The Draconic Wastes

Thanks to Mohammad Qureshi for the fantastic cover art!

Harshly contrasted by its counterpart regions across the Severed Tops, alongside the Iotruyla River Basin and Ioturan Heartland that it borders to its south, the Draconic Wastes is the biggest blight upon mainland Iotura, a desolate place created by the ferocious battle between Lythaelos and Xael's Void. The skies crackled and the earth rumbled as the two deities and their countless followers battled across the hills and plains of the region. Even after the better part of a millenium, the Draconic Wastes are still marred today by the battles that reshaped them so long ago.
Bordered entirely by the Severed Tops to the east, and bordering up against the Iotruyla River Basin to the southwest, the Draconic Wastes are a huge swath of desolate wastelands that dominate the entirety of northwestern Iotura. Today, very few mortals make this land their home, save for the dragonborn city-state of Drakkina, which has slowly brought order to a growing section of the wastes over the past few centuries. Where civilization does not provide protection (which is to say, most of the wastes), aberrations, demons, and dragons (and the minions who serve them) make the wastes their home. Just as Drakkina is the consolidated remnants of Lythaelos' followers from his battles in the Reckoning, so too are the scattered evils of the wastes the remnants of the Witherer's Void. Dotting the wastes are remnants of the battles of the Reckoning and the grandeur of the Age of Rebirth, hidden ruins and ancient shrines that hide many great treasures and many terrible evils. Alongside the monsters that roam the wastes are various nomads and wandering tribes, some peaceful, others violent.

Adal-Bo'dur

Hidden within the northwestern peninsula of Iotura, among its jagged rocks and mountains, is an ancient citadel of the Obsidian Lords' power. Long ago struck down by Lythaelos in his righteous fury, Adal-Bo'Dur was a massive fortress of Xael's terrible followers. Countless twisted monstrosities, horrors created by Xael's withering hand, called its dark iron and obsidian halls their home, providing the Witherer's armies with a powerful fortress in Iotura. Once, its halls and chambers burrowed deep into the mountains it sat on, the black tower that sat upon the surface being only the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. Today, its tower is broken and many of its countless chambers and halls lay caved-in and shattered, broken beneath the assault of the Dragon of Fate and his forces. No one knows what goes on in its desecrated depths, or just how deep its dark halls tread. Some even believe the assault that destroyed Adal-Bo'Dur may have expanded it even further into the depths, as the quaking of the divine combat that shook the mountains opened up new caverns and treacherous caves.

Aerylar Excavation Zone

Originally discovered in 888 AT by a Drakkinid expedition, the Aerylar Excavation Zone was rapidly seized upon by the Arcanul Ordinate and other arcane and historical interests around the world. Within this ancient, sleek tower of black steel and obsidian are ancient runes, hieroglyphs, and constructs that continue to baffle Emaxus' foremost scholars. While the bastion protruding hundreds of feet into the sky above ground has been thoroughly secured and is constantly being studied by the Arcanul Ordinate on-base, most researchers agree that they are only scratching the surface. It is believed that many miles of Aerylar construction stretches beneath the surface, and semi-regular expeditions are sent down into the compound, of which both adventurers and Ordinate scholars are present.

Bay of Drathir

A large body of water that makes up a segment of the northern coast of the Draconic Wastes, the Bay of Drathir was once the flourishing trade artery of a massive empire that spanned the breadth of the bay's shores. Today, a bleak silence hangs over the ashen waves and broken shores of the once lively region, broken only by moaning winds and the crashing of the chilly waters against the rocky, shattered coast. Rimming the Bay of Drathir are countless ruins left behind by this empire, many of which are infested by the remaining followers of Xael the Witherer or other monstrous inhabitants, either independent forces or those loyal to other dark forces. When the cataclysm of the Reckoning visited its devastation on this empire, its countless trade fleets sank to the bottom of the bay, and its bountiful cities returned to ash. Today, untold riches and secrets await in these ruins, and in the shipwrecks below the waves. They simply await those brave enough (or stupid enough) to claim them.

