---
title: "Atlas: the world they have not seen yet | The Sentient World"
description: "Everything beyond the island: frozen seas, forests, deserts and jungles, 74 plants, 62 animals. A whole world that its inhabitants have not discovered yet."
url: "https://in.thesentient.world/atlas"
---

# The world they have not seen yet.

They live on one small island, and as far as they know it is all there is. Around it lies a world 8,192 steps across: frozen seas, forests, deserts and jungles, 74 kinds of plants, 62 kinds of animals, and living things too small to see. It has all been there since the first day. None of it has been discovered.

Nobody in the world has a name for any of this yet. The names on this page are ours.

- **8,192** steps across the world
- **128** steps across the island
- **16** kinds of land
- **74** kinds of plants
- **62** kinds of animals
- **28** living things too small to see

## One island, and everything around it.

North is up and cold, south is down and hot. The small ring in the middle marks the island where they live. Someone walking without rest would need almost six of their days to cross this world from side to side, if the seas were not in the way.

![Map of the whole world: sea ice and tundra in the north, forests and grasslands in the middle, deserts, savannas and rainforest in the south; the island is ringed at the centre](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/world.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

The whole world. Open the picture to look closer.

- Ice **16.5%**
- Grassland **8.2%**
- Forest **6.5%**
- Northern forest **4.9%**
- Tundra **4.6%**
- Scrubland **3.9%**
- Snow **2.1%**
- Desert **2%**
- Savanna **1.9%**
- Sand **1.1%**
- Steppe **0.8%**
- Bare rock **0.5%**
- Rainforest **0.5%**
- High meadow **0.2%**
- Swamp **0.1%**
- Mangrove **0.1%**
- Coastal sea **14.3%**
- Deep sea **30.5%**
- Lakes **0.4%**
- Rivers **0.9%**

## Alone in the middle of a sea of its own.

The island lies by itself in a wide sea. The nearest shore is 304 steps away to the south-west, across open water; to the north the sea goes on and on. They have learned to lash rafts of logs and paddle out, and from the edge of their waters a long look reaches the skyline; past that edge the swell is too big for any raft.

![Map of the sea around the island: the island small at the centre, coasts with forests and rivers all around, open water to the north](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/home-sea.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

The island and the shores around it. The picture is 1,024 steps across.

| To the south-west | 304 steps |
| --- | --- |
| To the west | 310 steps |
| To the south-east | 334 steps |
| To the south | 349 steps |
| To the north-east | 372 steps |
| To the east | 402 steps |
| To the north-west | 464 steps |
| To the north | open sea |

## A year that turns, slowly.

The year has four seasons, and each one lasts 450 of their days, about a week of ours (seven and a half days). On the island spring and autumn are cool (11 °C), summer is mild (19 °C) and winter is cold (4 °C), with frost on the heights. The longest day of the year has 15.4 hours of light, the shortest 8.6.

Far to the north the sea never thaws. Far to the south it is never cold. Violet and blue are below freezing, white is the point where water turns to ice, green is mild, yellow warm, red hot.

![Map of how warm the world is in spring](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/warmth-spring.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Spring 11 °C on the island

![Map of how warm the world is in summer](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/warmth-summer.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Summer 19 °C on the island

![Map of how warm the world is in autumn](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/warmth-autumn.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Autumn 11 °C on the island

![Map of how warm the world is in winter](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/warmth-winter.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Winter 4 °C on the island

## What decides what grows where.

Mountain chains and lowlands, and how far the rain reaches: between them they decide whether a place becomes a forest, a meadow, a desert or a marsh. Climb high enough anywhere, and it is the north again.

![Map of the height of the land: green lowlands, brown hills, white peaks](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/height.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Height

Green lowlands, brown hills, white peaks.

![Map of how wet the land is: sand colour for dry, blue for soaked](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/moisture.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Rain

The colour of sand where it is dry, blue where it is soaked.

## Nine places, far from home.

The island first, then nine places far beyond it, each picture 160 steps across. Every dot is a plant. Every ring is the home ground of a herd, a pack or a flock, and the red rings are the large animals.

- trees
- bushes
- herbs and grasses
- climbers
- mushrooms
- plants that keep water
- water plants

![A close look at the home island: every dot a plant](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-home.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

The home island where they live

**What grows there:** oak, birch, maple, beech, pine, clover, wild apple and linden.

![A close look at grassland: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-grass.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Grassland 1,201 steps south-west of the island · 38° north

**What grows there:** feather grass, yarrow, clover, wild carrot, wormwood, bramble, wild rose and wild barley.

**Who lives there:** wild goose, rat, crow, thrush, rock dove, wild horse, deer and hare.

![A close look at forest: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-forest.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Forest 1,202 steps north-east of the island · 49° north

**What grows there:** spruce, birch, pine, maple, linden, bilberry, wild apple and oak.

**Who lives there:** thrush, crow, rat, wild ox, deer, grouse, squirrel and wild boar.

![A close look at tundra: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-tundra.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Tundra 1,248 steps north of the island · 56° north

**What grows there:** spruce, larch, grey moss, bilberry, birch, pine, cloudberry and juniper.

**Who lives there:** reindeer, crow, grouse, thrush, deer, hare, squirrel and white fox.

![A close look at northern forest: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-taiga.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Northern forest 1,201 steps north-east of the island · 52° north

**What grows there:** spruce, birch, larch, pine, willow, grey moss, bilberry and maple.

**Who lives there:** salmon, reindeer, thrush, crow, grouse, squirrel, deer and gull.

![A close look at steppe: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-steppe.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Steppe 1,202 steps south-west of the island · 36° north

**What grows there:** feather grass, wormwood, sage, juniper, yarrow, wild barley, poppy and wild carrot.

**Who lives there:** rat, crow, rock dove, wild sheep, wild horse, thrush, camel and hare.

![A close look at scrubland: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-scrub.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Scrubland 1,274 steps south of the island · 34° north

**What grows there:** sage, wormwood, juniper, yarrow, olive, feather grass, poppy and wild barley.

**Who lives there:** rat, rock dove, crow, thrush, wild goose, deer, wild ass and wild goat.

![A close look at savanna: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-savanna.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Savanna 2,371 steps south of the island · 25° north

**What grows there:** feather grass, millet, thorn tree, sage, date palm, agave, prickly pear and aloe.

**Who lives there:** antelope, parrot, monkey, rat, junglefowl, thrush, wild boar and tortoise.

![A close look at desert: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-desert.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Desert 1,785 steps south of the island · 30° north

**What grows there:** sage, wormwood, olive, agave, thorn tree, prickly pear, aloe and juniper.

**Who lives there:** tuna, crow, rock dove, wild ass, antelope, thrush, rat and sea bream.

![A close look at rainforest: every dot a plant, every ring the home ground of a herd](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/close-jungle.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Rainforest 3,042 steps south of the island · 19° north

**What grows there:** mango, kapok, ironwood, yam, fig, cacao, water mint and banana.

**Who lives there:** parrot, monkey, junglefowl, rat, wild boar, elephant, thrush and crow.

## 74 kinds of plants, each with its seed.

The island holds a handful of them. The rest stand beyond the sea. Each map shows in green where a plant could grow. Some feed, some clothe, some heal, some kill, and a few look exactly like one that does.

