The Burning Arm of Lorthal

Written by TeaDrinkingDragon

Geography

Set close to the centre of the Lorthal continent, protruding out facing southwards into the Ventura Sea as a volcanic badland peninsula - it is remarked as the gap that divides the sea access corridors between the eastern and western sub-continents of Lorthal, and is the second natural barrier between the eastern and western lands that divides the Elves from the other civilised races within Lorthal Major. It is the continents most inhospitable region, known for its seasonal volcanic eruptions and its continuous black smog that blows westward in the summer and autumn and then eastward in the winter and spring.
The Burning Arm of Lorthal has an ever-changing landscape, due to its frequent earthquakes, ash-storms, cold winters & periodic volcanic lava-flows coursing down into the lowlands and western coastline. The majority of the landscape is dry and made of black-volcanic mountains, broken and dried scarps, igneous-rock mesas and cracked earth crevasses. Years and centuries of cooled and warmed temperatures eroded the igneous rock and changed the landscape and topography of the land, continuously breaking, reforming from seasonal lava spills and fracturing once more. The mountains, known as the Blackrock Range, are often steep-sided and have jagged sharp points and edges, but at points where the volcanic shafts erupt with magma, the mountainous terrain becomes sloped with sharp inclines and break over time, some have overhanging cliffs formed from old waterflows from winter snow-caps melting and breaking through the rock layer over time. In the course of volcanic activity, the sheer faces of some mountains that have carried lava flows over the sides of these mountainous edges have created solidified magma falls, stalagmites and stalagtites that form pillars or teeth - giving the rise to the rare formation of maw-like cliff faces of hundreds of rocky teeth. Natural springs and rainfall have formed rapid-flowing rivers carrying the ash and silt from the mountains downstream across the steep highlands to separate levels of tabletop plateaus and scarps formed from erosion and tectonic activity. These steep-faced regions have multiple levels and differing elevations of black rock, most are partially horizontal that begin to level out the further one is from the mountains, only traversible through caverns or climbing up steep dried riverbeds, otherwise known as the Obsidian Shelves or Escarpades. Those that cross this region would feel a dense of grim intimidation by the magnanimous size of the mountains, and shrink at the prospect of getting closer to these mountain top - even the bravest would second-guess themselves to contemplate an expedition up these mountains and levelled highlands. The warm and ashen winds carry the smoke and fog that hang before the mountaintop, make the mountains appear like terribly large titans that disappear into the sky - and lament the disappearance of the sun, seeing the black and grey-cast clouds that cover the lands close to the mountains in near year-long darkness.
At the bottom of the mountainsides, going eastward, the region turns into a fractured plateau and steppe - dozens of old dried river beds and streams are visible from the bottom of the mountain and course through the land, likened to visible veins across the dry black stones. Here one can find hot-springs and risen mesas that tower over the open landscape around them, with ash-filled harsh savannah and fallen basalt rocks formations. The land is filled with sparse and hardy vegetation, with offshoots of hardy woods and grassy gnolls over the region. Pyroclastic flows displaces and deposits dirt, soil and mud from the eruptions of the volcanoes, and ash falls periodically across the lands during the warm wet seasons. Occasional earthquakes break apart the landscape east of the mountains into divided fractures that are miles long in length and hundreds of feet deep, referred to locals as the 'Scars' - some have lasted for ages and have split greater distances over the centuries into great chasms and canyons, these great gaps are referred to as 'Great Scars'. At the bottom of these canyons and ravines, are natural steaming resevoirs, geysers and hot springs heated by underground geothermal vents, these resevoirs become filled with rainwater and sediments over time, due to the heated moisture of which grows consistent forests of overhanging moss, mushrooms and vegetation. The Scars and Great Scars are etched across the peninsula like cracks in skin, and the flat steppe adjacent to the mountainside is predominantly sparse and lacking in vegetation, filled more with steaming geysers, hardy dry land - however, the eastern regions are more vibrant and much less inhospitable, with dark fertile grounds abundant with vegetation and natural life across the coastline. One would hesitate to walk these lands, as travellers have been known to fall into broken holes in the ground and be left in broken messes in dark deprived tunnels and caverns - but some may stumble across the dry landscape, slowly making their way through the landscape, climbing the trees to peer across the lands and gain a full view of the steppe around them. Reaching the edges of the scars, one cannot truly see the bottom except for dozens of dimly glowing lights reacting to the heat, quivering that they may belong to abandoned spirits, as the steam erupts forth, but may catch glimpses on the rare occasion of the dark and bubbling waters below filled with great and small fungi, twinkling crystals and veins of metal. Even more disturbing, some believe to have hallucinated and seen large slow-moving rocks that shift through the ashen mud and climb up the walls of the canyon. But most call this ludicrous. 
 Across the western face of the peninsula, adjacent to the Woundwest Bay, is a broken and smoking coastline that elevates to straight and obsidian-black mountain range made of millenia's worth of heated and cooled magma and dark igneous rock (giving the name of the Blackrock Range). The eastern coastline is constantly choked by steaming hotsprings and smoking vents that blow into the nearby bay, casting a shroud for any travellers that sail across the region - the coastline is made completely of volcanic rockpools, jagged rocks broken by the waves that bubble from underground thermal vents. It is littered with hundreds of caverns, rockpools, and steamy coves - little to no vegetation resides within this region, except for the occasional growth of megaflora mushrooms, lichen and moss that coats over the region. For those that do see through the mists on the odd occasion, they may see the great steep rise of mountain and exposed hanging stalagmites and stalagtites, home to many kinds of different coastal birds and wildlife, and small waterfalls cascade from offshoot streams and waterfalls into the sea.
Across the eastern coastline, adjacent to the eastern Arvain Bay, is a developed and perpetually steaming coastal-spanning marshland known as the Asharborea Marsh. Most vegetation within the land has been hardened and forced to adapt to survive the harsh and ever-changing volcanic landscape - most do not survive the eruptions and the seasonal black smoke that chokes the sky and prevents sunlight from reaching the land. However, the Asharborea has a unique environment, as many naturally occuring trees cannot survive the periodic extinction from the dangerous climate of this area, instead it is a region of dampened and rapidly-growing megaflora. The region grows many giant mushrooms and fungi competing for space, with slickened mud pools and soil filled with dimly glowing bulbous growths above the water-table that bloom under ashfall, grey-stalked trees twist and hunch coated in orange and red coloured moss and red-purple leaves. The region has evolved greatly, and many assume that it relates to the ancient Elven Diaspora which left latent energies of wild magic to affect the growth of this land - they are unsure whether this region is filled with blight, or has become a new gloomy biome. Whichever the case, many foreigners that dare to traverse this region would be enraptured by its glimmering beauty and unnerved by its almost-alien nature, caught by surprise when the creatures of the marsh appear out from nowhere to make them their next meal. Travellers may become lost in this realm, as the vegetation seems to shift and pulse, and the waters decieve them with sudden bubbles and bursts of gas, not knowing whether it was the release of steam from beneath the waterbed, or an unseen predator closing in on a potential victim.