The Dragonheart Caldera

At the core of the Draconic Wastes lies a black heart of corruption. The dark rocks and hills of the waste begin to sink, pulled down into the earth by molten lava and crackling corruption: here, even the dark followers of the Witherer give a wide berth, and any living thing that wishes to stay that way avoids the area entirely. Where the battle between Lythaelos and Xael reached its climactic finish is a several mile wide caldera, as the earth buckled and boiled beneath the fury and heat of the gods' battle. After this battle, rising from the boiling magma, strange ruins stood standing. No mortal knows if these were monuments to the Witherer left ruined by the Dragon of Fate's assault or great relics from a bygone age revealed when the earth buckled and sank. Little is known at all of the five floating black pyramids that dot the Dragonheart Caldera. Ever since their discovery, they have floated, resolute and silent. These haunting, mysterious monuments bear vague likenesses to Aerylar architecture, but even then, the make and composition of these pyramids is totally alien to anything else on Emaxus. Below them, dotting the volcanic landscape, are similar obelisks, black-obsidian structure rising from the magma like jagged fingers, countless and mysterious.
What mysteries lie within these pyramids? Are these strange ruins truly relics of the Witherer's power, or are they something far more ancient and far more evil?

Drakkina

Large City <> 16,782 (96% dragonborn, 2% human, 2% other)
Beneath the shadow of the Witherer's Throne is the one bastion of light in the Draconic Wastes: Drakkina, which is the largest and most powerful congregation of dragonborn power in Emaxus. During the Reckoning, Lythaelos brought an army of thousands of dragonborn to northwestern Iotura in their hunt for the Witherer. After their successful assault on Adal-Bo'Dur, this army made camp in the valley that would one day become Drakkina. They waited as the Dragon of Fate pursued Xael, whose armies had been defeated, alone. After Lythaelos successfully defeated Xael and drove them away to Drumis, the great Dragon of Fate, wounded and tired, flew back to their followers' camp and gave them one, final decree before they followed their quarry across the world: to build a great city here, and ensure that the corruption that the Witherer had created never spread, nor grew power. As they looked upon the once lush hills and valleys, now charred and corrupted, stained with the blood of the gods, the Dragon of Fate gave the people who would soon be known as the Drakkinid a blessing to aid them in their righteous mission: he purified a small patch of land for the dragonborn to settle. Though only a few square miles, this small space of arable ground would provide the foundations to the Shelter City now known as Drakkina.
Plundering the great treasures within the nearby Witherer's Throne, they began to build a great city at the site where their patron god instructed them and called it Drakkina. These people, now calling themselves the Drakkinid, constructed great monuments to the battles that had taken place during the Reckoning, and ancient statues of Lythaelos and Xael's battles still stand to this day. These treasures and the draconic heritage of the people of Drakkina has long attracted dragons to the city -- for good or for ill. Indeed, dragons young and old have been seen coming to and from Drakkina, for reasons varying from simple conversation to trade and knowledge. And on the other hand, dragons young and old have laid siege to the city, for reasons varying from simple conquest to misery and destruction.

Government

Drakkina is governed by the Council of Drakkina, a theocratic meritocracy composed of two of each family of dragonborn (chromatic, gem, and metallic). The members are selected by means of each member selecting a small pool of replacements to begin training, usually heroes and leaders who have distinguished themselves in the streets or on the battlefield, and they are then voted on by the general populace. This occurs once every ten years, and no one dragonborn can ever serve twice, to ensure no consolidation of power occurs. The Council and its members can be found in depth at the Factions of Iotura. 
Under the Council's rule, the Drakkinid enjoy great personal freedoms, and as such love, life and liberty are high-held values within Drakkina's walls. Worship of all Children of Yamma is welcome but most of the Drakkinid consider the Dragon of Fate their chief patron, for obvious reasons. The one thing that is sharply punished by death and martial crackdown is worship of the Obsidian Lords, most specifically the Witherer, as the Drakkinid are extremely devout and religious, and fighting the corruption surrounding them day after day leaves no mercy for corruption within.