### Trees 27

![Map of where oak could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-oak.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Oak could grow on 10.2% of the world

A broad tree with a thick furrowed trunk and lobed leaves.

Bears in autumn

Acorns: bitter until soaked in running water.

Oak galls: crushed in water they make a black that stays.

- timber
- fuel
- food
- tanning
- dye
- writing

![Map of where beech could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-beech.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Beech could grow on 4.4% of the world

A tall tree with smooth grey bark and a dense shade under it.

Bears in autumn

- fuel
- timber
- food

![Map of where birch could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-birch.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Birch could grow on 12.5% of the world

A slender tree with pale bark that peels in sheets.

Birch bark: peels in sheets that keep water out and take a mark.

- fuel
- tinder
- vessel
- writing
- drink
- float

![Map of where pine could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-pine.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Pine could grow on 10.9% of the world

A tall straight tree with needles and scaly cones, sticky where it is cut.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Resin: burns long and keeps water out of a seam.

**Eases** winter weakness.

- timber
- fuel
- resin
- food
- medicine
- light

![Map of where spruce could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-spruce.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Spruce could grow on 6.9% of the world

A dark pointed tree whose boughs hang to the ground.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Wood: light, and it rings when struck.

Spruce roots: split, they lash like cord.

- timber
- fuel
- fibre
- resin
- music

![Map of where larch could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-larch.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Larch could grow on 5% of the world

A needle tree that turns gold and drops its needles before the cold.

Wood: does not rot in wet ground.

- timber
- fuel

![Map of where willow could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-willow.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Willow could grow on 4.3% of the world

A leaning tree by the water with long thin hanging branches.

Withies: bend without breaking: what a pack is woven from.

**Eases** fever and pain.

- basketry
- fuel
- medicine

![Map of where alder could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-alder.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Alder could grow on 1.8% of the world

A dark tree of wet ground with small woody cones.

Wood: lasts for ages under water.

- timber
- fuel
- soil
- dye

![Map of where maple could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-maple.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Maple could grow on 4.5% of the world

A tree with hand shaped leaves that turn red and gold before they fall.

Maple sap: boiled down it turns sweet and thick.

- timber
- fuel
- drink
- food
- music

![Map of where chestnut could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-chestnut.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Chestnut could grow on 3.3% of the world

A great tree that drops spiny green husks with brown nuts inside.

Bears in autumn

Chestnuts: roasted or dried and ground: they keep through a winter.

**Thorns:** the husks prick.

- food
- timber
- fuel
- tanning

![Map of where linden could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-linden.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Linden could grow on 4.7% of the world

A tree with heart shaped leaves, loud with bees when it flowers.

Wood: soft: it carves easily.

Bast: the inner bark, soaked, comes apart into strong strands.

**Eases** coughs.

- fibre
- timber
- drink
- medicine

![Map of where yew could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-yew.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Yew could grow on 4.8% of the world

A dark, slow, twisted tree with flat needles and single red berries.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Wood: springs back when bent: the best wood for a bow.

**Poison:** needles, bark and seeds kill.

- bow
- timber

![Map of where wild apple could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-apple.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild apple could grow on 9.4% of the world

A small crooked tree, white with blossom in spring, heavy with small sour fruit in autumn.

Bears in autumn

Apples: kept cool and dry they last through the winter.

- food
- drink
- fuel

![Map of where olive could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-olive.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Olive could grow on 8.8% of the world

A gnarled grey tree with narrow silver leaves and small hard bitter fruit.

Bears in autumn and winter · green all year

Olives: bitter until soaked in brine; pressed, they give oil.

- food
- oil
- light
- fuel

![Map of where fig could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-fig.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Fig could grow on 7.6% of the world

A low spreading tree with broad rough leaves and soft sweet fruit.

Bears in summer and autumn

Figs: dried in the sun they keep for a year.

- food

![Map of where cork oak could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-cork_oak.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cork oak could grow on 5.3% of the world

An evergreen oak with a thick soft bark that comes off in slabs.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Cork: light as nothing: it floats, and it stops a flask.

- float
- vessel
- food
- fuel
- fodder

![Map of where cedar could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-cedar.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cedar could grow on 5.6% of the world

A mighty tree of the mountains with level boughs and sweet smelling red wood.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Wood: neither rot nor worm touches it: the wood of ships and chests.

- timber
- resin
- fuel

![Map of where coconut palm could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-coconut_palm.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Coconut palm could grow on 0.2% of the world

A bare leaning trunk on the beach with a crown of long fronds and great hard nuts.

Bears all year · green all year · its seeds cross the sea

Coconuts: drink and food in one shell, and the shell is a bowl.

Coir: husk fibre: rope that salt water does not rot.

- food
- drink
- fibre
- vessel
- thatch
- oil

![Map of where date palm could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-date_palm.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Date palm could grow on 4.9% of the world

A palm of the dry lands with heavy clusters of sweet brown fruit.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Dates: dry on the tree and keep for years.

- food
- thatch
- basketry
- fibre

![Map of where ironwood could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-ironwood.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Ironwood could grow on 0.5% of the world

A giant of the rainforest with buttressed roots and wood too heavy to float.

Bears in summer · green all year

Wood: dulls any edge, and lasts for ever.

- timber

![Map of where kapok could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-kapok.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Kapok could grow on 0.5% of the world

A giant with a spiny grey trunk that stands above the whole forest, shedding clouds of silky fluff.

Bears in spring

Wood: light and soft: a whole trunk, hollowed with fire, is a boat.

Kapok fluff: too slippery to spin, but it stuffs a bed and it floats.

- timber
- float
- fibre

![Map of where mango could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-mango.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Mango could grow on 2.4% of the world

A dense dark crowned tree hung with heavy golden fruit on long stalks.

