Duntaine
The great western continent of Duntaine, is a place of untold danger and calamity where the very bones of the earth are laid bare for all to see. The landmass is comprised of several different regions each with their own unique landscape and natural dangers, the southern most portion of Duntaine is covered by festering marshlands and swamps that play home to all manner of foul and debauched beasts. The Salamander Boggs are the home of the Lizard Folk, they are a cold blooded and often cannibalistic race that patrols the deceptively deep bogs and putrid lakes of the Salamander Boggs in search of prey and new areas to settle. The bogs bleed into the southern reaches of the Dunmar Wastes, the central most region of Duntaine, it is a land blanketed in ash and is under the veil of a near constant smog from the volcanic Red Mountains. This volcanic waste is home to two cultures separated by the Red Mountains, in the sulfur fields of the cavern ridden western wastes is the Dark Elven kingdom of Ebonox, while in the eastern ash dunes lies the dwarven realm of Scoria. Neighboring these two kingdoms in the northern Ember Wood Forest of the wastes is the halfling Trade Republic of Warm Hearth, they are the most docile of the kingdoms within Duntaine and one of the only ones that openly trade with the kingdoms of the other continents. Further north past the Ember Wood Forest is The Pale, the northern most region of the continent, it is a land covered in both ash and snow, where the ground is permanently frozen. Dwelling the black rock landscape of this region are the metallic dragonborn of the Adamantine Dynasty, and the rock gnomes of the Vulkansi Federation. Off the shore of the north eastern tip of the continent is a small island chain that borders the frozen sea, they are small collection of volcanic islands that live in near constant winter, they are called the Vaipuna Islands and they are home to a race of bipedal feline like creatures called the Tabaxi.
The western continent of Duntaine is a land marred and scoured by volcanic activity and centuries of struggle and disaster. Its proximity to the Sunmost Nexus makes it a venting point for the wild primordial magic that spews from the nexus. This magic has turned Duntaine into a volcanic wasteland, wrought with dangers and tormented by calamity. The landmass of the continent can be broken up into several regions, each with their own ecosystems, weather patterns and dangers. The southern most region of Duntaine is the Salamander Boggs, a stretch of fetid marshlands and splintered islands that form a labyrinthian network of swamps and bogs creating a vile but dense ecosystem. Foul creatures call this place home, predators and draconian monsters make their nests in the countless sunken ruins and decaying settlements of eons past. The Salamander Boggs garner their name from the lizard men that call it home, they are cold blooded and brutal, patrolling the endless waterways of the swamps and raiding the southern settlements of Scoria and Ebonox for food and slaves. The boggs slowly condense into the southern shores of the contient as the rivers slowly bleed into massive sulfuric lakes at the base of the Red Mountains, a mountain range that cuts the continent down the middle, creating two regions within the middle latitudes of the continent.
Geography
The continent of Duntaine is a landmass of high volcanic activity, the southern marshlands and bogs of the continent are rich with sulfur and other volcanic gas deposits, the soil and water within this region is so acidic that only the hardiest and vile of plants can survive within it. The southernmost region of Duntaine is the Salamander Bogs, a densely wooded network of twisted trees and moldering ruins that slowly meld into the more solid ash covered fields of the Dunmar Wastes to the north. "The wastes" as they are generally called is a small collection of various volcanic environments that meld together to create the greater Dunmar Wastes, which feed from their source at the Red Mountains, these environments are separated by the volcanic mountain range that is the Red Mountains. The mountains split the wastes down the middle, the western side of the mountains is largely a sulfur field that cracks and fissures with large billowing sulfur funnels that spew toxic fumes into the air creating a haze of noxious smoke and steam, these fields stretch out from the volcanic springs at the western base of the Red Mountains and continue until they reach a patch of sharper and more jagged volcanic rock closer to the western coast, it is here that the dormant lava fields begin, they are marked by large ancient obsidian shards that jut out of the ground. Looking eastward beyond the Red Mountains is the expanding ash covered plains of the eastern Ash Dunes, these dunes are massive mounds of compacted ash formed over centuries of accumulation and changing winds and storms. There are barely any living trees within the dunes and even fewer living creatures that aren't elementals of some variety, the only life that exists within this hellish landscape is found beneath with the Scorian Dwarves. North of the mountains is the calmer and temperate side of the continent, a smaller patch of volcanic plains, made of black mineral rich volcanic soil, this is the upper Wastes, and it is the home of Warm Hearth, it is the most fruitful and progressive of all the regions of Duntaine and harnesses the best qualities of living near a volcano. Moving northward still, beyond the wastes is The Pale a long stretch of frozen ash waste that become increasing less hospitable as one travels further north. The Pale, much like the more southern regions of Duntaine is more a collection of various regions than one solid landmass of unchanging landscape, the landscape of the Pale is rocky, and snow covered, veiled in an almost constant cloud cover from both the Red Mountains and the Shivering Mountains, a secondary volcanic mountain range that calls the Pale home. Surrounding this range is a small region called the Lesser Flats, it is a region of mineral rich hot springs and acidic streams that carve through a mostly volcanic rock surface. This region is more temperate, and calmer compared to both the surrounding areas, and is one of the only regions within Duntaine that is capable of supporting crops and livestock.
