Plane of Fire
Geography
Contrary to popular belief, the Plane of Fire is not made completely of fire, but merely predominantly so. Much of the plane contains scorched land covered in smoldering embers. The air here is a harsh storm of ash and cinder. Its seas and rivers are slow-moving lava, and sources of water are rare.
A sun glows white-hot during the day, and fades to red twilight at night, following a 24-hour cycle. By day, the black wastes solid enough to travel across on foot are as deadly as the hottest deserts on earth. The ever-present flames of this plane create their own light, and so the concept of darkness is almost unknown to the many natives of this plane.
Fire occurs naturally here, as if a living creature, and does not need air to burn. Fire spells are considerably more powerful here, although many of the plane's natives are naturally immune to fire.
The ground in many places is soft ash and debris, like walking through a thick layer of smoldering snow. The layout of this soft ground slowly moves and shifts, making mapping impossible and long-term navigation difficult without a native guide. The constant heat creates mirages everywhere.
The air gets thin quickly as one ascends upward, making flight difficult. It is often thick with toxic smoke, making breathing difficult and limiting long-distance vision. Wandering fog clouds of super-heated steam and sudden storms of hot ash are an ever-present risk.
Lay of the Land
Sea of Fire
The Sea of Fire is a molten ocean of burning lava. The fiery waves crash against rocky islands and eventually wear those down to lava as well, and as some waves crest high enough they cool quickly enough to form new islands. This pattern of cooling and melting is common, and wise travelers know not to rely on any given island of burnt rock for too long.
The efreeti have developed brass boats treated to withstand the heat of the Sea of Fire, and they use these to sail the burning waves in search of new islands to conquer. Multiple efreeti outposts stand on lonesome islands through the sea, standing watch over their expanding fiefdoms.
Massive fire whales swim through the burning ocean, but they also ride the air currents above the sea. These majestic creatures are a rare peaceful sight in the Plane of Fire, though they still pose a real danger due to their enormous size and sheer volume. A handful of efreeti legions have trained the fire whales as mounts to ride into battle.
Cinder Wastes
Beyond the Sea of Fire lays the bulk of the plane known as the Cinder Wastes. This vast plain of baked and arid dust is dangerous to traverse, with titanic cracks in the earth appearing with a moment’s notice to spew lava from the plane’s depths onto the surface. This effect is known as a lava geyser, as the result is often spectacular and dangerous for anyone nearby.
A fine black sand coves the length of the Cinder Wastes, scouring the blackened crust as great heat waves billow across the region. The sand piles up regularly, creating treacherous dunes of unknown depth, but they also are known to hide and reveal secrets in a moment’s notice.
Ancient efreeti citadels, lost azer strongholds, fire elemental birthing basins, and more lay hidden beneath the Cinder Wastes. The efreet of the City of Brass have established a route through the Cinder Wastes known as the Inferno Road. It links to the Fountains of Creation where the Plane of Fire meets the Plane of Earth along with countless smaller settlements. Constructed of nearly indestructible black basalt, the Inferno Road is the lifeblood of the efreeti’s expanding reach across the Plane of Fire.
Fountains of Creation
The largest chain of volcanoes on the Plane of Fire are known as the Fountains of Creation, which is the realm’s closest point to the Plane of Earth. The azer are known to dwell here, working titanic forges in the hearts of the most violent volcanoes to create wondrous items sought after across the multiverse. Many red dragons are known to make their lairs among these volcanoes as well.
Ash is another problem, and in some areas great billowing clouds – some as large as a city - spread across the burnt landscape. Choking is a real danger for anyone caught in one of these ash clouds, and the sky is filled with slowly moving black masses of them. They can obscure light just like a regular cloud and can reduce visibility from hazy to nearly black.
Climate
Tourism
It is a plane continually ablaze.
It smells of burning flesh and ashen dreams.
It is flame incarnate.
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