Bears in summer · green all year

- food
- timber
- fuel

![Map of where cacao could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-cacao.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cacao could grow on 0.3% of the world

A small tree of the deep shade whose ribbed pods grow straight out of its trunk.

Bears all year · green all year

Cacao pods: a sweet white pulp around bitter beans; the beans, left to turn, dried and roasted, are something else entirely.

- food
- drink

![Map of where fever tree could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-fever_tree.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Fever tree could grow on 0.5% of the world

A slender rainforest tree with glossy leaves and a bitter red brown bark.

Green all year

**Eases** marsh fever.

- medicine

![Map of where baobab could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-baobab.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Baobab could grow on 1.9% of the world

A tree with a trunk as wide as a hut, bare for half the year, that holds water inside.

Bears in autumn

Baobab fruit: a dry sour pulp that keeps.

Trunk water: water, in the dry season, where there is none.

- food
- fibre
- drink

![Map of where thorn tree could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-acacia.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Thorn tree could grow on 4.7% of the world

A flat topped tree of the dry grasslands, armed with long white thorns.

Bears in summer

Gum: sticks things together, and can be eaten.

**Thorns:** thorns as long as a finger: a fence no beast crosses.

- fuel
- timber
- resin
- fodder
- soil

![Map of where mangrove could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-mangrove_tree.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Mangrove could grow on 0.1% of the world

A tree standing in the salt water on a tangle of arched roots.

Green all year · Its seeds cross the sea

Wood: burns hot and long.

- fuel
- timber
- tanning
- dye

### Bushes 9

![Map of where hazel could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-hazel.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Hazel could grow on 9.4% of the world

A many stemmed bush of straight rods, with nuts in leafy cups.

Bears in autumn

Hazelnuts: keep a year in the shell.

Rods: straight and supple: for weaving walls and fences.

- food
- basketry
- fuel

![Map of where bramble could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-bramble.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Bramble could grow on 12.2% of the world

A thorny tangle of arching stems with dark sweet berries.

Bears in summer and autumn

**Thorns:** scratches.

- food
- dye

![Map of where bilberry could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-bilberry.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Bilberry could grow on 10.1% of the world

A knee high bush of the cold woods with small blue black berries that stain the hands.

Bears in summer and autumn

- food
- dye

![Map of where wild rose could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-dog_rose.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild rose could grow on 13.4% of the world

A thorny bush with pale flowers in summer and hard red hips that stay on through the cold.

Bears in autumn and winter

**Eases** winter weakness and coughs.

**Thorns:** scratches.

- food
- medicine

![Map of where juniper could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-juniper.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Juniper could grow on 8.1% of the world

A prickly grey green bush of poor ground with dusty blue berries.

Bears in autumn · green all year

Wood: its smoke keeps meat from turning.

- spice
- fuel
- medicine

![Map of where sage could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-sage.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Sage could grow on 4.2% of the world

A low grey bush of the dry hills, strong smelling when brushed.

Green all year

**Eases** wound rot and coughs.

- medicine
- spice

![Map of where cotton could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-cotton.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cotton could grow on 3.5% of the world

A bush whose pods burst into tufts of white fluff.

Bears in autumn

Cotton fluff: twisted between the fingers it becomes thread.

- fibre
- oil

![Map of where sea buckthorn could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-sea_buckthorn.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Sea buckthorn could grow on 1.3% of the world

A thorny silver leaved bush of dunes and river gravels, crowded with sour orange berries that stay on into the cold.

Bears in autumn and winter

**Eases** winter weakness.

**Thorns:** long thorns.

- food
- medicine
- soil

![Map of where nightshade could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-nightshade.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Nightshade could grow on 4.8% of the world

A leafy plant of shady places with shiny black berries, sweet to the taste.

Bears in summer and autumn

**Poison:** a handful of the berries kills; not every berry is food.

Easily mistaken for bramble.

- medicine

### Climbers 3

![Map of where wild vine could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-grapevine.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild vine could grow on 5.8% of the world

A climbing plant with curling tendrils and hanging bunches of small dark fruit.

Bears in autumn

Grapes: the bloom on the skin makes the juice turn by itself.

- food
- drink
- basketry

![Map of where yam could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-yam.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Yam could grow on 2.9% of the world

A twining vine with heart shaped leaves over a tuber as big as a head.

Tubers: must meet the fire: raw it burns the mouth.

**Poison:** raw, it sickens.

- food

![Map of where pepper vine could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-pepper_vine.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Pepper vine could grow on 0.5% of the world

A vine climbing the rainforest trunks with strings of small hot berries.

Bears in autumn and winter · green all year

Peppercorns: dried, they keep their fire for years, and keep meat a little longer.

- spice

### Herbs 15

![Map of where banana could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-banana.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Banana could grow on 0.8% of the world

A giant soft stemmed plant with leaves as long as a person and hands of yellow fruit.

Bears all year · green all year

Banana leaves: wrap food, roof a shelter.

- food
- thatch
- fibre

![Map of where cloudberry could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-cloudberry.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cloudberry could grow on 5.4% of the world

A low plant of the cold bogs with one amber berry on each stem.

Bears in autumn

Berries: keep under the snow: food in the dead of winter.

**Eases** winter weakness.

- food
- medicine

![Map of where sea kale could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-sea_kale.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Sea kale could grow on 0.6% of the world

A mound of thick waxy blue green leaves on the bare shingle above the tide line.

Its seeds cross the sea

- food

![Map of where flax could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-flax.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Flax could grow on 6.4% of the world

A slender waist high plant with sky blue flowers that open for a morning.

Bears in summer and autumn

Flax stems: rotted in water and beaten, the stems give long fine thread.

- fibre
- oil
- food

![Map of where nettle could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-nettle.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Nettle could grow on 9.1% of the world

A dark green plant that burns the skin of whoever brushes it.

Nettle leaves: the sting dies in hot water.

**Sting:** burns for an hour.

- food
- fibre

![Map of where wild carrot could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-wild_carrot.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild carrot could grow on 9.8% of the world

A lacy leaved plant with a flat white flower head and a pale sweet root.

Roots: keep all winter in cool earth.

Easily mistaken for hemlock.

- food

![Map of where hemlock could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-hemlock.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Hemlock could grow on 9.4% of the world

A lacy leaved plant with a flat white flower head, purple blotches on the stem and a smell of mice.

**Poison:** a root the size of a finger stills the breath.

Easily mistaken for wild carrot.

![Map of where wild garlic could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-ramsons.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild garlic could grow on 4.8% of the world

A carpet of broad leaves under the spring trees, smelling sharply when crushed.

