The Wraithlands

The Wraithlands are a wasteland surrounding most of the city-state of Dorimus.

Creation

Within in the country proper and the Arcanist religion, who are unaware that the gods they worship are eldritch and capricious, they believe the land surrounding it was cursed in 1 A.A. due to the previous people who lived there rising up against the god's arrival. The offenders were then smited upon the lands surrounding the current city walls and that smiting magic is what cursed the land. However, this is considered conjecture, and both religious and secular scholars hotly debate their theories.
In reality, the gods are beings from another world who came to explore this one and decided to become gods in the world of Solus. The nine gods and goddesses stepping onto the lands themselves without creating a magical barrier resulted in them essentially killing and warping the lands on and surrounding the areas they walked on.

Geography

The Wraithlands are located on the Oleander Peninsula, which is connected to the country of Irese to the northeast, the Dorimi Islands directly surrounding the southern tip of the peninsula, and across the Verdunese Channel to the southeast lies the country of Verdun.
The Wraithlands proper surround the city of Dorimus and take up one of the Dorimi Islands, Welland, directly north of the city. There are only three locations that, historically, were safe to cross: Iberan Pass, Burning Pass, and Cressidan Pass. There is also the Convent Inland, a spot that is safe to leave from the city and travel northwest but ends before reaching the other side of the Wraithlands. As of 4124 A.A., there is now also the Lamian-Dorimus Railway line that cuts directly across the Wraithlands and leads directly to the Iresian capital of Lamian.

Iberan Pass

Iberan Pass is the most direct route out of the city state of all the passes. It exits out of the North Gate of the city along Royal Road, which turns into the Iberan Highway once you leave the city-state's limits of the Old Wall. It is one hundred and eleven miles long within the Wraithlands, and while being the most direct, it is also the most dangerous due to its narrowness, sharp turns, and winding path.

Burning Pass

The widest and labelled the safest exit from the city, you exit from the West Gate of the city from Temple Road, which becomes Burning Pass Highway once you are past the city-state's limits of the Old Wall. It is one-hundred and twenty miles long. Burning Pass is wide enough to have two historical rest stops along the way, with the Milani Inn being the first at fifty-seven miles in. The second is the Ysander Inn, named for the god who has said to have fought on the lands surrounding it, and is ninety-six miles in.
Burning Pass is named for a famous grove of trees that are continually burning with green fire that is between miles markers seventy-two to one hundred and twelve. Ysander Inn is also surrounded by this burning grove, making it a popular tourist attraction.

Cressidan Pass

Cressidan Pass is also a relatively safe as it is not narrow. However, it is the longest and least direct route, though it eventually comes out further inland into Irese than the other passes. The Cressidan Pass crosses from East Shore road, passes through the East Gate at the Old Wall, diverts east at the crossroads, and then turns into Cressidan Highway. It is two hundred and two miles long and begins a very slow winding path west. At its most western point, Cressidan Highway is only twelve miles from Iberan Highway. However, then it begins slowly swinging east again until it comes out to the Iresian city of Kingston.
Along the Cressidan Path you can see the Wraithlands pass along the coast and along the Blighted Shore. There are pockets of safe shore that tourists can visit, where they are surrounded on one side by the dangers of the Wraithlands and surrounded by the rare, cursed aquatic life. It is not advised to take children there, as it is much more difficult to tell the safety borders in the water and shore than on land.

Convent Inland

On East Shore Road, you exit out of the East Gate of the Old Wall and take Convent Road at the crossroads instead of towards the Cressidan Highway. This inland spot is a nearly a mile wide and extends seven miles in. At the end of the inland is The God's Eye Temple, dedicated to the nine gods and goddesses.
God's Eye Temple has a population of roughly one hundred, consisting of priests, nuns, staff members, and researchers. It is a popular tourist attraction and is famous, in particular, for being associated via prophecy with The Arcana Quest. Prophecy dicatates this will be the location where the quest ends and The Maiden or The High Lord will ascend to the god realm and attain a god boon from them.

Physical Effects on the Body

Going within the Wraithlands is extremley dangerous and, within a few hours, fatal. The Dark Lady Helena Croft is known for tying dissidents of her rule over Dorimus to the trees and watching and having the symptoms recorded. Despite its atrocity and lack of ethics, this research is all that we have beyond reports from survivors or seeing the results of suicide victims.
If you are not eaten or killed by the beings that reside there, symptoms will progressively become more severe within the time you are
The symptoms that begin within the first hour include:

• fatigue
• confusion
• dizziness
• nausea

Symptoms within the second hour include:

• hallucinations
• muscle weakness
• uncontrollable vomitting
• paranoia

Symptoms within the third hour:
• uncontrollable shaking
• rage, often with physically violent

Natural Phenomenon

The flora and fauna within the Wraithlands cannot cross the borders of the Wraithlands itself, which is why it is safe to live within Dorimus and along the edges of the safe zones around the Wraithlands. Scholar David Nolan suggests that the flora and fauna need the magic of the Wraithlands to survive. However, it is difficult to study as one cannot hold or be near anything that has come from the Wraithlands for more than a few hours at a time as it slowly poisons you and anything surrounding it. Scientists are working on protective gear, particularly Gavin Aeronautics, but thus far it has been unsuccessful.

Type

Wasteland