The Astral Plains

"It is through the guidance of the heavens by which we bring life and fertility to this hostile land we know as home." -Setari Mystic

Description

The resultant of millennia of near constant habitation, The Astral Plains is a floodplain in which almost every single square inch of land is used to it's maximum potential, fertilising the arid land via a network of astrological irrigation canals fed by a large resorvoir in the northern mountains. The various radial cities and settlements acting as the celestial nodes for the series of waterways; central points through which all manner of people and product flow as they make their way towards the capital city of Beheshtabad. The dominant ethnicity of the region is The Setari and they constitute the majority demographic, especially within the heartlands. Although some coastal settlements in the northwest receive a non-insignificant amount of Escarpish influence and the southern plains regularly (though perhaps not entirely legally) commune with the Al'Hari nomads who reside in the immense La'Tarham Desert.

Geography

The geography of The Astral Plains is predominantly flat, with exception to some of the more topographically interesting areas in the north and northeast. Divided into twelve sections by twelve great canals lined by date palms, each one representing a symbol of The Setari Zodiac. The settlements within reflect the greater constellation as a whole and a Setari astrological chart is almost indistinguishable from one of their geographical maps. In the north of the region sits a reservoir blocked off by an enormous dam, constructed with the intention of providing both a steady supply of fresh drinking water for its citizens and to better control the catastrophic floods that have a habit of wreaking havoc through the lands.

However, if every great deed didn't have unforeseen consequences then the world could sprout through the soil of vision and good intentions alone, with no regards for insight whatsoever. Unfortunately for the plains this is not how things operate and every action has a consequent reaction; without the seasonal floods re-vitilising the earth with nutrient-dense silt and washing away any accumulated precipitate salts, various parts of The Astral Plains have begun to see reduced yields, the further aridification of their land and the salinization of their soil. Originating on the outer fringes of the plains but threatening to move inwards if something isn't done soon, it's gotten to the point in some areas where the ground is so saturated with salt that life may never grow there again. Not without borderline divine intervention that is.

Ecosystem

Having been inhabited by some form of sapient intelligence or civilization since the dawn of civilization itself, the natural ecosystems of The Astral Plains have since been replaced over the course of countless generations with a complicated network of interconnected canals, channels, and waterways intended to distribute the vital, life-sustaining water throughout the plains. Standing as a monument to The Setari's perceived dominance over nature and their ability to materialise the divine within the mundane, these function as rivers would in a more natural setting only with straighter courses. Being host to a manner of different beasts from fin to feather and a veritable cornucopia of aquatic plants, the waters of The Astral Plains are far more ecologically diverse than one would expect for such artificially-constructed circumstances.

Above the waves, however, it's a different story as monoculture reigns supreme. Within each minute section cordoned off by the canals lies a different crop, determined beforehand by the will of the stars, itself intrepreted by a priestly class of clockwork astrologers known as Keyhâni'tar; devoting their entire lives to uncovering the various secrets, underlying mechanisms, and fundamental structures of the universe. One of their primary responsibilities includes advising The Shah on the assignment, regulation, and subsequent procurement of the various foodstuffs within The Astral Plains.

Ecosystem Cycles

Being a floodplain, most of the seasonal variations within the area used to be centred around the almost cyclical floodings of the rivers that connected the mountains to the sea. Changes in temperature lead to a difference in the rate at which the glaciers thawed, causing the seasonal floods. Seeing the damage and suffering this caused his people one of The Shahs took it upon himself to put an end to it once and for all; by ordering the construction of an immense dam capable of stalling the most torrential of surges he desired to control the flow of the more volatile Vahshi river in the north, and to that end he succeeded, alongside consolidating the smaller, weaker rivers in the east into the greater canal network. What he didn't realise was that at the same time, he opened the gates of his empire to the potential of an even greater catastrophe, one that could bring about the end of The Astral Order once and for all.

Localized Phenomena

The White Death

The ecological scourge of The Astral Plains, The White Death is the colloquial name for the salinization of the earth through repeated irrigation. Initially found appearing within the outermost reaches of the plains, it has since encroached inwards, threatening to do so ad infinitum until the entirety of the region has succumbed to its crystalline coffin. This isn't some unknown halitic harbinger of doom either, for better or for worse, and the current Shah knows just exactly why his land is becoming the way it is. The solution to the problem stares him directly in the face and yet it stands there unanswered, for he doesn't have the heart nor the will to accomplish such a task.

And now, he desperately searches for an alternative, praying that there must be some other method with which to cure his land and save his people. All the meanwhile he watches as The White Death slowly erodes the entirety of his civilization, destroying the foundation upon which his unbroken lineage of forefathers has left before him. Thousands upon thousands of years of the collectivised and materialised sacrifice, struggle, and suffering of an incalculable number of people will all be for nothing, left to the sands of time, should The Grand Shah not do something about it.