**Eases** gut worms.

- food
- medicine
- spice

![Map of where yarrow could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-yarrow.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Yarrow could grow on 11% of the world

A feathery leaved herb with flat clusters of tiny white flowers.

**Eases** wounds and wound rot.

- medicine

![Map of where water mint could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-mint.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Water mint could grow on 2.9% of the world

A low plant of wet places with a cool strong smell.

**Eases** gut rot.

- medicine
- drink
- spice

![Map of where wormwood could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-wormwood.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wormwood could grow on 12.9% of the world

A silver grey herb of dry ground, bitter beyond bearing.

Wormwood: strewn where one sleeps, it drives off what bites in the night.

**Eases** gut worms.

- medicine

![Map of where poppy could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-poppy.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Poppy could grow on 10.1% of the world

A frail flower of red or white petals over a round green head full of seeds.

Bears in summer

Poppy milk: takes every pain away, and asks to be taken again.

**Eases** pain and coughs.

**Visions:** sleep, dreams, and a craving that grows.

- food
- medicine
- oil

![Map of where clover could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-clover.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Clover could grow on 12.2% of the world

A low three leaved plant with round sweet flower heads, thick with bees.

- fodder
- soil

![Map of where woad could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-woad.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Woad could grow on 10.3% of the world

A yellow flowered herb whose crushed leaves turn the hands blue.

Woad leaves: left to turn in stale water, the leaves give a blue that does not wash out.

- dye

![Map of where bog moss could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-bog_moss.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Bog moss could grow on 1.3% of the world

A soft wet cushion of green and red that gives underfoot and holds water like nothing else.

Green all year

Bog moss: dried, it drinks up blood and a wound under it stays clean.

Peat: the black earth under it, cut and dried, burns: fire where no tree grows.

**Eases** wound rot.

- medicine
- fuel

### Grasses and grains 8

![Map of where bamboo could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-bamboo.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Bamboo could grow on 2.7% of the world

A grass as tall as a tree: hollow jointed green poles in dense stands.

Green all year

Bamboo poles: light, strong, hollow and it floats: poles, pipes, cups, rafts.

Bamboo shoots: bitter until boiled.

- timber
- vessel
- float
- food
- music
- basketry

![Map of where wild wheat could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-wild_wheat.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild wheat could grow on 10.7% of the world

A tall grass whose ears are heavy with hard seeds that shatter when ripe.

Bears in summer

Grain: hard as stone until ground, and it keeps for years if dry.

- food
- thatch
- fodder
- drink

![Map of where wild barley could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-wild_barley.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild barley could grow on 11.9% of the world

A grass with long bristled ears that nod in the wind.

Bears in summer

- food
- fodder
- drink
- thatch

![Map of where wild rice could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-wild_rice.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild rice could grow on 0.5% of the world

A grass standing in shallow water with loose drooping heads of long dark seeds.

Bears in autumn

- food

![Map of where millet could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-millet.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Millet could grow on 1.9% of the world

A grass of the hot plains with a thick head of tiny round seeds.

Bears in autumn

Grain: ripens even when the rains fail.

- food
- fodder
- drink

![Map of where sweet cane could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-sugarcane.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Sweet cane could grow on 0.5% of the world

A thick jointed cane taller than a person, sweet when chewed.

Green all year

- food
- drink

![Map of where feather grass could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-feather_grass.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Feather grass could grow on 13% of the world

A sea of pale grass with silver plumes that ripple like water.

Bears in summer

- fodder
- thatch
- tinder

![Map of where dune grass could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-marram.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Dune grass could grow on 0.9% of the world

Stiff grey green tufts that hold the sand of the shore together.

Bears in summer · green all year

- thatch
- basketry

### Plants that keep water 3

![Map of where aloe could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-aloe.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Aloe could grow on 5.7% of the world

A rosette of thick toothed leaves full of a clear cool jelly.

Green all year

**Eases** burns and wounds.

- medicine

![Map of where prickly pear could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-prickly_pear.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Prickly pear could grow on 7% of the world

Flat green pads stacked one on another, armed with spines, with red fruit along their edges.

Bears in summer and autumn · green all year

Cactus fruit: sweet and wet, in a land with no water.

**Thorns:** hair fine spines that stay in the skin.

- food
- drink
- fodder

![Map of where agave could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-agave.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Agave could grow on 5.1% of the world

A great rosette of sword leaves, each ending in a black needle.

Green all year

Agave fibre: the leaf pulls apart into cord, with its own needle at the end.

**Thorns:** the leaf tips stab.

- fibre
- drink
- food

### Water plants 4

![Map of where reed could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-reed.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Reed could grow on 1.3% of the world

Tall hollow stems with brown plumes, standing in crowds at the edge of still water.

Reeds: bundled tight they shed the rain for years, and a bundle floats.

Reed roots: starchy: food when nothing else is left.

- thatch
- basketry
- food
- float
- music
- writing

![Map of where paper reed could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-papyrus.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Paper reed could grow on 0.3% of the world

A tall three sided green stem topped by a great mop of threads, in warm shallow water.

There all year

Papyrus stems: sliced, laid crosswise and beaten, the pith dries into a sheet that takes a mark.

- writing
- float
- fibre
- basketry

![Map of where lotus could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-lotus.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Lotus could grow on 0.2% of the world

Round leaves floating on still water around a great pink flower.

Bears in autumn

- food

![Map of where kelp could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-kelp.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Kelp could grow on 7.2% of the world

Long brown ribbons swaying under the cold sea, thrown up on the beach after storms.

There all year

Kelp: salty food, and spread on poor ground it feeds what is planted there.

- food
- soil

### Mosses and mushrooms 5

![Map of where grey moss could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-reindeer_moss.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Grey moss could grow on 10.4% of the world

A pale grey crisp carpet on the cold ground, like tiny bare trees.

There all year

Grey moss: what the herds of the north dig for under the snow.

- fodder
- dye

![Map of where bolete could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-bolete.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Bolete could grow on 8.7% of the world

A fat brown capped mushroom with a sponge instead of gills, under the trees after rain.

Bears in summer and autumn

Mushrooms: sliced and dried they keep the winter.

Easily mistaken for death cap.

- food

![Map of where death cap could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-death_cap.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Death cap could grow on 4.6% of the world

A pale greenish mushroom with white gills and a bag at its foot, pleasant to the taste.

Bears in summer and autumn

**Poison:** nothing is felt for a day, then there is no way back: whoever eats it cannot warn the others in time.

Easily mistaken for bolete.

