Underground Houses

Underneath the Ash Fields are several caverns which appear to function as underwater housing, undoubtedly built by the Cave Stalkers. They are tightly packed together, with the caverns varying in shape and size throughout, and most of the surviving ones found next to a series of gorges in the Fields. These sites are thought to have gone completely unnoticed by the Watchers that live at the edge of the realm, contributing to their almost pristine state.

Government

When first built, the settlements were likely part of an expansive societal structure run by the Cave Stalkers, akin to a human empire. Around a thousand years later, this empire collapsed, and the several states within diverged in their own cultures and political structures. It is thought the settlements in the Fields converted to an oligarchy structure in the centuries prior to their ruin.

Defences

One of the main defenses of these settlements are the fact they are underground, meaning collections of buildings could have only a few entrances that could be easily hidden, sealing them off with a door that looked like any other rock found in the Fields. It is possible the settlements had a particular curfew where they would hide the entrances to underground structures, in the off chance someone tried to raid the buildings while everyone stayed inside. This could've also been a time to prompt people to go to sleep, as if it were nighttime, considering no one would have to defend their buildings themselves if they were simply hidden beneath the sand.

There is also the factor of the Fields' currents. If outside forces were to attack these settlements, they would have to first traverse the surface, and if there happened to be a sandstorm, they would've had a hard time making any progress. Sandstorms and harsh currents would deter attackers from searching for the underground buildings, and the residents would've been protected under the ground both from attackers and the harsh "weather."

Industry & Trade

It is likely that because of the currents and sandstorms in their environment, trade would've also been difficult to manage. It is thought that trading centers could've been placed along the borders of the Ash Fields, where conditions are less harsh, and outside trading parties could conduct their business there and be done with it. Or, the centers could've been built in isolated underground chambers, where traders could travel along the surface, and drop into these chambers and then conduct business.

Infrastructure

The Ash Fields are known for having exceptionally strong currents battering the landscape, which would've prompted the first settlers in this region to build their houses underground to keep residents safe. And, because plants in the Nightlight Zone grow just as well underground as on the surface, food wouldn't have been an issue for these Cave Stalkers. The majority of residential areas seemed to have contained large spherical rooms representing a single household, usually with intricate patterns carved into the walls based on the owner's tastes. Most of these houses are tightly packed together, with only a few feet of tunnel separating the various entrances and exits.

Residential areas appeared to have also had underground gardens, large rectangular chambers with beds where domesticated plants once grew thousands of years ago. These likely would've belonged to either one or a family of Cave Stalkers, with even larger gardens belonging to entire legal bodies managing the production of food. There are also extremely large caverns which appear to have been used as recreational areas, akin to a park on the surface world. These contained stone seats, large open spaces reserved for sports, and non-edible plants growing freely, which would've likely attracted herbivorous species from the outside. It is possible there would've also been a task force to ensure aggressive species would've been barred from entry, seeing as how they could've easily hunted for prey in these chambers, and thus harmed visitors.

Other types of chambers include spaces that were likely workshops, seeing as how there are anvil-like structures arranged in rows, as well as stone tools discarded against the walls. These rooms would've been used to manufacture stone tools, both to build and defend against invaders from other settlements. There are also vertical tunnels extending to the Air Pocket Caves, which might've been used as sewers. Viewing further beyond, there are rather long rectangular chambers, with structures similar to pews arranged in rows facing a front wall. These could've been anything from religious chambers, to town halls, or even courtrooms.

Assets

Spears and javelins are common tools in these underground settlements. This means that the cultures that lived in these settlements would've valued spears and javelins as their main line of defense, though they would've used them at close range instead of to throw, what with the density of water limiting their range. The javelins in particular could've been valued in certain types of sports played in this settlement, though it is unknown how exactly these hypothetical sports were played. Another type of tool found in these settlements are ones similar to Zulu axes from the surface world, which might've exclusively been used in warfare.

In some rooms are stone spheres decorated with geometric shapes, with some appearing similar to the shape of a Cave Stalker. It is possible these acted as family heirlooms of sorts, perhaps depicting a distant ancestor of the family. Other spheres house carvings that look similar to animals or landscapes, thus those would've had a different meaning altogether, which could've been anything. It is also possible they were simple art projects that could've been made by any one individual in a house. Some of these spheres appear to be separate from the surfaces of the walls of the houses they were found in, suggesting they were somehow glued to the walls to keep them in place.

