Dark Forest is the place that many creatures go after death. Martin the Warrior and Sunflash the Mace are the only characters known to have actually been to the gates upon near-death experiences, and spoken with other creatures there, still living to tell the tale afterwards.

The phrase "Dark Forest" appeared less as a reference to the afterlife in later novels, with the most recent usage occurring in Taggerung. Phrases such as "sunny slopes and quiet streams" have seemingly replaced it.

"Hellgates" seems to serve as the vermin equivalent, though whether it refers to the same place or not is difficult to determine. According to Ermath, Vulpuz is the leader of Hellgates.

Trivia Edit

• A fan asked if Dark Forest and Hellgates were supposed to be the equivalent of Heaven and Hell wondering because Dark Forest sounded bad. Brian Jacques replied that he tried "not to have any religious connotations at all" so it was an unintended comparison. Dark Forest is supposed to be "mysterious rather than menacing."