Ecosystem

The lands of the Burning Arm of Lorthal is frought with environmental dangers, harsh weather and ever-changing seasons. The most impactful is the Black Ashfall, a continuous plume of smoke that rages and darkens the skies across the entirety of the peninsula and the continental lands of the east during the summer, and affecting the western regions of the continent on a larger scale in the winter. This usually enshrouded the sky with black smoke and falling ash and burning embers for miles upon miles, drifting with the aid of the prevailing winds, denying sunlight breaking through the cloud-cover for half of the year, except around the southern coastline. This had great implications for the local ecosystems - mainly, the denial of light and the rise in adapting to a near perpetual or dark lit environment giving rise to nocturnal predators and creatures. But it also has an impact in affecting herbivores with ash poisoning, resulting in deficiencies such as 'spiking' (overgrown molars that result in difficulty to chew), convulsive seizures, loss of hair (resulting in death by cold in winter) and lesions in the mouth and nose.  Due to the lack of sunlight, flora had to adapt to last without sunlight for long periods of time, usually by consuming other plantlife that were too weak or lacking in sunlight, and depending on natural adaptations to last and subsist not only on ash-filled lands but on little sunlight. Plants would harden and create natural defences such as spikes, prickles or spores to fend off against predators, camoflague or have intimidating appearances or smells that would ward off creatures - by other means, certain plants developed symbiotic relationships with some animals, insects and creatures to ensure their survival. This would develop into potential Blights that would not only sustain the creatures around them, but would act as parasites that fed off predators or those that consumed them, as a manner of pollination and germination. For example, the Rock Caterpillars that subsisted on rocks, bones and mosses would carry on their rocky-carapace spores that would grow on their hides that released further spores as they passed through different areas, passed on to small streams that carried seeds that would bloom into mushrooms or other fungi and moss that would feed other herbivores and insects that attracted other predators such as Aptors - but these spores also infected creatures and broke them down into mindless creatures, that would spread to others either by consumption of tainted meat or by infection of open wounds, scavenging other bodies that would be broken down into corpses that would turn into fertilised soil - these blights would be burned down on occasion due to the embers that spread and affected dried areas and result in wildfires. But these spores would continue to burn and survive in animals or areas despite these spontaneous blights or infestations. But the spores only survived well in living organisms, with organic tissue, in dark conditions - most mushrooms would break down bodies but leave clean skeletons, leaving scraps and meals for scavenger creatures such as the Aptors, Griffons or other creatures. They would be inhibited during the lighter period of winter, allowing the growth of other vegetation and the survival of stronger, more resilient creatures.
Insects played a vital role in the Burning Arms eco-system, as been a main food source but also the main consumers of inaccessible or indigestible materials. Most particularly, the Thermaworms - these creatures are omnivorous, but also are gastroliths, they eat stones in their stomachs to help in digestion. They help oxidize the soils and earth of the land to allow the growth of vegetation and plantlife, but also consume large amounts of ash as a fuel source - as these creatures thrive off of heat, and consume the minerals to power their evolved digestive systems to give off great heat to breakdown rocks and minerals to use them in energy (some liken them to living furnaces and engines). Through the consumption and rubbing against rocks, their young chitinous armour becomes hardened and more metallic as they age, and insulate greater heat that can then regurgitate the unnecessary waste of minerals into an acidic almost magma-like substance. The largest are able to harden and pressurize these minerals into crystals that line the tunnels they carve into 'worm-quartz'. Relying on their sense of smell and tremorsense, they also digested the organic materials of other animals whole, turning into a scorched manure of sorts that helped fertilise plants in whatever tracks they left. Then, particularly in the Burning Arm, are the