A common artifact found in these caverns are flat circular stones, carved with geometric patterns as a form of decoration, and most prominently, a triangle pointing towards the outside rim of the circle. Below the arrows are simplified carvings depicting houses, plants, animals, and Cave Stalkers. These items are thought to be guidestones, markers used by citizens to find their way around the complexes. They could've either been placed on walls of underground tunnels, or on the sides of paths on the sands above. The various cravings would've directed someone towards a particular place such as a residential area, or a garden.

History

When Cave Stalkers first settled in this region, they would've entered from the northern side, right next to the mountainous chain separating the Fields from their ancestral homeland, the Halocline Pits. The first settlers might've built their structures on the surface at first, before realizing it was very inefficient to perform daily life in strong currents, as well as rebuilding after constantly having sandstorms destroy their buildings. The details of the transition from aboveground to underground are not known, but it likely should've been fast in order to give the residents proper livelihoods.

When Cave Stalkers first settled in the Ash Fields, their civilization was a part of a large empire which, at this point in time, was keen on expanding its borders. Over several centuries, the Cave Stalkers would spread further into the Ash Fields, causing the empire to grow. Eventually this empire became too big to sustain, and collapsed in part due to states seceding, which included this Fields settlement. After the Underground Settlements became their own state, they largely kept to themselves, and would only occasionally interact with the outside world.

Several thousand years afterwards, they would've discovered the chutes that routinely appear to bring creatures from the surface world down into the Nightlight Zone, in order for the bacteria to act as decomposers for the Nightlight Zone's ecosystems. Having no idea what these things truly were, the Cave Stalkers would've intensely studied them, even attempting to travel through them to the surface oceans. That was when the Watchers in the Border feared they would lose control of their creation, and laid waste to the Cave Stalkers' settlements.

Though, because the Ash Fields settlements were largely underground, the Watchers had difficulty reaching them due to their massive sizes. For this reason, it is possible that Cave Stalkers in these areas survived for a little while longer than other groups. Though eventually, something would've had to have happened to cause them to die off completely. A leading theory is that a disease struck their crops, perhaps stunting their growth and robbing them of their nutrients. Soon enough, the residents would've had nothing to eat, assuming they were not fit to eat any of the indigenous plants of the Ash Fields. Then, the last of the Field Cave Stalkers died, unaware that their kind still lived on in the Halocline Pits.

Points of interest

There are a series of enormous gorges in the southernmost area of the Ash Fields. They are shaped like scars, and are said to contain a species of giant worm, though the existence of these creatures has not been confirmed. Presumably, this species is different from the Armored Proboscis Worm that inhabits the Air Pocket Caves, largely because these gorges do not have pockets of air inside.

It is thought that if these worms do exist, they are critically endangered due to the Cave Stalkers. Once they built their settlements, they may have opened a path from the gorges through the buildings, endangering residents all over due to the worms entering homes and urbanized areas. A task force was put in place to guard against these predators, though the problem must've escalated to the point where the Cave Stalkers actively hunted the worms to protect their own populations. This overhunting would've reduced these hypothetical worms to where they supposedly live now.

On the subject of the Pocket Caves, the highest points of these ecosystems seem to be farther below the surface of the Ash Fields than any other environment, with few entrances ever seen along the surface. This would allow the Cave Stalkers to establish their settlement where they are now, without interfering with other ecosystems.

Tourism

Tourists would've been prominent in this region as with any other Cave Stalker settlement, though it is unknown if they commonly traveled on the surface, or through underground tunnels connecting various cities. Nevertheless, it is thought a popular tourist attraction would've been the large recreational caverns where civilians can visit and sightsee. There may have also been spots on the surface reserved for tourism, such as the gorges in the southern area of the Fields, or certain peculiar rock formations which happened to have dense populations of wildlife.

Natural Resources

Because sea scorpions are common in the Ash Fields, the residents could've gathered scorpion shells in order to sell them as souvenirs, or wear as armor. Their claws may have been used to adorn weapons at some point, perhaps only as decoration considering stone is still stronger than organic crustacean shell. Crescentfin Fish could've also been valued for their electrical properties. Perhaps there were attempts to train them, or alternatively, hunt them down in the chance their electricity was produced by an organ that could be harvested from their bodies. Then, their electricity could be used as weapons.

RUINED SETTLEMENT
Deserted sometime around 3230 BC

Founding Date

Sometime after 9450 BC

Alternative Name(s)

The Fields' Cities

Type

Village

Location under

The Ash Fields