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The Seething

The Seething is a forsaken expanse surrounding the ruins of Wretinreach in the perilous, unforgiving Wasteland. This desolate domain is a hellscape of blasted rock, seething sulphurous springs, and tar pits bubbling with noxious fumes. Toxic geysers vent plumes of scalding vapor or caustic acid into the air, and acidic pools shimmer ominously in the wan light.

Ash-choked barren badlands give way to jagged stone formations, stretches of ash and soil so depleted that it resists even the most stubborn roots. The terrain is treacherous, marked by sudden flash floods of toxic mud or avalanches of loose stone. Twisting gullies and yawning ravines carve a labyrinthine path through the region, where only petrified trees, patches of razor-sharp barbed grass, and thorny Cholla cacti seem to grow. Pockets of quicksand lurk in shadowed hollows alongside sinkholes that open without warning, threatening to swallow the unwary. Jagged outcrops of volcanic rock jut from the ground, swallowed by sporadic ash storms that howl across the Seething, driven by relentless winds that scour the land and reduce visibility to a matter of feet.

Life in the Seething is precarious, particularly given the legions of Undead that roam here. Most notable are the ant-hills of the Ankheg, colossal mounds rising from the barren soil. These voracious insectoid predators tunnel beneath the surface, their presence marked by craters and the occasional quiver of unstable ground.

Among the most unsettling features of the Seething are fields of Witchrock—vast plains transformed into obsidian glass during the cataclysmic Starfall. These fields shimmer with an unnatural light, their surfaces slick and treacherous. Peering into the depths of the glass reveals nightmarish visions: distorted echoes of the psychic trauma unleashed during the sundering of Wretinreach. Many who gaze too long succumb to corruption, their minds fraying under the weight of the captured agony.

Perhaps the most horrifying are appendages that appear to reach from the Witchrock. Occasional arms and legs protrude as though planted in the liquified stone when it cooled. The limbs writhe and flail in desperation if approached.

The Seething offers no quarter. Water is a rare commodity, often tainted by toxins or fouled by ash. Food is equally scarce; scavengers and travelers must contend with the land's few native species, many of which are as likely to hunt as be hunted. The winds carry whispers of madness, and even the ground beneath one's feet cannot be trusted.

The Seething is not just a place; it is a test of will, a crucible where the weak are burned away and the strong emerge scarred but tempered.

Image via Midjourney


"The dark itself is not to be feared. But those things that know how to hide and move through it are."

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Comments

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Jan 25, 2025 19:58 by Haly the Moonlight Bard

What an absolute nightmare! Great job! Thanks for sharing!

Haly, the Moonlight Bard

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