Dead Ones Mesa
The Dead Ones Mesa, named for the dead legend Mul-Zamain, is a core part of the Empire of Laran. A foundational element of its culture, it is populated mostly by Makassi, and fittingly, is even more inhospitable than the Desert of the Saviour. Vicious flooding, powerful windstorms, and sparse food are all characteristic of the Badlands, and even Larani civilization has struggled to survive here.
Geography
The Dead One's Mesa is the name given to the stretch of badlands that make up the western section of Laran's territory. The mesa borders the Lurur Ocean, however, the northwest of it is known as the Shattered Lands, and while technically controlled by the Empire of Laran like the rest of the badlands, is more often known as the place the remnants of Gwer Rnavn go to die.
The mesa itself is made up of thousands of crisscrossing straights and rivers, making up what would have been a giant delta, but are now ravines and canyons. A few rare rivers still have water, however, they no longer resemble the splendor of old. THe canyon walls have cities and settlements carved into them, as the tops of the badlands are vulnerable to windstorms and have little access to food or water.
The environment is saturated in reds, yellows, and oranges, with the occasional green plant life popping up along rivers and springs. The inhabitants have been forced to develop complex irrigation systems to survive, as the irregular floods of the rivers make living at the base of the canyons perilous.
The Sotteran of the Badlands is largely made up of smaller networks, either naturally formed or hallowed out from the mesa's and plateaus of the overland, connected via deeper tunnel systems. Most of the large open underground spaces exist deep below even the canyon floor housing a completely separate Dawasi culture. It isn't even considered the same environment, known instead as Thakore's Abode.
Of all the old waterways, only five great rivers remain, the clusters of civilization along each creating its own subculture within the Badlands. These are, North to South, the Shuk Osh, the Lol Osh, the Lavbi Osh, the Or Osh, and the Shi Osh. These rivers crisscross and change places quite frequently, so this ordering is based on the order, North to South, that they spill into the Lurur Ocean.
The mesa itself is made up of thousands of crisscrossing straights and rivers, making up what would have been a giant delta, but are now ravines and canyons. A few rare rivers still have water, however, they no longer resemble the splendor of old. THe canyon walls have cities and settlements carved into them, as the tops of the badlands are vulnerable to windstorms and have little access to food or water.
The environment is saturated in reds, yellows, and oranges, with the occasional green plant life popping up along rivers and springs. The inhabitants have been forced to develop complex irrigation systems to survive, as the irregular floods of the rivers make living at the base of the canyons perilous.
The Sotteran of the Badlands is largely made up of smaller networks, either naturally formed or hallowed out from the mesa's and plateaus of the overland, connected via deeper tunnel systems. Most of the large open underground spaces exist deep below even the canyon floor housing a completely separate Dawasi culture. It isn't even considered the same environment, known instead as Thakore's Abode.
Of all the old waterways, only five great rivers remain, the clusters of civilization along each creating its own subculture within the Badlands. These are, North to South, the Shuk Osh, the Lol Osh, the Lavbi Osh, the Or Osh, and the Shi Osh. These rivers crisscross and change places quite frequently, so this ordering is based on the order, North to South, that they spill into the Lurur Ocean.
Ecosystem
The Badlands rival the Low Peaks of Zhatar for their connection to the civilizations of the Sotteran. Much of the animal life that lives here make their dens in the Sotteran's passageways, coming aboveground to feed on the praire-grass that grows along the tops, yellow and orange in color.
Birds are near nonexistent in these parts, as trees only grow around the most consistent rivers, and most prey make their home underground. The role of apex predator is instead taken up by Jackals and Wild Dogs. These predators are found in both the Badlands and the Desert of the Saviour, helping link the native cultures of the two environments through symbolism and heraldry.
The Sotteran of the Badlands has very few open spaces, those that exist being man-made and filled with settlements. The tunnels instead are choked with small vines and other flora growing out of the softer stone and terracotta. The soft terracotta allows many creatures like Fennec Foxes to bury themselves in and make well-hidden dens.
Birds are near nonexistent in these parts, as trees only grow around the most consistent rivers, and most prey make their home underground. The role of apex predator is instead taken up by Jackals and Wild Dogs. These predators are found in both the Badlands and the Desert of the Saviour, helping link the native cultures of the two environments through symbolism and heraldry.
