The Suderand Washout

When brand scholars began to track the heritage of branded families, they were quickly and excitedly directed to the Orlansian steppes. To have literally all of the families have roots in a single location led the scholars to hope for a foundation civilization or the remnants thereof with associated records, documentation or legends. What they found instead was a bizarre record of a natural disaster beyond the scope of any seen in recorded history.
The Khitim still tell stories of the red-black sky. The volcanoes in the peaks bordering the Orlansian steppes and the Dhilor highlands are active and small eruptions are fairly regular. It is theorized that in 743 BCE one of these small eruptions reached the thick dry autumn grasses of the high plains. There are fringe theories that actions of the branders or warfare among the denizens of the steppes initiated the destruction. The resulting fires obliterated the vegetation of the wide plain. The scope of the fire was such that a soot layer is found in the geologic record across Eilea, easily providing a precise date.
When explorers first studied the steppes their focus was the Sudarand river valley, as any civilization would naturally be found near the only major waterway bisecting the plains. The found a sickly watershed with thin grasses and anemic, spindly trees. Unfortunately it was evident the devastation was not confined to the steppes, as what should have been a verdant forest was instead the Great Waste.
The sickly watershed of the Sudarand flowed into a massive fan shaped delta devoid of any vegetation. It was determined the alkali levels of the Waste were of a level that would prevent growth for centuries to come. When a geologist questioned why erosion hadn't carved chasms reminiscent of the Rift into the exposed delta, he investigated and found the subsurface makeup of the Waste to be a matrix of grass roots, reeds and branches concreted together by a black soot rich clay compound unique by geologic standards.
The geologist engaged scientists from across the globe and eventually solved the mystery of the Sudarand Washout. In the wake of the 743 BCE conflagration, winter rains descended on the steppes in unforeseen amounts due to the high levels of particulate matter in the atmosphere. The runoff picked up the burned top layer of the scorched earth, then, as it progressed downstream, began to scour at any remaining subsurface vegetation, and in places causing pockets of liquefaction to break up a widespread caliche adding natural plows to the black mud flow.
Branded scholars are certain the civilization that birthed the branded families thrived along the banks of the lower Sudarand. The Washout left no evidence of them. The vastness of the Great Waste makes searching for subsurface structure remnants or building materials nigh impossible. Now that mapping the steppe road networks is nearing completion, researchers are hoping LIDR will be of use against the flat black of the Great Waste.

Localization

Orlansian Steppes The Great Waste

Type

Natural