The Scourgelands are an almost uninhabited region on the southern coast of the Chaska Sea. Many have lived within the Scourgelands at one point or another. Once the domain of ancient elves, more recently settlers from the eastern and northern coasts of the Chaska Sea founded small cities and towns here. Today it is almost completely abandoned after the appearance of a strange type of insectoid creature.
Geography, flora, and fauna
Until about one and a half centuries ago, the Qutai Plains and surrounding forests were known as a bountiful land. The region teemed with wildlife, both magical and otherwise. It was this temperate and peaceful nature that initially led colonists from Hellea and the eastern coast of the Chaska Sea to these lands.
Today, much has changed. The settlements are depopulated ghost towns, and nearly all animals have disappeared - those brave enough to venture here will rarely see anything larger than an insect, or perhaps a small number of birds along the coast. Most animals seem repulsed from the area. Wildlife rarely enters, and even well trained animals will frequently flee in panic. Aside from the buzz and chirps of small insects, the entire area is eerily quiet. Gone are the deer and small mammals of the forests, and the bison herds of the grasslands.
The native wildlife of the area have been almost entirely displaced by a new population, known as the Scourge. Their origins are poorly understood, with the first recorded sighting of a strange chitinous biped in the hills near Nettle Hills in Y6822. Since then, sightings expanded outwards rapidly. Wherever these creatures were seen, the population of nearby towns soon vanished - sometimes mysteriously, but more and more frequently out of fear.
The land is as fertile as ever however. Despite the slight deforestation of the initial settlement of the area, the forests have more than recovered and have begun encroaching farther south, into what is now Nionegrast. The grasslands of the Qutai Plains are expansive - it was somewhat notorious for causing explorers to become lost, as the vastness of the tall grass and sunflowers provide few landmarks with which to navigate.
The coastlines were once known for the many schools of fish that could be found there. This has not changed, but few are brave enough to venture too close.
To the west, the grasslands and forests are separated from the Sangora Desolation and other arid regions by the Kheldezir Hills. Remote and dry, rumors of precious metals within still draw some that are particularly brave or foolish. Few ever return.
History
Once a thriving collection of independent towns and villages, the Scourgelands are now a land of eerie silence.
Timeline
- Pre-colonization - At some point in the distant past, these lands were home to an elven population of a fairly significant size. Though long gone, surprisingly well preserved remnants of their society remain, mostly concentrated in the forests south and west of the Rokola River. No modern elven population draws a connection between themselves and this ancient civilization - what happened to them is unknown.
- Y6744 - The first modern settlement in the area, Mellima, is founded at the mouth of the Rokola River by colonists out of the Tirione city of Tirzah. Mellima served as the first port of arrival for most new inhabitants, docking there before moving inland or along the coast.
- Y6744 - Y6834 - Colonization continues. By the middle of the 69th century, around 11,000 people lived in the area.
- Y6822 - First sighting of a strange chitinous humanoid near Nettle Hills.
- Y6830 - The population of Nettle Hills, around 550 humans and dwarves from western Thadria, disappear without a trace. Three expeditions sent to search for them find nothing. Over the next six years, smaller settlements around Nettle Hills suffer the same fate.
- Y6836 - New Chersion, home to 1,200 and the second largest city in the area, goes dark. Uncrewed ships drift south down the coast to Mellima, prompting more investigations. Unlike at Nettle Hills, clear signs of a struggle were found at New Chersion, though no direct clues as to the perpetrators. By this time, sightings of the unearthly creatures had continued, and though they were still not understood most inhabitants deduced a connection.
- Y6836 - Y6856 - A mass migration out of the settlements begins, aided by further rumors, some true and some not, of other disappearing towns. Mellima is the last to be fully abandoned, as the docks remained operational for long enough to assist the evacuation. Sightings of the creatures continued, though they were evidently clever enough never to be captured or killed for study. As of the present, enough details have been collected to know what these creatures look like, but not their origins or motives.
- Present - Few still remain in what is now termed the Scourgelands. A handful of individuals can be found in remote inland locations, some pirates make their bases on the coasts, and occasionally scavengers can be found within the coastal cities. Among pirate crews of the Chaska, a common punishment for serious crimes is to maroon the miscreant in a remote part of the coast.
Demographics
Almost no one lives within the Scourgelands today. Outside of a small number of hermits and druids inland, and small pirate outposts on the coast, the region is otherwise entirely depopulated. The few new inhabitants that do arrive tend to be desperate and fleeing something worse than the fates that might meet them here.
Culture
At one time, this area was a unique melting pot of peoples and cultures, primarily seafarers from the eastern Chaska and colonists from Hellea. Traditions, cultures, and religions mixed with the material realities of settling the area. Settlers were generally not well-off and valued their independence highly, as unlike the nearby Nionegrast and Argengrast this colonization was not a state-sponsored affair.
Many settlements had small shrines and altars, usually to the common pantheon of deities - worship of Desna in particular was quite widespread.
The structures that still stand in and around old settlements tend to be architecturally quite simple, usually made using simple techniques and materials like wood and stone. The area was not settled for long, and most towns kept a rustic appearance until their demise.
Government
The Scourgelands have no government.
Economy
The Scourgelands have no economy.
Relations
Nionegrast, and therefore Tirione as well, holds an interest in expanding into the Scourgelands. However, this has not progressed beyond talk and plans that have yet to go anywhere; the internal politics of Nionegrast have so far hampered any serious effort.
Aside from small independent expeditions that rarely return, nobody else has much to do with the Scourge - probably a wise choice.