The Sotteran of the Badlands has very few open spaces, those that exist being man-made and filled with settlements. The tunnels instead are choked with small vines and other flora growing out of the softer stone and terracotta. The soft terracotta allows many creatures like Fennec Foxes to bury themselves in and make well-hidden dens.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Badlands have no consistent cycles, as, despite millennia of trying, no one has mapped how the various rivers that crisscross the land flood. What is known is the process. When a river floods, it will fill up to half the way up the canyon wall. The force is enough to destroy most manmade structures and tear away any trees that have grown in the often centuries between flooding. Floods last a few days to weeks, with one recorded flood having lasted a year. The water is extremely fast, making navigating by any boat the mesa dwellers would have access to impossible. Once the river returns to normal levels, most of the plants, who have adapted to need little water over long periods of time, return to a slightly withered-looking state. The silt and terracotta that make up the canyon walls have been replenished with nutrients, allowing the next few generations to farm along the cliff sides.
Localized Phenomena
Aside from the fierce flooding, the Badlands are known for their Windstorms. These phenomena made uniting the region extremely difficult, as any army marching across the top of the Mesa would be vulnerable to the near-weekly Windstorms while trying to march through the canyons would leave one vulnerable to ambushes. These storms sweep away anything not rooted to the ground, and on occasion, even temples and cities built with enchanted stones and fixed to the ground with every ritual known to the Makassi natives. They always come from the East, blowing West out to the Lurur Ocean, sweeping sand from the Desert of the Saviour into and over the badlands.
Of the more supernatural variety, the Mesa is---some would describe it as infested---home to creatures called djinn. These djinn are understood by the average Larani and Lati as little magical bubbles of energy that pop up on occassion. Most barely take on a shape, bouncing along merrily. These are largely found out along the plateaus, away from sentients. They seem to reflect the land, but can become extremely warped around sentients. A djinn in a rotted area may take on the form of a sluggish mist, or a diseased mouse. When one appears in the middle of e heated conversation, it may take the form of a small demon and dance around. Like the Lati, djinn are strongly affected by emotion, and thus can be drained and extinguished by Lati seeking to feed themselves.
Most djinn are transluscent, incorporeal, and blink in and out of existence not even at their own whim, but the whim of the universe. Some, however, show some amount of intelligence. No one understands if these bubbles of energy have anything comparable to souls, but if they do, the longer lived ones seemed to have developed some intelligence. Some describe it as childlike, but experienced adventurers have refered to it as more fae esque. They are tricksters, pranksters, and they do not truly understand this reality.
Of the more supernatural variety, the Mesa is---some would describe it as infested---home to creatures called djinn. These djinn are understood by the average Larani and Lati as little magical bubbles of energy that pop up on occassion. Most barely take on a shape, bouncing along merrily. These are largely found out along the plateaus, away from sentients. They seem to reflect the land, but can become extremely warped around sentients. A djinn in a rotted area may take on the form of a sluggish mist, or a diseased mouse. When one appears in the middle of e heated conversation, it may take the form of a small demon and dance around. Like the Lati, djinn are strongly affected by emotion, and thus can be drained and extinguished by Lati seeking to feed themselves.
Most djinn are transluscent, incorporeal, and blink in and out of existence not even at their own whim, but the whim of the universe. Some, however, show some amount of intelligence. No one understands if these bubbles of energy have anything comparable to souls, but if they do, the longer lived ones seemed to have developed some intelligence. Some describe it as childlike, but experienced adventurers have refered to it as more fae esque. They are tricksters, pranksters, and they do not truly understand this reality.
Natural Resources
The Mesa, underneath the terracotta, is filled with minerals. Iron, nickel, bismuth, copper, tin, titanium, platinum, silver, lead, sparse bits of gold, all of these can be found in plentiful quantities. Mining operations are plentiful, with most of the food being imported. The cliff farms of the mesa are barely enough to feed its native populations, much less the thousands upon thousands of merchants who pour in daily, looking to buy and trade for the native metal and pelts.
History
Settlement and civilization in the Badlands was first done by the Makassi in an exodus out of the Desert of the Saviour. In the days past, the great rivers that had eroded the previously flat plain into the collection of mesas known today were far more powerful, filling much more of the canyons.