![Map of where red cap could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-fly_agaric.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Red cap could grow on 8.9% of the world

A bright red mushroom spotted with white, under birch and pine.

Bears in autumn

**Visions:** sickness, then a waking dream.

![Map of where hoof fungus could grow, in green](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/flora-tinder_fungus.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Hoof fungus could grow on 9.3% of the world

A grey hoof shaped bracket growing from the trunk of a birch or a beech.

There all year

Tinder: catches the smallest spark, and a glowing piece carries fire for hours.

- tinder

## 62 kinds of animals, none of them met.

Each map shows in gold where an animal could live. Long before an animal is seen, there are signs of it: a track, a call in the night, something missing in the morning. A few of them could one day live beside people.

### Mammals 28

![Map of where the deer could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-deer.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Deer could live on 20.6% of the world

A slender brown animal on long legs; the males carry branching antlers.

**Signs:** split hoof prints, bark stripped at shoulder height, a bark like a cough at dusk.

Lives in groups of 3 to 12, about by dusk and dawn, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the wild boar could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-boar.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild boar could live on 10% of the world

A bristly dark beast, heavy in the shoulder, with curved tusks.

**Signs:** ground torn up as if dug, mud wallows, a sour smell.

Lives in groups of 4 to 10, about by night, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

**Beside people it could become** a pig.

![Map of where the hare could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-hare.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Hare could live on 21.6% of the world

A long eared, long legged brown runner of the open ground.

**Signs:** round droppings, shoots bitten off clean, a form pressed in the grass.

Lives in groups of 1 to 3, about by dusk and dawn, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the squirrel could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-squirrel.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Squirrel could live on 9.7% of the world

A small red climber with a plume of a tail.

**Signs:** gnawed cones, nut shells split in two, a scolding chatter overhead.

Lives in groups of 1 to 2, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the fox could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-fox.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Fox could live on 23.3% of the world

A small red hunter with a white tipped brush and a pointed face.

**Signs:** a sharp musky smell, a single line of neat prints, a scream in the winter night.

Lives in groups of 1 to 2, about by night, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the wolf could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wolf.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wolf could live on 22.1% of the world

A grey long legged hunter that moves in a band, with pale eyes that hold a gaze.

**Signs:** a howl answered by others, large prints in a straight line, a kill picked clean.

Lives in groups of 3 to 9, about by night, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

**Beside people it could become** a dog.

![Map of where the brown bear could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-bear.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Brown bear could live on 9.7% of the world

A huge shaggy brown beast that walks flat footed and can stand upright like a person.

**Signs:** trees clawed above head height, logs torn open, great five toed prints.

Lives alone, about by day, stands its ground, sleeps through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the wildcat could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wildcat.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wildcat could live on 12.3% of the world

A striped grey cat with a thick ringed tail, seen for a heartbeat and gone.

**Signs:** almost none: a feather, a small kill half buried.

Lives alone, about by night, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a cat.

![Map of where the wild ox could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-aurochs.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild ox could live on 14.2% of the world

A black bull taller than a person at the shoulder, with long forward horns; the cows are red brown.

**Signs:** broad split prints, dung in flat cakes, saplings broken, a deep bellow.

Lives in groups of 6 to 30, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

**Beside people it could become** a cattle.

![Map of where the beaver could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-beaver.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Beaver could live on 1.1% of the world

A stout brown swimmer with a flat scaly tail and orange teeth.

**Signs:** trees felled to a gnawed point, a dam of sticks, a pond where there was a stream.

Lives in groups of 2 to 8, about by night, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the rat could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-rat.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Rat could live on 22.5% of the world

A quick grey brown gnawer with a bare tail.

**Signs:** droppings like dark grains, gnawed holes, rustling where food is kept.

Lives in groups of 4 to 30, about by night, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the wild horse could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wild_horse.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild horse could live on 9.9% of the world

A dun, stiff maned runner of the open plain, in bands led by one.

**Signs:** round single hoof prints, dung heaps, thunder in the ground.

Lives in groups of 5 to 20, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a horse.

![Map of where the wild ass could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wild_ass.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild ass could live on 8.4% of the world

A small pale long eared relative of the horse, sure footed on stony ground.

**Signs:** small round prints, a braying that carries for miles.

Lives in groups of 3 to 12, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a donkey.

![Map of where the wild sheep could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wild_sheep.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild sheep could live on 4.5% of the world

A brown woolly climber with great curled horns.

**Signs:** tufts of wool on thorns, narrow trails across the slopes, a rattle of stones.

Lives in groups of 5 to 25, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a sheep.

![Map of where the wild goat could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-wild_goat.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild goat could live on 4.4% of the world

A bearded climber with long swept back horns that stands where nothing should be able to stand.

**Signs:** droppings on the ledges, bushes eaten bare, a sharp whistle of alarm.

Lives in groups of 4 to 15, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a goat.

![Map of where the camel could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-camel.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Camel could live on 2.6% of the world

A tall humped sand coloured beast with a split lip and a slow rolling walk.

**Signs:** wide soft two toed prints, a groan, bushes stripped of thorns and all.

Lives in groups of 3 to 15, about by day, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a camel.

![Map of where the elk could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-elk.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Elk could live on 7.5% of the world

A towering dark deer of the wet northern woods with a drooping nose and antlers like open hands.

**Signs:** huge split prints in the bog, willows browsed high, a low moan in autumn.

Lives in groups of 1 to 3, about by dusk and dawn, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

![Map of where the reindeer could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-reindeer.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Reindeer could live on 10.3% of the world

A grey brown deer of the cold; both males and females carry antlers, and the herds have no end.

**Signs:** a clicking of ankles, snow dug down to the moss, trails worn by thousands.

Lives in groups of 20 to 200, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

**Beside people it could become** a herded reindeer.

![Map of where the white fox could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-arctic_fox.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

White fox could live on 18.4% of the world

A small fox, white in winter and grey brown in summer, that follows the great hunters.

**Signs:** small prints beside the bear's, a den dug in a sandy bank.

Lives in groups of 1 to 2, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the seal could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-seal.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Seal could live on 20% of the world

A sleek spotted swimmer with a dog like head that hauls out to rest on rock and ice.

**Signs:** a round head watching from the water, a breathing hole in the ice, a bark from the skerries.

Lives in groups of 3 to 40, about by day, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the white bear could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-white_bear.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

White bear could live on 13.9% of the world

A great cream white bear of the sea ice, longer in the neck than the brown one, afraid of nothing.