Tindermoths (a misconception based on their intimidating appearance and ability to glow like embers, but also their ability to potentially start wildfires) - ranging in size from tiny to gargantuan, important food sources for griffons or other creatures, they can grow and indicate the changing of seasons by the change in their hair-colour from ash to pale-grey; they aided in nurturing seeds and consuming the vegetation of the east coast, but able to burn into the hardy layers of adapted plants, and spread mushroom spores across the region. Other insects such as Ashoacha, larger forms of cockroaches adapted to the harsh life, love to eat anything they can get their mandibles on, and in times of struggling vegetation or nutrients, they tend to cannibalise - but their prominence within these lands allow birds and other predators to subsist off their populations. The Ashoacha produced a pheromone that would also act as a defence, and make creatures susceptible to struggle to breath or become discombobulated. They fed the large bat migrations, birds, lizards - and thus, they help support the ecosystem and subsist as prominent swarms across the landscape - accessing any and all of the crevices and dark warm spaces within the Burning Arm. Similarly, Termites, that have subsisted on the hardier plants, wooden shells of adapted plants and abundant ironwood that thrives on the eastern coastline manage a colonize areas and expand during the seasons of natural rebirth in the lands - one of the most abundant creatures in the land, but also the primary creatures eaten in the ash-wastes, developing hardier pincers and breaking down ashen-soil into potential glass. Another means of managing the ashfall to their natural advantage and own potential protection, for visibility and spiked to prod any consumers, whilst also retaining chemical glands that alow them to glow and frighten predators away. Slugs & flies were predominant in the warm wet regions and to the eastern coast, subsisting on vegetation and mushrooms - the slugs have adapted a secretion that breaksdown the ash they travel upon into sludge and muck, as well as the ability to match the colour of stone they reside in - flies followed the dank smells within the caves, surface and fetid waters, feeding on manure and rotten meat, spreading maggots and otherwise wherever they go.
Mammals resided across the ashen wastes, hunting and grazing where they could. The smallest were natural cave bats, mice, and hardier and faster breed of rabbits. Hardy armoured boars scavenged for hardy roots, mushrooms and otherwise - wallowing in muddy warrens, often hairless due to the ash and by the consistent acid rainfall of the region. Other grazing mammals were mountain goats and giant rams that roamed across the ashen plains in small herds, keeping together, but not a brave race neither. Predators included cave wolverines, ashen bears and owlbears that hide within the caverns and stone lands near the mountains.
Birds and avians predominantly reside in the mountains, or along the coastlines - gulls, puffins, smaller forms of griffons and larger griffons. The largest residing within the highest peaks were the Rocs, that dominated and challenged dragons or wyverns that would dare to claim territory within the Blackrock Mountains. These smaller birds controlled populations of lizards, insects across the Burning Arm - but the larger birds were big game predators that hunted goats, striders, thermaworms and smaller wyverns - most would simply adapt to grappling them and dropping them onto the stone cliffs to retrieve them in pieces and then take them to their nests to feed their young. The Rocs had a much wider span of hunting, and would hunt dragons, basilisks and wyverns for themselves in the Burning Arm or across the continent. 
But the more dominant predators were reptilian - small to large ape-like raptors, known as Aptors, with feathered backs and strong arms to climb, they can traverse quickly through the broken landscape and climb up the mountains to hunt and scavenge, feared for the capability to stretch their faces to reveal grisly fleshy scales. Then there are rock geckos, salamanders that occupy the hot springs. Striders, ostrich-like flightless creatures that seem indistinguishable to lizards, roam across the landscape, naturally adapted to the heat, scouring for piecemeal creatures and insects. Basilisks & Drakes reside in the caverns also, though are highly competitive and serve to monitor the griffons and larger & more dangerous game within the area. Smaller and large relatives of wyverns were known to reside within the mountainsides, competing largely with the griffons or otherwise.

