The Waning Veldt

        As the Wasting spreads north out of the Spiral-controlled lands, its impact on the rolling grasslands of the island's interior can be plainly seen. The land here is sickly and grey, the soil weak and dry. In some places, it has become sand and dust, leaving patches of wasteland in the once-fertile region. This was yet another of the skoles' ancestral homes, a hunting range for their tribes up until the coming of the Spiral. Most have left these doomed lands, though some remain, content to wage bitter war against both the Spiral to the south, and the czath to the north. It is only a matter of time, however, before their food and water supplies dry up. Suffice to say, the wolf people in this region don't have the best temperment.

        To the north, the veldt is bordered by low mountains and foothills, where the land is still relatively healthy and the game plentiful. Many of the conflicts that arise between the czath and skole are the result of rival hunting parties as both species vie for survival in a fading landscape. To the south, the plains gradually fade away into rocky badlands littered with bones. Most of these are the remains of slaves that die on the forced march from Ixtol to Harrow, left by the wayside to be picked over by scavengers. This place echoes with dark spirits, and has been given the name Kef'Mors - The Way of Bones.

The Salt Spreaders

        One of the more insideous tactics employed by the servants of the Eater is the permanent destruction of fertile land from which all life stems. They accomplish this in a number of ways, such as rituals of black magic and sacrifice, but one of the most effective methods is to simply salt the earth, rendering it barren for years. Vauz provides a limitless supply of the mineral, which is given to near-mindless undead drones in large canvas sowing bags. With slow, shambling thoroughness, they make their way north, to spread salt over any land that has not yet turned to dust. In many ways, they synthesize on land what Vauz does to Rym's oceans, venturing where their masked overlords cannot in order to widen the radius of dying land.

        The salt spreaders are typically nothing more than ragged, dusty corpses, mummified by their exposure to the powdered mineral. most wear tattered, ruined clothing, and each carries a heavy cavas sack filled with great quantities of salt. Left unchecked, each of these drones can ruin a full square mile of healthy land before running out of mineral and crumbling into pieces. They are quite singleminded in their undertaking, and will not attempt to fight or flee, even when attacked. However, unless completely pulverized, they will continue to perform their task, crawling if they must.

Back...