Welcoming

Despite being nearly entirely composed of dragonborn, the Drakkinid are extremely welcoming of outsiders and hold little to no prejudices to all mortals. They are especially friendly to other followers of the Children of Yamma, and have strong connections with Yathra Silthame. But despite their often open arms, few people make the journey to Drakkina on account of its isolated, desolate location. The journey to the city-state is long, hard, and fraught with danger, and despite the Drakkinids' best efforts, it is nearly impossible to guarantee the safety of travelers. It is for this reason that few outsiders call Drakkina their home, and often the only people who make the voyage to this bastion of safety are heavily armed trade caravans and similarly-equipped religious missions from Yathra Silthame.

Geography and Climate

On account of the corruption of the wastes surrounding the city, the climate of Drakkina is extreme: the summers swelter and the winters chill to the bone. The only thing that is constant is the dryness: water finds no home in the wastes, nor does it seek to. The air is as crisp and dry as brittle paper, and the ground is all the same. Nestled in a shallow valley, shadowed by the towering Witherer's Throne, Drakkina is surrounded by grey, brown, and nearly lifeless wastes as far as the eye can see. But, on account of the Dragon of Fate's final blessing, Drakkina sits upon purified ground. The ground is fertile and lush, and dense, tiered, subterranean farms provide the Drakkinid with at least some of the food they need. Water is plentiful, and bountiful springs provide all the fresh water needed for the city. But, on account of the limited square mileage of their sanctified ground, Drakkina is constricted in the space they can expand, which is the chief contributor to the city's population limit. Though it has grown from the original four thousand or so followers who were left after the Reckoning, the Drakkinid have never numbered more than 18,000, and for a long time never numbered more than 12,000, though that changed due to expanded trade of necessities such as food and clothing with the Ioturan Heartland city-states to the south.

Home of Dragons

Drakkina has had many draconic allies and enemies throughout its history. From wyrmlings flitting from home to home to ancient dragons bringing ruin to the city's walls, few peoples know dragons as well as the dragonborn of Drakkina. The Drakkinid have had several distinct friends and foes throughout the centuries, such as Xydran, the White One, Nikioress, the Swift, and Desyn, the Dark.

Drathir Mountains

Just to the west of the Severed Tops and the east of the Bay of Drathir, the Drathir Mountains are an imposing series of dark peaks that rise into the clouds, capped by white snow. These mountains once held the great drow city of Nar Burim, a vast drow empire riddling the peaks and the ground beneath them. Today, the Drathir Mountains are haunted by aberrations and monstrosities, as well as the undead or crazed remnants of the drow empire. Avalanches and rock slides are frequent, as the mountains are constantly plagued by tremors and small quakes, a remnant of the Reckoning that confounds scholars even today. Whether the source of these geological disturbances is a remnant of the battles, or some terror imprisoned beneath the mountains, no one knows.

Haldur's Inlet

Haldur's Inlet is a small breach into the Thousand Spires mountain range, where the ocean encroaches into the Draconic Wastes. It is believed that Isael intentionally collapsed this area of once mountainous terrain into the sea for her devotees to challenge themselves, creating a treacherous inlet that also afforded the only path to the once-great Crucible of the Tempest, a great, mountainous arena where Isael's greatest champions of the Age of Rebirth battled to gain her boons. Today, the location of the Crucible has been lost, and the Tempest's devout followers within the clans of Aasveig regularly send sailors into the Inlet to find it once more. These sailors rarely even return, much less with the location of the Crucible.

Ruins of Nar Burim

During the Age of Rebirth, a great drow citadel expanded far beneath the Drathir Mountains, culminating into a great tower that rose to rival the peaks surrounding it. In the battles of the Reckoning, the tower fell and the city of Nar Burim collapsed. The ancient ruins of the tower of Nar Burim have been buried by countless rockfalls, leaving the only known entrance to the city buried as well. It is believed that the rest of the city met a similar fate, and many scholars find it hard to believe that any structure could have survived the geological turmoil of the Drathir Mountains for nearly nine centuries, but the truth of the matter is that no one knows.

