus habitantes para evitar problemas. Aunque llevaban ya varios días viajando por aquellos parajes, aún no dejaban de maravillarse por el paisaje que les rodeaba. Jamás habían visto nada igual. Aunque en sus numerosos viajes habían visto cosas verdaderamente extrañas, aquello les había tomado por sorpresa.

Esa mañana se sentían inquietos. Algo había cambiado en el ambiente. Era como si la naturaleza los estuviera observando. Caminaban todos juntos, protegiendo sus flancos, y no podían evitar mantener las manos cercas de las armas.

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Some details of the painting

_{Story elaborated with the help of @iaberius}