The Makassi quickly learned to make their homes in the canyon walls, carving pueblo-style hanging cities. A few continued their attempts to colonize the mesa plateaus, culminating in the great city of Eridu. This was built with enchantments and cursed materials, the binding scrolls and spells imported from the Desert to the East. Eridu stood until the Divine Exodus from Laran, the period when the Makassi's Gods demanded too much from their people, causing them to flee. Eridu was a major center of worship for the The Headless One, and internal strife from the rebelling populace saw the palace demolished. An extremely powerful windstorm ripped through the week after, tearing half the city away. Another of the same ferocity has yet to come and take the other half, which is now an abandoned ruin, populated by archeologists and a few struggling Houses.
Settlement in the Badlands was first done along the Shuk Osh, which still contains the oldest inhabited Pueblo, and the unofficial capital of the region, the city of Ce Cae Ots. The capital stretches for kilometers down the canyon, with several bridges high above the flood level connecting both sides. Moving down the Shuk Osh, the settlers split off from a junction with the Shi Osh, traveling all the way down to the coast of the Lurur Ocean. There they founded the port city of Qattara, which within a century became the center of trade up and down the coast. Colonization of the rivers Lol and Lavbi came soon after, as parties from Qattara moved up the coast and then into the river mouths.
The last river to be settled was the river Or, which, easily the smallest of the five, was settled by monks. They and their followers founded a large temple city, which would be destroyed in religious conflict. The survivors fled up a drying branch of the Or Osh, creating the Temple City of Ur. The little creek it was built over dried up.
The Mesa has been one of the most consistent place in Laran. While the Desert of the Saviour is the Empire's home, it is the Badlands which were essential to forming the culture it is known for today. It is at the border of the Badlands and the Everlasting Jungle, along the Shi Osh, that the administrative capital of the entire empire sits, the city of Boqek.
In the last few centuries, the Imperial Cult has become the dominant religion in the Badlands, unseating the Senpadida Siobkun. Independent cults still survive and thrive in the Mesas, after all, it is far easier to hide in a series of unmapped underground tunnels or canyon passageways than it is in the middle of the desert, but the worship of the Imperator remains the most prevalent.
The Makassi quickly learned to make their homes in the canyon walls, carving pueblo-style hanging cities. A few continued their attempts to colonize the mesa plateaus, culminating in the great city of Eridu. This was built with enchantments and cursed materials, the binding scrolls and spells imported from the Desert to the East. Eridu stood until the Divine Exodus from Laran, the period when the Makassi's Gods demanded too much from their people, causing them to flee. Eridu was a major center of worship for the The Headless One, and internal strife from the rebelling populace saw the palace demolished. An extremely powerful windstorm ripped through the week after, tearing half the city away. Another of the same ferocity has yet to come and take the other half, which is now an abandoned ruin, populated by archeologists and a few struggling Houses.
Settlement in the Badlands was first done along the Shuk Osh, which still contains the oldest inhabited Pueblo, and the unofficial capital of the region, the city of Ce Cae Ots. The capital stretches for kilometers down the canyon, with several bridges high above the flood level connecting both sides. Moving down the Shuk Osh, the settlers split off from a junction with the Shi Osh, traveling all the way down to the coast of the Lurur Ocean. There they founded the port city of Qattara, which within a century became the center of trade up and down the coast. Colonization of the rivers Lol and Lavbi came soon after, as parties from Qattara moved up the coast and then into the river mouths.
The last river to be settled was the river Or, which, easily the smallest of the five, was settled by monks. They and their followers founded a large temple city, which would be destroyed in religious conflict. The survivors fled up a drying branch of the Or Osh, creating the Temple City of Ur. The little creek it was built over dried up.
The Mesa has been one of the most consistent place in Laran. While the Desert of the Saviour is the Empire's home, it is the Badlands which were essential to forming the culture it is known for today. It is at the border of the Badlands and the Everlasting Jungle, along the Shi Osh, that the administrative capital of the entire empire sits, the city of Boqek.
In the last few centuries, the Imperial Cult has become the dominant religion in the Badlands, unseating the Senpadida Siobkun. Independent cults still survive and thrive in the Mesas, after all, it is far easier to hide in a series of unmapped underground tunnels or canyon passageways than it is in the middle of the desert, but the worship of the Imperator remains the most prevalent.
Tourism
A pilgrimage to locations such as the Temple at Ur or to Boqek is, while not as essential as the trip to Otanli, still a vital part of any Lati's career.
Alternative Name(s)
Larani Badlands ; Imperial Land ; Badlands ;
Type
Badlands
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Related Ethnicities
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