Salted Earth

The Salted Earth is one of very few treasures to survive in the once-bountiful land of Ngavar, though it was created when Ngavar was Sundered. It is appears at first glance to be a salt flat, massive and mysterious, but it has proven far deeper and more densely packed than that title would seem to imply—it is, in fact, a gargantuan mass of rock salt, so deep that in those places where it is settled, buildings have been carved out of the ground. The water that covers it, though meager in depth, is permanent; it never evaporates, and when taken away to be drunk in the day it is replaced in the night. The ash that covers the surrounding wasteland avoids it, flowing around it, and the Ash Wraiths that stalk the Wastes steer clear of it. Even the light of the sun seems to waver and tremble there, lending the bright white landscape a misty, ethereal character.

— from Twofold Armageddon: The Modern Ngavari, by Quondrus Betelon

Geography

The Salted Earth is perfectly ovoid in shape, and located at as precise a center as the Ashen Wastes could have. Much of it is barren and flat, but the landscape is broken up by a handful of salt mines dotted around, where workers laboriously cut out chunks of the earth, of rock salt. It is all brought in the settlement of Nafiri Zal (/nafiri: za:l/), a small settlement at the southern end of the Salted Earth, from which mining operations are managed. Nafiri Zal and its mines are also notable in that they are among the very few places in the world where buildings have been carved out of pure salt.

Fauna & Flora

The Salted Earth has no native plants or animals of any kind, and no plant or animal populations of even moderate significance.

Natural Resources

As the name would suggest, the Salted Earth is composed entirely of Salt. It is the single largest salt deposit in the known world, making it an incredibly valuable resource, and a major engine of the economy of the Dominion of Kul Khalesi. So valuable is the salt that settlement on the Salted Earth outside of Nafiri Zal and state-sanctioned mines is strictly prohibited, and the operation of unsanctioned mines is sanctioned brutally and harshly. Additionally, the poorly understood properties of the Salted Earth are such that they repel all ash, both that of the Ashen Wastes and any that is brought in—including violent ash storms, and vicious Ash Wraiths. And, much like the other settlements in the Wastes, the surrounding monsters and harsh conditions make armed invasion unfeasible, whivh has also made the Salted Earth the subject of a great deal of arcane study.

Type

Salt flat

Location under

Ashen Wastes

Included Locations

• Nafiri Zal
• Verdant Throne

Owning Organization

Dominion of Ngavar