Ashlands

Once called by the name of the Teleran peoples that inhabited it, The Ashlands take their more common name from the line of volcanoes in the region. These formations bring both life and death to the region, fertilizing some areas and choking others. In the modern day, its native people have largely been wiped out or assimilated by the Golden Empire or Sen'ssinai, but the region remains largely unchanged apart from the now-abandoned settlements to the north of the mountain range.

Geography

The southwestern edge of Arrboth is the start of the line of volcanic activity that defines The Ashlands, a peninsula of basalt columns. The hot spots continue to the northeast from there, splitting the region and providing a natural buffer to the west. The western coastal sand and soil is black with ash (despite ash, strangely, rarely falling there in the present day), but this makes it extremely fertile as well. Forests dominate the western coast, with the help of a natural buffer between the volcanic line and the woods: Lake Zalakut.
One of the great lakes of Arrboth, Zakalut is shallow, but spans a large area at the foothills of the mountains to its east. It has many small islands due to its shallowness, some displaying small crater-hills bubbling up from the water. In part thanks to it, the ashen forests continue north as far as the climate permits, past where the volcanoes taper off. As it happens, to the north of the line is a grassland where ash falls like snow, the ancestral home of the Teleran, and many of their homes are still there, buried under a thin layer of grey.
The area to the west of the mountains, by contrast, is where The Ashlands gain their inhospitable reputation. Black and grey deserts of soot and ash and a distinct lack of rainfall have made this region vastly unsuitable for organic life. Ironically, this is the area that most closely borders The Varulosph, as the water of that region ultimately makes the land give way to grassland further east.

Fauna & Flora

The difference between the grey and black wastes to the east of the mountains and the colorful forests to the west is like night and day. A variety of insect life flourishes in the warm region, and while they are rarely prized (with the exception of butterflies), they are integral to the other natural beauty of the region. Both flowering plants and colorful migratory birds are common in the western forests, and both of them rely on local insect populations to survive. Small snakes and lizards are not unheard of either, and some even say rarer beauties hide within, such as the elusive unicorn.
What the Ashland forests seem to lack, however, is Fey. Theories abound for why no dryads or fairies have been seen among the beauty here, from the mundane to the convoluted. Some claim that they lie in wait to ambush any who would dare harm the area, dragging them away never to return. Still others believe that it is not Fey but a single, unimaginably powerful beast of Essence that protects the forest in their stead. No stories from survivors seem to exist to confirm or deny these theories, though whether this is because they successfully deter exploitation of the forest or hold a lethal truth to them is unknown.
Little is known of life on the volcanoes themselves, but many still believe that creatures between flesh and flame exist on the mountains and in the ash deserts, needing only the local heat and magic to survive. Teleran legends tell of living magma and dancing flames, of obsidian spiders that weave webs of glass, of beasts with manes and eyes of flame. Of course, their legends also claim that the divine serpent of the old creation myths is alive and dwells below the volcano, so it is hard to say how much truth there is to their legends.

Natural Resources

Volcanic ash itself is a very rich fertilizer, as the region shows, and it is also the source of the main industry to originate in the region: glassmaking. The Teleran made glass lenses, windows, sculptures, and even glass threads that were woven into their fine, shimmering clothing, and many of these wonders are still prized in the Golden Empire today. Apart from this, the beautiful feathers of local birds and the dyes that can be made of the insects and plants are prized for their artistic and aesthetic uses, though the distance from civilization and local legends make trips scarce and cautious. Some cynically claim part of the reason why these resources are gathered so rarely and in such small quantities are to maintain their high market values, but superstitions can run deep in such a foreboding land.
A less taboo but more dangerous industry is the harvesting of iron and other minerals from cooled volcanic rock. Corestone is far from unheard of in the region thanks to its ties to the plane of Fire, though its true value was only recently discovered after contact with other nations. One thing that is not gathered from the region is lumber - the trip is prohibitively long to be profitable, to say nothing of the myths of the forest protectors.

Alternative Name(s)

Terelan

Type

Region

Location under

Arrboth

Owning Organization

Golden Empire of Arrboth

Related Ethnicities

• Teleran