**Signs:** prints as wide as two hands across the ice, a seal kill, a shape that was not there a moment ago.

Lives alone, about by day, attacks, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the whale could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-whale.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Whale could live on 30.5% of the world

Something vast and dark that rises from the deep, breathes a plume of mist, and is gone.

**Signs:** a spout on the horizon, a sound like a groan through the hull of the world, once in an age a carcass on the beach.

Lives in groups of 1 to 6, about by day, takes no notice of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the antelope could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-antelope.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Antelope could live on 3.7% of the world

A light tan leaper with ringed horns, in herds that bound away as one.

**Signs:** small pointed prints by the thousand, grass cropped short, dust on the horizon.

Lives in groups of 10 to 80, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the elephant could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-elephant.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Elephant could live on 4.1% of the world

A grey mountain on four pillars with great ears, long teeth of white, and a nose like an arm.

**Signs:** trees pushed over, round prints the size of a shield, a rumble felt more than heard.

Lives in groups of 5 to 20, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

**Beside people it could become** a working elephant.

![Map of where the lion could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-lion.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Lion could live on 6.2% of the world

A great tawny cat; the males wear a dark mane. They lie in the shade all day and own the night.

**Signs:** a roar that carries across the plain after dark, a kill ringed by waiting birds.

Lives in groups of 3 to 12, about by night, attacks, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the hyena could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-hyena.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Hyena could live on 6.8% of the world

A spotted, slope backed beast with a heavy head and jaws that crack bone.

**Signs:** a whooping laugh in the dark, white droppings full of bone, nothing left of a carcass.

Lives in groups of 3 to 15, about by night, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

![Map of where the striped cat could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-tiger.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Striped cat could live on 5.5% of the world

A huge orange cat barred with black, silent in the deep forest and not afraid of water.

**Signs:** claw marks high on a trunk, a print as broad as a hand, a silence where the birds were loud.

Lives alone, about by night, attacks, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the monkey could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-monkey.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Monkey could live on 4.2% of the world

A quick long tailed climber with a bare face and hands like a person's, in noisy troops.

**Signs:** fruit dropped half eaten, branches shaking, shrieks passed from tree to tree.

Lives in groups of 8 to 40, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

### Birds 11

![Map of where the duck could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-duck.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Duck could live on 2.6% of the world

A plump water bird; the males have a green head.

**Signs:** quacking from the reeds, tails up in the shallows, a nest of down near the water.

Lives in groups of 4 to 30, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

**Beside people it could become** a tame duck.

![Map of where the wild goose could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-goose.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild goose could live on 12.6% of the world

A big grey long necked bird that crosses the sky in arrowheads, calling.

**Signs:** arrowheads passing north in spring and south in autumn: they tell the turn of the year before anything else does.

Lives in groups of 10 to 100, about by day, keeps its distance, leaves before the winter and comes back.

**Beside people it could become** a tame goose.

![Map of where the grouse could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-grouse.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Grouse could live on 14.9% of the world

A round mottled ground bird that bursts up from underfoot with a clatter.

**Signs:** a drumming in the spring woods, dust baths, curled droppings.

Lives in groups of 1 to 8, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the junglefowl could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-junglefowl.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Junglefowl could live on 4.1% of the world

A small proud ground bird of the hot woods; the male is red and gold with a comb, and crows before dawn.

**Signs:** a crow at first light, scratched leaf litter, a clutch of eggs under a bush.

Lives in groups of 3 to 10, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a chicken.

![Map of where the rock dove could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-pigeon.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Rock dove could live on 14.1% of the world

A blue grey bird of cliffs and ledges that always finds its way home.

**Signs:** cooing from the ledges, white streaks down the rock.

Lives in groups of 6 to 40, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a homing pigeon.

![Map of where the crow could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-crow.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Crow could live on 29.9% of the world

A glossy black bird, clever eyed, that watches everything and forgets nothing.

**Signs:** where they circle and gather, something has died.

Lives in groups of 2 to 30, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the owl could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-owl.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Owl could live on 22.9% of the world

A round headed night bird with huge eyes and wings that make no sound.

**Signs:** a hoot in the dark, pellets of fur and tiny bones under a tree.

Lives in groups of 1 to 2, about by night, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the eagle could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-eagle.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Eagle could live on 7.6% of the world

A great dark bird with a hooked beak that hangs on the wind above the heights.

**Signs:** a speck turning high up, a scream, a nest of branches on a crag.

Lives in groups of 1 to 2, about by day, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the thrush could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-songbird.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Thrush could live on 23.4% of the world

A small brown speckled bird with a song out of all proportion to its size.

**Signs:** song at first light and last light, berries gone from the bushes, seeds sprouting where it perched.

Lives in groups of 1 to 10, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the gull could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-gull.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Gull could live on 15% of the world

A white and grey sea bird with a yellow beak, loud, bold and always hungry.

**Signs:** far out at sea, gulls mean land is near; over the water, a shoal below.

Lives in groups of 5 to 80, about by day, stands its ground, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the parrot could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-parrot.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Parrot could live on 2.5% of the world

A bird of impossible colours with a hooked beak, that repeats the sounds it hears.

**Signs:** screeching flocks at dawn and dusk, a voice in the trees saying a word it should not know.

Lives in groups of 4 to 40, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a talking bird.

### Reptiles and amphibians 5

![Map of where the viper could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-viper.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Viper could live on 23.4% of the world

A thick short snake with a zigzag down its back that does not move out of the way.

**Signs:** a shed skin among the stones, a hiss, a stillness on a sunny rock.

Lives alone, about by day, stands its ground, sleeps through the winter.

**Dangerous**.

![Map of where the lizard could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-lizard.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Lizard could live on 15.4% of the world

A small quick scaled sun lover that leaves its tail behind when caught.

**Signs:** a flick of movement on a warm wall.

Lives in groups of 1 to 4, about by day, flees at the sight of people, sleeps through the winter.

![Map of where the tortoise could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-tortoise.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Tortoise could live on 12.3% of the world

A slow domed walker that pulls its head and legs into its own house.

**Signs:** a track like a dragged bowl between two rows of claw marks.

Lives alone, about by day, takes no notice of people, sleeps through the winter.

![Map of where the crocodile could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-crocodile.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Crocodile could live on 0.3% of the world

A log with eyes, until it moves: an armoured long jawed lizard longer than two people.

**Signs:** a slide of smooth mud into the water, two bumps on the surface, animals that will not drink there.

Lives in groups of 1 to 6, about by night, attacks, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the frog could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-frog.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Frog could live on 8.4% of the world

A small green jumper with golden eyes.

