Black Ash Plains
A bleak landscape stretches out as the fertile green lands are abandoned for a horrible blasted plain. The Black Ash Plains is a miserable expanse of scorching desert hundreds of miles in size, the earth itself choked by a cursed dust that prevents nearly all plants and animals from surviving. However, a select few creatures make a home here, but beware, for they are just as hostile as the land they live.
Geography
The Black Ash Plains is a lingering reminder of an apocalyptic event many centuries before the Convergence, and event that wiped out the ancient Khazar civilization. When a long dormant super volcano erupted, with a caldera over 50 miles across, devastation was unleashed upon the area, obliterating everything east of the Volhynia Mountains in a wave of fire and ash. The cloud that came out of the volcano however rolled over the mountains, and rained as far west as modern day Veliuona, causing the sea to turn black with ash. The fires ruined a gigantic swath of land, and the whole world felt the consequences of this one event.
After the eruption ended however, and the decades rolled on, the bay and coastline recovered, and a favorable hot wind blew from the east, giving the entirety of the Sea of Fallen Stars an entirely new climate, much warmer than previously. This wind blew from the desert, a new wasteland of dead earth and rock. The caldera caved in and formed a deep lake in its place, the only oasis across the whole desert. It is claimed that the ash that blew out of the volcano was cursed by some wicked primordial, leaving the land uninhabitable forever more.
Today, great sand dunes rise high alongside vast stretches of bleak cracked earth. The only respite from the gnawing sands are large jacked rocks the color of ebony, burned by ancient fires. Entire mountains sit mostly buried beneath the sands, only their craggy peaks showing.
Fauna & Flora
Plant life is nearly non existent on the Black Ash Plains, with the notable exception of the Fire Plume, a large red orange flower that thrives off the heat.
While many creatures choose to inhabit deserts, most find the Plains too be too inhospitable. However, for creatures that desire isolation due to this danger, this place serves as a perfect spot to lair. Blue Dragons are the undisputed prime rulers of this landscape, with occasional brass dragons slinking beneath the stronger chromatic's noses.
Humanoids also regularly inhabit the desert sands, isolationist bands that wander across the desolate wastes. When questioned, they are loath to explain why they choose to live in such a hostile land, though they admit they are searching for something. Oftentimes there is a direct relationship between these peoples and the dragons that lair among the sands.
Natural Resources
There are some unique resources to be taken advantage of in the Black Ash Plains. Firstly are the rare metals that can be found beneath the sands, with large collections of ebony stone and a fire resistant metal called black iron. The primary flora that grows here is the Fire Plume, a unique red orange flower that is highly desired for its mystical healing properties, sweet aroma, and its use as a narcotic.
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