Ecosystem
Duntaine is a place of extremes, only the most adaptable and extreme of organisms have nay chance of living within its reaches, and those that are able to withstand the harsh conditions of this environment prove to be some of the strangest and heartiest creatures in the world.
The Salamander Boggs are a fast stretch of festering marshlands and putrid swamps that are nearly permanently coated in a thick veil of sulfuric fog that shoot from small geothermal vents that infest the region. The sulfur content within both the soil and the water of the bogs has lead to creatures within this region developing an immunity to most corrosive minerals and poisonous gasses, the trees and mosses that grow in abundance within the region have developed an almost plastic texture to them which allows them to better filter the more corrosive elements found within the air, as a result of the excess carbon dioxide within the air these plants are also twice their usual size. The creatures that call this land home are largely reptilian or magic in nature, and all of them have built up and immunity to the volcanic gasses and acidic minerals that would normally pickled anything that breathed them in. The apex of these creatures is a large species of crocodile with much thicker skin and several finned nostrils used to filter out the noxious air, they have developed the ability to hold large pockets of toxic air in large sacks on the bottom of their jaw, where the gas will concentrate and ferment, and upon forceful exhalation the gas will spread out in a large radius, killing any biological material in the area that does not have a similar resistance to toxins.
The Dunmar wastes is one of the largest regions within the continent, and makes up the central landmass of Duntaine. The region itself is made up of multiple overlapping smaller regions that spread out from the central Red Mountains which through volcanic activity control the environmental changes that occur within each of these regions. The largest of these regions is the eastern Ash Dunes, which were once a rolling plain set at the foot hills of the range's eastern face, but after centuries of constant eruption and ash cloud production the eastern side was covered in dozens of feet of ash, creating large mounds of compact soot and debris that through wind and acid rain erosion created the Ash Dunes. The dunes house several species most of which burrow in the ground and make their homes in the highly acidic soil that lies beneath the ash, these creatures have ashen grey fur and dark eyes with large claws used for digging, their fur is matted down and marred with charring and grafted clumps of ash. The western side of the Red Mountains is home to three prominent regions, the closest is the western foothills of the mountains, this region is nothing more than a giant debris field created from the many different pyroclastic flows that have raced down the western slopes of the range in previous eruptions, a large molten river flows through this area giving it an eerie glow at night, the landscape itself is caked with long solidified volcanic mud flows dotted with countless felled and charred trees that once made a forest on the foothills. This debris field then tapers off into a larger sulfur field, marked by massive sulfur vents of fused rock, and large volcanic hot springs and geysers that give the area a moist, yet acidic atmosphere. This land is one of many different colors and hues of orange, blue, and bright yellow, and is one of the most mineral rich regions within the continent. This sulfur field abruptly stops as it then melds into the more ancient volcanic plains that stretch until they meet the Sunset Sea which separates Duntaine from the volcanic hellscape that is the Sunmost Nexus. This volcanic plain is marked with large jagged shards of ancient obsidian that have broken from the larger flow and been forced upward to the surface from the underground molten flows that slowly subduct back into underground channels that lead to the caldera of the mountains. The surface of the plains is a grey and black solidified molten rock that cracks and fissures in areas where the lower more molten magma peeks through, releasing pent up gasses as these cracks open. The creatures that live here include the great Dark Elves and their strange bipedal lizard like mounts, additionally a species of deer lives within the plains, it is hairless and appears more reptilian in nature due to its dense hide and filmy lidless eyes, but its large jagged antlers of red hue make it clear that it is a deer of some type.
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