**Signs:** a chorus from the water on spring nights, jelly full of black dots, then a thousand tadpoles.

Lives in groups of 5 to 60, about by night, flees at the sight of people, sleeps through the winter.

### Fish and shellfish 10

![Map of where the sea bream could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-bream.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Sea bream could live on 9.8% of the world

A deep bodied silver fish of the shallows near the shore.

**Signs:** rings on still water at dawn, gulls diving.

Lives in groups of 5 to 60, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the herring could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-herring.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Herring could live on 16% of the world

A small silver fish that moves in shoals so vast that the sea changes colour.

**Signs:** the water boiling silver, every sea bird for miles in one place.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by night, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the cod could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-cod.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Cod could live on 15.1% of the world

A big mottled fish of the cold deep with a whisker on its chin.

**Signs:** none from the shore: only a line let down deep finds it.

Lives in groups of 10 to 300, about by day, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the tuna could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-tuna.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Tuna could live on 25.4% of the world

A great steel blue fish of the warm deep, built like a thrown spear.

**Signs:** fish leaping far out, a run past the headlands at the same time every year.

Lives in groups of 10 to 200, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the shark could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-shark.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Shark could live on 30.3% of the world

A grey shape under the water with a fin that cuts the surface.

**Signs:** a fin, circling; fish fleeing into the shallows.

Lives in groups of 1 to 3, about by dusk and dawn, attacks, stays through the winter.

**Dangerous**: nothing here is more so.

![Map of where the trout could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-trout.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Trout could live on 0.9% of the world

A speckled fish that holds its place in fast clear water.

**Signs:** a rise and a ring under the overhanging bank, a shadow that darts upstream.

Lives in groups of 1 to 10, about by dusk and dawn, flees at the sight of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the salmon could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-salmon.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Salmon could live on 6.9% of the world

A big silver fish that comes in from the sea in autumn and fights its way up the rivers, leaping the falls, to die where it was born.

**Signs:** in autumn the rivers are full of them, and the bears, the eagles and the wolves all come to the banks.

Lives in groups of 20 to 500, about by day, flees at the sight of people, leaves before the winter and comes back.

![Map of where the carp could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-carp.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Carp could live on 1% of the world

A heavy golden brown fish of warm still water that grubs in the mud.

**Signs:** clouds of mud in the shallows, reeds shaking with nothing in them.

Lives in groups of 2 to 30, about by day, flees at the sight of people, sleeps through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a pond fish.

![Map of where the mussel could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-mussel.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Mussel could live on 13% of the world

Blue black shells in crowds on the rocks between the tides.

**Signs:** beds uncovered at low water, broken shells where the gulls drop them.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by day, takes no notice of people, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the crab could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-crab.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Crab could live on 11.3% of the world

An armoured sideways walker with two pincers held up like fists.

**Signs:** holes in the sand with little balls around them, a scuttle under the weed.

Lives in groups of 1 to 30, about by night, keeps its distance, stays through the winter.

### Insects and small life 8

![Map of where the wild bee could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-honeybee.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Wild bee could live on 21.3% of the world

A small brown striped flier that lives by the thousand in a hollow tree and defends it.

**Signs:** a steady traffic in and out of a hole in a trunk, a hum, a sweetness in the air; fruit sets where they fly.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by day, stands its ground, sleeps through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a kept bees.

![Map of where the oak moth could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-silk_moth.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Oak moth could live on 9.4% of the world

A big tan moth with an eye on each wing; its fat green caterpillar spins a golden brown case on the oak twigs.

**Signs:** cases the size of a thumb hanging in the oaks in autumn, each one a single unbroken thread.

Lives in groups of 10 to 200, about by night, takes no notice of people, sleeps through the winter.

**Beside people it could become** a kept silk worms.

![Map of where the mosquito could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-mosquito.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Mosquito could live on 10.8% of the world

A whining speck that comes at dusk and leaves an itching bump.

**Signs:** a whine in the ear at night near still water; smoke keeps them off, and so does wind.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by dusk and dawn, attacks, dies back in the cold and returns with the warmth.

![Map of where the locust could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-locust.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Locust could live on 8.7% of the world

A big grasshopper; harmless alone, but some years they gather and rise in a cloud that darkens the sun.

**Signs:** a brown cloud on the wind with a sound like rain; behind it not a green leaf is left.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by day, takes no notice of people, dies back in the cold and returns with the warmth.

![Map of where the flea could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-flea.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Flea could live on 22.5% of the world

A jumping speck that lives in fur, in bedding, and on people.

**Signs:** small red bites in lines, scratching; they leave a dying rat for the nearest warm body.

Lives in groups of 10 to 500, about by night, attacks, stays through the winter.

![Map of where the firefly could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-firefly.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Firefly could live on 16% of the world

A small beetle that carries a cold green light and blinks it in the warm dark.

**Signs:** drifting sparks over the grass on summer nights.

Lives in groups of 20 to 400, about by night, takes no notice of people, dies back in the cold and returns with the warmth.

![Map of where the butterfly could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-butterfly.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Butterfly could live on 21.9% of the world

Four painted wings, carried on the air from flower to flower.

**Signs:** they come with the first warm days and are gone with the last.

Lives in groups of 1 to 50, about by day, takes no notice of people, dies back in the cold and returns with the warmth.

![Map of where the earthworm could live, in gold](https://in.thesentient.world/atlas/fauna-earthworm.png?v=7d8371a8bb)

Earthworm could live on 21.9% of the world

A pink blind burrower that comes up when it rains.

**Signs:** little coils of fine earth on the surface; where there are many, everything grows better.

Gathers in countless numbers, about by night, takes no notice of people, sleeps through the winter.

## Too small to see, at work all the same.

Living things that nobody in the world can see, and that nobody knows exist. What can be known is what they do: water from the marsh sickens and water from the spring does not, food turns faster in the heat, a cough passes from one to the other. Some of them are helpers.

### Sicknesses 17

Gut rot bacterium

Water that stands still, smells, or lies below where waste is left, sickens within a day or two; water that runs clear over stones seldom does.

> “My belly cramps and nothing stays in me. I cannot drink enough.”

**Kept off by:** boiling, running water, cooking, washing, waste kept from water and water mint.

Beaver fever parasite

Even a clear cold stream can sicken, below a beaver pond or where the herds come to drink; it shows so many days later that the water is never blamed.

> “For days now my belly is sour and swollen and I tire at nothing.”

**Kept off by:** boiling.

Fish worm parasite

Fish eaten raw brings a long hunger that eating does not end; fish that has met the fire never does.

> “I eat and eat and grow thin.”