Ecosystem Cycles

The Burning Arm of Lorthal has a diverse ecosystem within the mountains, the west coast, the hinterland, the canyons/ ravines and the eastern coast - that changes not only seasonally, but undergoes a dramatic change every three to ten years due to the volcanic activity of the Blackrock Range (referred to as the Blackfire Season). The seasons are always defined by the prevailing winds of the year, west to east during the summer, then east to west during the winter - blowing the smoke from the mountains in these directions and effecting those that live within the regions. However, when a Blackfire Season begins, it is during a period where the volcanoes begin to spout lava from their calderas and volcanic vents that pour down into the land surrounding it and the smoke lasts for months in thicker and greater proportions, spreading ash, rock and kill the surrounding wildlife in a period of fire, quakes and great migrations towards the south. This harsh period usually lasts between 12-15 months, and vegetation does not begin to reappear until after 36 months, and the land begins to undergo a new change filled with greater vegetation. It has been likened to a ressurection of nature, and green retakes the harsh blackened rock regions.

Mountains:

During the half of the year in which the Blackrock mountains smoke blows the west or east, the mountainsides begin a season of growth in moss, lichens and mountain grasses as the flora takes advantage of the rich soils and grounds in the mountain and thrive off the thermal heat and sunlight. Many plants begin to bloom, even rare flowers and berry bushes, but other plants that do not rely on sunlight actually begin to hibernate and shrink under the sunlight, becoming shocked from the sudden appearance of the light. When this period occurs, usually animals, monsters & insects would make thier way to the clearer sides of the volcanic mountains to take advantage of this bountiful season to graze and to hunt without the lowered visibility from the clouds, ash-winds or smoke. With that, predators soon follow to ambush or chase these creatures across the rocky outcrops, careful and wary to not fall down the steep regions below - prey animals have taken advantage of this in many different ways, whether their ability to speedily climb rock-faces or glide upon the wind, challenge predators with cliffside duels that result either in a captured prey or a steep falling demise. The range of mountains are a vast, sparse and unforgiving landscape that has a mixture of warm and frozen regions depending on the elevation of the mountains. In the regions between the mountains and thermal vents, above the cloud cover, the mountain peaks are buffeted by harsh upscale winds, blanketed by a mixture of ash and snow, these places are colder than normal winter and can freeze with ice and frost over the black stone - the air at this elevation is thin and harder to breath (less difficult than the smoke below) and mostly nothing but griffons, drakes, wyverns and the legendary Rocs call this place home, and make their homes here all year long - in the summer, the snowcaps begin melting and feed the land below with new spring waters, mountain goats come and climb to drink from these fonts and graze upon the fresh grasses of this region. Meanwhile, the winter hardens this place with ice and frost, resulting in migrations away from these peaks to warmer climes, becoming abandoned to all but the hardiest and resilient of creatures. In the regions below the black smoke and cloud cover, the western face of the mountains is usually a common hideaway only accessible by mountain climbing lizards, mountainous birds, swarms of bats, large and small insects attracted to the warm rocky landscape and even resilient griffons that claim the regions as their territory. These creatures are most active within summer and autumn, in the warmest of these climates - birds compete with griffons for large catches, or hunt far-far away in the sea for catches of fish -whereas lizards and climbing reptiles are known to steal eggs or hunt within the mountainside, in caves and thermal shafts for bats or other creatures. Not only this, spring and summer usually holds mating season for most of these creatures. During winter, lizards tend to hide away within caves to hibernate after hunting their fill of creatures and protect their nests after mating season. Most birds would leave and migrate during this cold season to find better and warmer climes, going southwards. The birds usually nest within caves, rocky outcrops or cliff-faces that offer cover from the smoke and steamy fog during the spring and hunt the large insects and small lizards, and migrate to the south or the north after the smoke descends across the cliff-faces and mountainsides. Lizards and bats usually congregate within the thermal vents and warm caves close to the volcano, and move deeper into caves to hibernate when the region cools in the winter, hunting wayward insects that can burrow or blend in with the rocky surfaces. There are also known to be hardier breeds of mountain goats that can climb up the intimidatingly steep slopes, grazing on the mountain grasses and moss within the flatter regions of the mountains. In the eastern regions, it is predominantly home to large and smaller species of lizards, eagles, fire beetles and thermaworms that blend in with the rocks surrounding them, and also known to be lairs and nests for red dragons - turning the region into a harsher, warmer and fiery region. Wyverns predominantly nested in this region and call this space home, hunting across the regions for striders and even traversing to hunt griffons on the western coast - they would be predominantly active during the spring and summer, whilst nesting, laying eggs and hibernating during the autumn and winter; but they are also known to hunt in the winter to take advantage of the dimly lit visage away from the black smoke.