Ruins of Osmaer

While there are countless unnamed cities, towns, and ancient structures lost to dust in the bleak Draconic Wastes, there is one that stands out: the ancient metropolis of Osmaer. Resting upon a great plateua that overlooks the surrounding wastelands (which many think was actually created by the arcanists of Osmaer to quite literally elevate the capital's grandeur), it is believed that, in the Age of Rebirth, the great city of Osmaer was the capital of an even more grand empire that spanned the entirety of the region that is now the Draconic Wastes. Now, the once grand spires of Osmaer stand abandoned and dilapidated, and the streets and buildings of Osmaer have become overrun by entropy and ruin. But, much of the destruction in Osmaer is caused by aforementioned atrophy; despite its grandeur and notability during the Age of Rebirth, Osmaer seems to have largely been untouched by the devastation of the Reckoning. While it is not without its occasional collapsed wall or annihilated street, by and large, the ruins of the city stand tall.
While this would be a blessing, the truth of the matter is that Osmaer's lack of devastation is much more concerning than if it had faded into ash. Many adventurers and scholars who venture into the city never return, and those who do come back broken of mind and spirit. Travelers who see the towering ruins from afar claim to occasionally see dark black obelisks and alien structures amongst the faded grandeur, but these claims are rarely validated. The true fate of the Osmaeri people remains uncertain, and why the capital of an empire lost to devastation was nearly untouched is still unknown.

The Scattered Fields

Where the lush forests of the Iotruyla River Basin and the Ioturan Heartland begins to give way to the desolation of the wastes is known as the Scattered Fields. This border zone between the life to the south and the death to the north is a sort of melting pot of both things it separates. Defined by dense patches of forest and grasses that just as quickly give way to desolate fields and stagnant ponds, the Scattered Fields are where the corruption of the wastes begins to dilute and give way to life, and they reflect that. Dense swaths of life border up against dead patches of corruption, creating a chaotic checkerboard across this region, with higher densities of corrupted land as one gets closer to the wastes, before giving way to the corruption of the wastes entirely.

The Witherer's Throne

Like a haunting shadow over Drakkina and its lands, in the western wastes there is a terrible, lone mountain. Jagged and wide, yet reaching to heights rivaled rarely in Iotura, the Witherer's Throne was the lair of Xael prior to and during the Reckoning.
This monolith was home to their vast hordes and now sits empty, a grim reminder of the Witherer's once absolute dominion over the region. Petty factions of cults, mutants, and other monstrosities fight over the place that their ancient master once called home, seeking to reestablish his dominion, so long as they are at the forefront. Should one claim dominance or unify the various groups within, they could pose a threat to the region.

Thousand Spires

Spanning the entire western coast of the Draconic Wastes is the massive mountain range of the Thousand Spires. These great peaks cast long shadows over the Draconic Wastes, forming an unbroken line across the western horizon when viewed from the east. Even internally, this range is broken only by Haldur's Inlet, and as such is the home of many underground and mountainous denizens. Giants and dragons claim the highest peaks, waging war incessantly over the dominion of the skies, faint shadows harkening back to the Reshaping and the great conflicts their races once partook in. In the treacherous valleys between these peaks, the disparate fragments of the Witherer's Void wage war amongst themselves, the entropy of their driving them to prove themselves over all others, with these conflicts being most heated near Adal-Bo'dur, where those who believe themselves to be the "chosen" of Tiamat attempt to prove their greatness by reclaiming their goddess' ancient halls. And in the depths beneath the mountains, untold horrors await as the denizens of the Underdark fight to survive and make war with the surface dwellers they hate. But even with all of these conflicting parties, battles can be infrequent, and one is just as likely to look down from a peak onto bleak rock and eerie silence, broken only by howling wind.

Religions:
Majority: Lythaelos, Xael
Minority: Narvox, Yamma

Imports: Grain, livestock, lumber, cloth, stone
Exports: Arcane components, rare artifacts, precious metals