Sulfur Sea
To the north-west of Nioba, past the Bonewall Mountains, where the Gold Expanse once stretched unbroken, lies a land that should not be—a wound carved into the world by calamity, a place where the sky chokes, the earth burns, and the air itself is death. The Sulfur Sea, a vast expanse of toxic fumes and shifting dunes, is as desert sea of sulfuric haze and acrid dust, a poisoned scar where only the dead may walk freely. The land itself is a graveyard of empires, where some of the ruins of the lost magocracy of Nidea lie buried beneath the sulfurous fog, their arcane legacies long forgotten by all but Hephsut.
For it is here, upon the edge of this forsaken land, that Hephsut the Immortal has made his throne. The Bone Palace, his grotesque citadel built from the remains of the Naga race he nearly exterminated, rises from the toxic mist, its walls gleaming with polished skulls, its gates lined with the bones of those who dared defy his rule. The necromantic tyrant rules from atop this hellish precipice, surrounded by his Risen legions, watching over his dominion with the certainty that no mortal army can march upon him without succumbing to the lethal fumes of the Sulfur Sea.
Yet, despite the horror and desolation, life endures in the Sulfur Sea. From the shadows of the dunes and the crags above the haze, hardened survivors—the last remnants of the naga and their Human allies—have carved out an existence. They have adapted to the wasteland where no others could, taming great Jundu Wurms and the floating Sand Skimmers, riding upon their backs as they navigate the poisoned depths. To them, Hephsut is no god—he is a parasite that must be cut from the land.
Geography & Physical Features
The Sulfur Sea is an expanse of poisoned air, cracked earth, and volcanic scars, stretching from the south-western across to the north-eastern borders of Nioba past the Bonewall Mountains. Where once lay the Kalkaross Peninsula, a thriving province of Nidea out to the west, now remains only ruin, a scar gouged through the Gold Expanse by the magical backlash that that destroyed the magocracy and the peninsula millennia ago. It is said that when Nidea fell, the land itself split open, releasing a tide of sulfurous fire that consumed everything in its path, burning forests, boiling rivers, and sending debris of the great city of Sekkar soaring for miles, landing in the area that would once become the Sulfur Sea. Now, the air is thick with sulfuric haze, rolling across the landscape like a slow-moving tide. Unlike true sand deserts, the Sulfur Sea shifts unpredictably, with vents of poisonous gas erupting from the ground, consuming anything caught within them. The ground is cracked and treacherous, riddled with chasms of caustic black sludge that bubble and hiss beneath the surface, devouring anything that falls in. No birds fly here, no rain falls, and no rivers cut through the land. However, within this deathly landscape, there are outcroppings of jagged rock that rise above the haze, serving as islands of refuge for those who dare to venture into the wastes. These stone plateaus, untouched by the noxious fog, serve as campsites for the wasteland tribes—hardened survivors who have adapted to this land and learned to live where no others could. At the heart of this poisoned wasteland, far to its south-western reaches stands the Bone Palace, Hephsut’s fortress, built upon the ruins of an ancient Nidean temple, its foundations sunk deep into the earth, where forgotten arcane power still lingers. From here, the Risen legions march, unburdened by breath or hunger, patrolling the deadlands as they search for lost relics and ancient secrets buried beneath the sulfuric dunes.The Tribes of the Sulfur Sea
Though Hephsut sought to wipe the naga from existence, his genocide was not absolute. Scattered enclaves survived, escaping into the wastelands, where they became hardened warriors, masters of survival. Over the centuries, desperate humans, exiles, and fugitives found their way into their ranks, learning their ways, adapting to the poisoned land. These survivors are ghosts in the mist, unseen and unheard until they strike. They have tamed the mighty Jundu Wurms, the massive sand-burrowing leviathans that roam the wastes, using them as living siege engines and war mounts. They ride upon the Skimmers, manta-ray-like creatures that float above the sulfurous haze, using them as swift aerial scouts to navigate the wasteland without breathing its death. Their warriors wear veil-masks and flowing armor, designed to filter what little breathable air remains, their weapons coated in the very toxins of the land they call home. To them, the Sulfur Sea is not a wasteland—it is a battleground, and Hephsut is a tyrant whose reign must end.
A Land of Death and Monsters
While no mortal unprotected can survive in the sulfurous haze for more than a few minutes, Hephsut’s undead legions walk its depths without fear. But they are not alone. Other things stir within the poison, creatures twisted by the ancient cataclysm, beasts that should not exist but do.- Jundu Wurms. Titanic burrowers, their armored hides resistant to poison and heat. Though once native to the Gold Expanse, the largest of them now roam the Sulfur Sea, consuming anything that moves. The wasteland tribes have learned to tame them, but even they do so with great caution.
- Boneforged. Necromantic constructs, skeletal warriors infused with both dark Magic and alchemical reinforcement. These creatures patrol the Sulfur Sea, hunting for relics, eliminating intruders, and expanding Hephsut’s dominion.
- Sand Skimmers. Enormous, manta-ray-like creatures, drifting silently over the fumes. They absorb and process the poisonous air, allowing them to float for days without rest. The wasteland tribes have tamed them as mounts and beasts of burden, using them to move between the rock outcroppings.
- Mirages of Nidea. Some say that when the fumes shift, you can still see Nidea as it once was. Towers, bridges, plazas filled with people. But step too close, and the illusion fades, leaving only crumbling ruin and choking fog.
Seasons of the Sulfur Sea
The Sulfur Sea exists outside of nature’s order, its changes dictated not by the sun or the rain, but by the stirrings of something beneath the surface.- The Season of Awakening. As the Gold Expanse heats under the summer sun, the sulfuric vents become more violent, spewing massive plumes of gas that drift eastward. During this time, travel through the Bonewall Peaks is nearly impossible, as the poison fog spreads into the mountains.
- The Season of Mourning. The coldest months bring eerie silence. The usual tremors subside, and the mirages of Nidea become stronger, lasting for hours instead of moments. It is said that this is when the dead speak, and those who listen may hear voices from a time long lost.
- The Season of Storms. Lightning cracks across the sulfur fields, igniting great infernos as the gases ignite. During these storms, the Bone Palace gleams like a beacon, its skeletal walls reflecting the firelight in eerie, shifting patterns.
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