West Coast:

The west coast by the Woundwest Bay is usually divided with two main seasons - the warm dry summers, and cold wet winters. During summer, the prevailing winds go west to east carry the cold air from the seawaters and offer good comforts to the creatures by the coastline, before warming and rising upon the mountains & high peaks - leading to occasional rainfall and creeping mists. The bottoms of cliff-faces are fed with rich nutrients and minerals, allowing a spring of vegetation not seen within the other lands - with the odd hardy wood growing on the soils of the coastline, ruddy red-brown vines creeping up the rockfaces and cliff-sides. The rock faces become abundant with warmed and wet lichen, moss and vegetation - grass grows tall in this region, and becomes abundant, inviting insects and other creatures to peruse this region, and as a result, brings birds, herbivores and their likened predators. It becomes a temporarily colourful scene, with blooming flowers and green-yellow grasses, hardy bushes and small trees. The most common and most adapted survivor to the annual climate is the ironwood, though not abundant to form small woodlands, they appear haphazardly by the rocks and sediment deposits over the region. Meanwhile, the rocky coastline becomes filled with different marine life - usually crustaceans like giant crabs, starfish, clams, oysters, poisonous sea urchins. Octopus may slither through the gaps in these regions, trying to avoid the amphibious lizards that make claim to the caverns and coves of the region. Striders, colonies of termites, Tindermoths occupy these vegetated regions alongside goats and ash-bears that hunt for fish and shellfish - seals & fat walruses are known to congregate within these regions seasonally, taking advantage of the rockpools and shorelines; but they become the main prey to the griffons and wyverns of the region. The cold wet winters are a period of smoke-choked storms, lightning and rough seas - acid rain occasionally blankets the region and bleaches the black rocks of the coastline, turning it spotted and grey to near bleach white - eroding the regions and causing the landscape to smoothen, or break apart and become jagged, dropping into the rockpools and shimmering sand-beds laced with a film of prismatic stones, sharp, smooth or with odd edges. Most creatures during this period, such as marine creatures remain deep within the darker depths of the water, more nocturnal hunters during the period of perpetual night during the half year that the wind blows the smoke eastward. Birds, lizards and insects retreat into the shelter of the cliff-faces, or migrate away from the region in search of warmth and safe hideaways to hibernate until spring arrives. The seals migrate away from this region and travel into the upriver lands of Canterune for better climes and herding schools of fish. Amphibious Basilisks and migrating Ash Bears often compete in these regions for shelter and caves to hide away in and raise their young, away from the dangers of the eastern lands. Griffons normally migrate away from these mountains in this period and travel to the Perimidines or to the east on a long journey for better prey and food, or nest for the winter and raise their young.

Hinterland:

The heated badlands of the peninsula hinterland are dry cracked earth, with grey ash and blackened soils littered by stones, boulders and debris cast out from previous pyroclastic flows or shifted from earthquakes. The terrain has little vegetation apart from grasses, bushes and sparse varieties of ironwood trees. The beginning of summer marks the end of the Spore Blight cycle, as the winds change to an eastward direction, and the smoke claims back the nature taken by the Spore Blights - reducing them to petrified bushes, thorns, mushrooms and otherwise that withered and died across the landscape. For the summer of the year, it is warm and dry, but is overcast by the smoking plumes from the volcanoes that covers the sky - there is a consistent ash-fall and embers, any dried grasses have the potential to catch fire and spread as wild-fires through the region. Through the cracked earth there are a variety of animals and creatures that have adapted to this region and the subsequent heat from the magma, and the cold from the lack of sunlight - mostly creatures that can burrow through stone or earth, or graze upon the grasses, as well as leap great distances on to high points, live in this region. Great Pangolins shift through the terrain and wander the region hunting for insects, such as termites, Gnats and cockroaches. Insects burrow and fly though the region in swarms, eating dead matter and moss, or other insects - spiders, giant centipedes, carnivorous caterpillars, cockroaches, fire beetles, giant gnats, Thermaworms, pollinating Tindermoths and slow moving slugs or Rock Caterpillars. Aptors (Ape-like raptors) & Striders also scurry through the region, hunting birds, goats and rams, warthogs and other creatures. Wild goats, elk and other creatures reside in the realm in migratory herds that travel to find sources of water, moving eastwards for watering holes and westward when searching for nourishing vegetation and hardier plants when they come in short supply. Pests such as rabbits, moles and mice do reside within these regions and hide away in the rockfaces - chased by wolverines, bats and larger insects. During this time, most creatures follow a mating season, either out in the stormy ash or in solitude within crevices or caves. Insects within this region provide a natural aid to the environment, aerating the soils, breakdown the hardened grasses and flora and uproot the soil to aid herbivores or other creatures. Cockroaches, Gnats and Termites are always competing beneath the surface and emerging to gather supplies for their hives, queens and colonies. The cold winters are a period of clearer as the prevailing winds are east to west - with dim sunlight piercing through. The hinterlands change the landscape more into a ashen quagmire, where the regions steam up and moisten the regions due to the underground thermal vents that stream through the land - pressure builds in areas of geysers that release highly pressured air into the surface that quickly cool, resulting in flash freezes that weaken the stones around the area and melt into quagmires that feed into the canyons. However, this offers clearer waters and drains out the acidic rain that fell the previous summer period. This period usually means a lot of movement for many creatures heading southwards or to the eastern coast, or go in search of shelter to hibernate and stock up on food for the harsher periods of the year - hunting mainly in the daytime, but most predators have naturally adapted as nocturnal hunters and prove most active and dangerous during the night. Termites, cockroaches and gnats tend to enter periods of cannibalisation if their populations become exorbitant - and spread Blights across regions to aid in the growth and pollination of desperate spore-reliant plantlife. The Blights would allow the spring of plant-based monsters to travel and retake what was burned by the smoke, ash and acid rain - competing in spite of the other animals in hibernation, ambushing them in caves or in their hideaways as they slept, spreading like a disease to claim the weaker creatures and the young ensnared in their spores. Almost like a seasonal culling, the vegetation regrew back and even migrated westward towards the mountains, claiming as much soil or watering hole they could find and repopulate the plantlife of the region.

