Kashik
Kashik is a province swallowed by shadow and myth, where the unnatural bleeds into reality. The dense forests of Blackfall Reach stretch for miles, their gnarled branches entwined like grasping fingers. Fog seeps through the twisted trees, clinging to the damp earth and obscuring the footfalls of those who dare tread its depths. The ground is slick with moss and speckled with clusters of luminous fungi, casting an eerie blue glow in the perpetual twilight. Even the flora of Kashik is steeped in mystery—moonlight vines coil around ancient ruins, their bioluminescence pulsing like a heartbeat, while black-petaled orchids release a scent that induces vivid dreams.
The air is thick with a chill that never quite fades, even in the heart of summer. Hidden geysers hiss and churn beneath the soil, sending occasional plumes of steam through cracks in the rock, the only warmth in a land otherwise ruled by cold. Dark rivers carve through the province, their currents sluggish and lined with jagged stone. One such river, the Ashenflow, winds through the ruins of forgotten civilizations, its waters blackened by minerals leached from the land. Legends whisper of drowned temples beneath its surface, where spirits of the past still linger, waiting for the foolish or the bold to disturb their rest.
Few dare to live in Kashik, and those who do are hardened folk, shaped by a land that does not forgive weakness. Isolated hamlets cling to existence in the thinning outskirts of the forest, their homes built of dark stone and reinforced with wards against the creatures that lurk beyond the treeline. The people of Kashik have their own superstitions, speaking in hushed voices of the Pale Watchers—figures glimpsed in the mist, neither living nor dead. To ward off misfortune, they burn bundles of silverthorn, a pungent herb believed to repel wandering spirits.
Deeper into the heart of Kashik, the land becomes more hostile. Wathetford, one of the last true settlements before the forest swallows all, serves as a final refuge for those venturing into Blackfall Reach. Traders sell charms of carved bone, claiming they bring safe passage, while others whisper of those who entered the woods and returned… changed. Beyond Wathetford, few paths remain, and those who disappear into the shadowed heart of Kashik are often spoken of only in stories.
Type
Territory
Location under
Included Locations
Inhabiting Species