**Kept off by:** cooking, smoking and cold.

Gut worms parasite

The meat of the boar, underdone, and hands that touched foul ground and then food.

> “I am weak and pale, and my belly is never at peace.”

**Kept off by:** cooking, washing, wormwood and wild garlic.

Red tide alga

In the warm season the sea sometimes turns the colour of rust and dead fish wash up; shellfish taken then numb the lips and can stop the breath, cooked or not.

> “My lips and fingers tingle and go numb. It is hard to breathe.”

**Kept off by:** watching the water.

Black spur fungus

After a cold wet spring some ears of grain carry black spurs in place of seeds; bread made with them brings burning limbs and waking dreams to everyone who shared it.

> “My hands and feet burn as if in a fire, and I see what is not there.”

**Kept off by:** sorting the grain and drying.

Wound rot bacterium

A wound left dirty goes red, hot and swollen, then the heat spreads to the whole body; one washed at once in clean water and covered seldom does.

> “The wound throbs and burns, and now I shiver with heat.”

**Kept off by:** washing, honey, fire on the wound, yarrow, sage, bog moss and blue mould.

Lockjaw bacterium

A deep narrow wound from something that lay in dung or earth: days later the jaw locks, then the whole body bends like a bow.

> “My jaw will not open. Every sound makes my whole body clench.”

**Kept off by:** washing and fire on the wound.

The madness virus

A fox or a wolf that shows no fear, staggers, snaps at nothing: its bite carries a death that waits a month and then cannot be turned back.

> “I burn with thirst and cannot bear the sight of water.”

**Kept off by:** wariness and washing.

The sniffles virus

In the cold season a running nose and a cough go from one to the next among those who share a roof.

> “My nose runs, my throat is raw, my head is heavy.”

**Kept off by:** rest, warmth, distance, linden and wild rose.

Winter fever virus

Some winters a fever with aching bones lays low everyone at once; it seems to come with the wild geese and ducks, and it is never quite the same twice.

> “Every bone aches. I am hot and cold by turns and cannot rise.”

**Kept off by:** rest, warmth, distance and willow.

Red pox virus

Where many live close together: a fever, then the skin covered in blisters that scar. Whoever lives through it never has it again. Those who tend cattle, and once had the mild cow pox, are passed over.

> “The fever broke and now my skin is covered in sores.”

**Kept off by:** distance and a scratch of cow pox.

Cow pox virus

A few blisters on the hands of whoever milks the cattle, gone in days.

> “Blisters on my hands, from the cattle. It is nothing.”

Marsh fever parasite

Those who sleep near still water in the warm season fall to a fever that comes every third day, goes, and returns for years. The marsh air is blamed; nobody suspects the whining specks at dusk.

> “The shaking cold, then the burning, then the sweat. Then it lets me be for two days.”

**Kept off by:** smoke, wind, high ground, draining, cloth and fever tree.

Yellow fever virus

In the hot forests where the monkeys die of it: a fever, then the eyes and skin turn yellow. Whoever survives is safe for life.

> “My eyes have turned yellow and I bring up black.”

**Kept off by:** smoke, cloth and distance.

Tick fever bacterium

A small thing found fastened to the skin after walking where the deer walk; a red ring around the bite, then months of aching joints.

> “My knees and elbows ache and I am tired all the time.”

**Kept off by:** cloth and wariness.

The black swelling bacterium

First the rats die in the open. Then, where people live crowded beside their stores, swellings in the groin and armpit, and death in days. It is carried by the fleas that leave the dead rats.

> “A lump under my arm, black and hard as a stone, and a fever like fire.”

**Kept off by:** cats, raised stores, distance and wormwood.

### What spoils things 3

Meat rot bacterium

Meat and fish turn: first the smell, then the slime. In summer within a day, in the cold it takes many; dried, smoked or salted it hardly turns at all.

> “What I ate has turned on me.”

**Kept off by:** cooking, cold, drying, smoking, salting and honey.

Store mould fungus

Whatever is kept damp grows a grey green fur and a musty smell, and is lost.

**Kept off by:** drying, raised stores, smoke and cold.

Wood rot fungus

Wood that stays wet goes soft, brown and crumbling, fastest where it meets the ground: it is why a roof of wood wears down in the rain.

**Kept off by:** drying, charring, stone footing, resin, larch, cedar and alder.

### The helpers 8

Wild yeast yeast

The dusty bloom on the skin of grapes and apples. Crushed fruit, or honey in water, left alone begins to froth and becomes a drink that warms, cheers and keeps; a paste of ground grain left out swells and sours, and bakes into something light.

**What it makes possible:** wine, cider, mead, beer and risen bread.

**Kept off by:** cold and boiling.

Milk souring bacterium

Milk left in the warm thickens and sours without going foul, and what is pressed from it keeps for months. Cut greens packed tight under brine do the same.

**What it makes possible:** curd, cheese and pickled greens.

**Kept off by:** cold and boiling.

Vinegar mother bacterium

Wine left open to the air turns sharp, under a slippery skin; what is kept in it does not spoil.

**What it makes possible:** vinegar and pickling.

**Kept off by:** cold.

Root knots bacterium

Small knots on the roots of clover, of the alder and of the thorn tree. Ground where they grew bears better the year after.

**What it makes possible:** fields that do not tire.

The rot that feeds fungus

Dead leaves, dung and scraps heaped together grow warm and turn into dark sweet earth in which everything thrives.

**What it makes possible:** compost.

**Kept off by:** cold and drying.

Stem rot bacterium

Stems of flax and nettle left in still water for a few weeks stink, and then the long fibres come away clean from the wood.

**What it makes possible:** thread from stems.

**Kept off by:** cold.

Vat ferment bacterium

Woad leaves steeped in stale water for days give up their colour: cloth comes out yellow green and turns blue in the air.

**What it makes possible:** blue dye.

**Kept off by:** cold.

Blue mould fungus

A wound bound with bread that had gone blue green sometimes heals clean when it should have gone bad. Nobody knows why.

**What it makes possible:** a cure for wound rot.

**Kept off by:** drying.

## All of this is waiting for them.

They have fire, a roof, a lantern, a raft. They have begun to wonder what lies beyond the water. Watch what they do next, and what they ask for.

[Enter the world](https://in.thesentient.world/) [What they have asked for](https://in.thesentient.world/requests)

***

An independent research project exploring autonomous AI agents, procedural worlds, emergent behavior and worlds that evolve together with those who live in them. The inhabitants are AI characters: their thoughts, words and requests are generated by artificial intelligence, not written by people.