Canyons/ Ravines:

Within the great scars, the surface of the stones and ground is much warmer due to the proximities towards the hotsprings and underground geothermal vents. In the summer, these areas offer animals and other creatures the most shelter and cleanest waters in the land - and the flora within the region has naturally adapted to constantly grow, rot and compete with other species and even against herbivorous consumers. Birds shelter and nestle within the stone alcoves and cliff-faces upon perched nests or weathered faces, perching in these areas to offer defence against predators, however Aptors or other lizards are known to be able to climb and attack these shelters. The flora that grows the most is reactive fungus, mosses, lichen - as other plantlife cannot sustain under the natural heat within the stones and often dry out. But predominantly, insects and larger forms reside within these regions and act as solitary, or work in hives at the bottoms of these ravines - some of the most notworthy are thermaworms, a solitary ambush creature capable of burrowing through ash and solid rock; great gnats that subsist on basalt, ash and hardy vegetation; lastly, Kruthiks, the most dangerous infestation amongst the region that have adapted to the thermal regions of the area and rarely venture anywhere above the surface or outside these ravines. Some smaller drakes and griffons, even younger ones, make their dens on the sides of these cliff-faced canyons and ravines to make it their own territories and hunting spots, but can become overriden by the lizards and insects that call this place home. During the winter however, most of the insects enter into hibernation and dormancy within their hives or go deeper underground to stay warm - alongside the reptilian species of the region. The birds migrate from this region and return to the south for warmer climes, or make the arduous journey eastwards. It is in this period that the canyons tend to become flooded, and fallen silt, sediment, mud and ash are deposited from the frostmelt of the surface and rainfall - leading to vast plumes of steam and boiling waters at the bottom of these canyons. By this point, some hives are flooded and result in the forced migration of swarming insects, and mostly kruthiks would make their homes deeper in the earth. Sometimes this forces kruthiks to venture much greater distances to lay or make nests, going to the mountains or even travelling far beyond the borders of the Burning Arm, but not many survive this journey before being brought down by winter-hunting avian creatures. Those that do survive become deadly infestations for the civilised races around the Burning Arm.

Eastern Coast:

The eastern coast is usually divided with two main seasons - the warm dry summers, and cold wet winters. During summer, the prevailing winds come from the west and carry on to the east - the winds breeze over the volcanic mountains, carrying the plumes of smoke and mist that intermingle and congregate to summon violent storms, and the sulphuric smoke in the atmosphere mixes into the clouds and causes the occasional acid rain to fall down into the eastern coast, harming and poisoning the vegetation at times. However, the megaflora has adapted to these harsh conditions at times, and had formed hardy surfaces that deflect the acid and the roots delve deep to reach the richer soils below, some even exhuming the acid in vaporous clouds to be carried by the winds and storms. Here reside the ash bears and owlbears, making homes within this region alongside Tindermoths, that alight this region commonly with destructive and restorative wildfires - striders come here to prosper on the abundant vegetation, alongside warthogs that scurry the ground for softer mushrooms and for slugs. During winter, the ecosystem undergoes a strange growth as the mushroom forests and hardy vegetation begin to warm and bloom in the aftermath of the many months of ashfall, retaking the region and spreading spores across the wilds that fill the hinterland, even to the mountains - but becomes largely contested by the other creatures and predators. Most find their way to nestle within the mushrooms, bats hanging underneath their stools in winter, but remain under the means to hunt insects during this period or migrate to better conditions and hibernate within the mountains of the west.

Localized Phenomena

During the summer period, the majority of the peninsula is swallowed in perpetual darkness due to the increased activity from the smoking peaks of the volcanoes, otherwise referred to as the Black Ashfall. This blocks the sunlight in the region and deters and stunts growth in natural vegetation that relies on sunlight, but promotes savage competition between nocturnal creatures of the region. As a result of the warm winds from the mountains going eastward, there are many violent storms and winds that lift up the fallen ash and rock within this region, leading to lightning strikes and great claps of thunder heard across the landscape.
During the winter period, the peninsula appears to have dim sunlight peer through the cloud cover as the Black Ashfall is directed westward to the main continent of Lorthal - but as the regions cool, pressure builds underground from the thermal vents and gases release through the cracks in the earth and the natural hot springs sending a fog cover that spreads intermittently across the landscape over a few days. But in this time, some vegetation returns to the region, recovering the ground lost in this period and germinates across the region.
During the Blackfire Season - this is the most dramatic period of change across the Burning Arm of Lorthal. Due to the volcanic activity reaching its peak, the volcanic mountains erupt with lava flows that pour across the mountains and destroy and shape all that it touches - quickly flooding through the tabled levels of the mountains to the east, and spreading towards the fractures in the land. The gaps between the Scars widen, and sometimes even close, as earthquakes shift the terrain and breakdown natural cover - geysers become extremely deadly and release superheated gases out into the air. A pyroclastic blast breaks forth from the peaks and swallows the land in a flood of burning smoke, rock and magma. The period lasts for at least 12-15 months, before the volcanoes quieten down and seem to become dormant - halting the smoke from its peaks, and revealing a land enriched by ash and new metals, crystals hardening and developing on the surface and in the cavernous systems and lava vents below. The dormancy remains for around 3-10 years, and the Burning Arm of Lorthal becomes a more greener region, spreading from east to west - to the point that the grasses and small blooms of mushrooms begin to grow in great proportions - retaking the scorched lands at a rapid pace, and natural rains clear the rocks of ash and deposit within the Scars.
Spore Blights were a common occurence throughout the seasons, but were most prominent during the autumn and winter when the prevailing wind changed to east to west, coming from the vegetated eastern coast to the ashen wasteland to reclaim the badlands with their vegetation and spread across different animals caught within the spores. This helped to spread mushrooms and vegetation across the lands, nurturing the soil and also to control the insect populations that were forced to migrate out in search of food and sustenance, but also due to the disruption to their hives - spreading to their natural predators, allowing them to decompose their organic forms to bone and chitin, giving back to the land and allowing the natural 'rebirth' of the green whilst the smoke was being blown to the western lands. This also gave rise to plant-based monsters that would nurture a dark and savage environment, taking back from what the insects and animals would consume from them - after the end of spring when the change in the winds began, the Blight creatures would tend to die off and petrify all across the volcanic badlands.

Fauna & Flora

FAUNA
Tasmanian Devil Hunting Griffons Griffon Giant Lizards Giant Centipede Giant Spiders Thermaworms Eagles Geckos Capebara Giant Rams Giant Lizards Drakes Minor Wyverns Great Wyverns Mountain Goats Wolverines Ash Bears Termites - Greater Termites/ Flying Termites/ Termite Queen Striders Tindermoths & Rock Caterpillars Slugs Cockroaches Blights Owlbears Warthogs

Natural Resources

The most noteworthy of natural resources within the lands of the Burning Arm of Lorthal is its abundant stores of precious metals (mostly iron) deep within the earth and within the Blackrock Mountains, igneous rock spread across the highlands and hinterlands, obsidian in the caverns and mountains, flint & precious gems formed through volcanic activity. Ironwood grew in this harsh environment, though stunted, and was often the only source of wood within this region. The great mushrooms were a natural fuel source for fires, and also acted as a food source, medicine and potential broth of poison if distilled properly from distinguished species. Ash was an otherwise abundant resource within the region, and was used to make a mixture of building material to form potential concrete - and in other forms, can be used to produce a brittle smoky translucent glass of kinds only valuable to the kobolds, and even soaps. Due to the hardy chitinous exoskeletons of many insectoid species, chitin was a prominent resource used by the kobolds as articles of clothing and distinguishing symbols of warriors and leaders as armour, a weaker but more lightweight version of plate-armour, but was often bulky and hard to shape or mold (highly dependent on the shape and size of its original insectoid species).

History

The Burning Arm of Lorthal has existed since before humanity spread within the ancient eras - legends say that this was the last battleground between the Gods and the last spawn of the Titans, known as the Mor'Goron. Great primordial titans made of living magma and rock that thrived within desolate landscapes, bringing forth fire to wherever they stepped and shook the earth which they tread. The Blackrock Mountains were said to be prisons for these great titans, the Gods having thrown mountains over these titans and buried them beneath the earth - and that these great primordials still reside beneath the surface of these mountains.
From these times, and from the end of the Giant-Dragon War in ancient times - dragons and Rocs have competed for territory within this area, an endless echo of that mythical conflict between giants and dragons - it was believed that Rocs were raised and nurtured by the Giants as a deterrent against the Dragons, using them as mounts to combat them within the skies. Rocs have been known to nest within the Blackrock Mountains throughout all its history, and many conflicts have occurred between brave dragons that sought to claim any one of these mountains as their domain - but have swiftly met their end at the hands of these gargantuan birds. Legend holds that the Rocs guard the mountains to protect an ancient secret of the Giants that has yet to be uncovered.
In the times since the formation of these mountains, those that had called this place home were the Kobolds. The spawn of Kaijos, the Scaled Schemer, they held prosperous tribes and cultures that once aided the dragonborn in their ancient empires and once heralded great technology by the kobolds design, as they were the most intelligent engineers and architects of the old draconic empire. This time of reknown for the Kobolds ended their prosperous rule when the Elves claimed supremacy in the ancient world after conjuring the magics of the Dracorage that divided the powerful dragons of the world into civil war, and the technnologies of the kobolds began to fail them and their kind. Their once great monuments and great engineering achievements were destroyed in the conflict between the dragons as they were forced below the surface to flee from their destruction. They would only come back to the surface when they had long since abandoned the sun, and it pained them and their scales to walk within its light.
With the arrival of the Fey in the ancient world, one group began to intervene and trespass their borders and their lands - the Gnomes. Seemingly appearing to the East, in the ancient lands of Dionessar - they made their landfalls on the eastern coastline and to the south, seeking these territories for their own. They claimed the small islands off the edge of the southern coast, naming them the Knuckledust Isles, for themselves, leading to conflict between the two races. The gnomes were said to have begun the war with the kobolds after an undisclosed disagreement between them and the kobolds - or as the kobolds would suggest, a massacre of their people. This sparked a First Burrow War between the Gnomes and the Kobolds, where the Gnomes clearly held the advantage from their ingenuity and adaptive knowledge, but the Kobolds held their great numbers, knowledge of the terrain and resources of the mountains and the rest of the peninsula. At this time, the Kobolds did not have nearly the same impenetrable hovels or burrows as they did back then, nor could they anticipate how cunning and tricksy the Feyborn Gnomes could be - and entrusted in the belief that they would be granted aid from the Dragons, to scour the Gnomes from their lands that sought to conquer these regions. What they had not anticipated was that the Gnomes had called for allies with the ancient Dwarves, enchanting them with promises of glory, secrets of the dragons, conquest and insurmountable amounts of rich metal veins and gold that the Kobolds had allegedly hidden within the Burning Arm of Lorthal. The High Tetrarch had been swayed by the gnomes, and was said to have sent a prominent Golden Thane to martial the expansion of dwarven influence from their central seat of the Perimidine Mountains and claim a new kingdoms across the continent for the Dwarves - one of which they sought was the Blackrock Mountains. The dwarves parlayed with the Gnomes and saw a kinship with these folk, and aided them from the southern coast to dominate the landscape for the promise of this gold and rich land. The kobolds were forced into the earth, limited by the nature that they were sensitive to sunlight, and could only defend themselves from the tunnels and excavated regions within the Burning Arm of Lorthal. Try they did during the dark seasons of the year to reclaim what they had lost, but they could not hope to match the strength of the dwarves or the deceptions and elusiveness of the Gnomes. The loss of kobold lands heralded a great and prosperous kingdom grew between the Gnomes and Dwarves, claiming dominance as the Emberhold, that took advantage of the seasonal ash-storms and magma flow to enrich themselves in new metals and ores spread across the land and the fertile soils of the region. The Dwarves named these mountains the Endless Forges for their potential to arm them with great amounts of metals and crafts to equip their armies. But the Kobolds retaliated, summoning the aid of their venerated Red Dragons to reclaim their land - but they were denied, as the dragons only fought for themselves now after the downfall of their great empire - and even they balked to challenge the Rocs of the Mountain. So, the Kobolds instigated the great catastrophe that would swallow the dwarves and gnomes whole - conjuring the magics and using the secrets that they had learned in their time within the draconian empire, they reawakened the raging spirits of fire within the Blackrock Mountains (some disagree to whether it was actually the Mor'Goron, divine intervention from their scheming deity, or whether they incidentally caused a wild-magic surge that created the Blackfire Doom). Leading to the Blackfire Doom, a mega-volcanic event that erupted the landscape into what resides today as the continous smoking cycles from its peaks, scorching the landscape around the Burning Arm - the Gnomes and Dwarves once bragged about their great defences and the means in which they protected themselves in great vaults from the harsh volcanic activity of the mountains, and the pesky infestations of Kobold tribes. The Kobolds gleefully smiled as the Dwarves and Gnomes were cooked within their stone fortresses, burning alive within their holds. The Kobolds spread out and vowed great vengeance against the Gnomes that first started this war, and against the dwarves - to which they had tracked down and eliminated all clan lines that descended from the Emberhold - but the Gnomes still stood resilient from the protected islands they had claimed in their alliance with the dwarves to the southern coast, claiming and losing land in an endless guerilla war in the fertile southern regions of the Burning Arm of Lorthal.
To this day, the Gnomes and Kobolds have escalated their conflicts between one another for dominance of this region - though for many, they have forgotten the original reasons as to why they fight each other in the first place. It has led to a grand industrialisation of war and conflict for the Gnomes, and the Kobolds have in kind created networks and undetected traps and deadly fortifications below ground to attack and claim the lands during the Blach Ashfall seasons of the summer, retreating back during the winter when their scales were sensitive to the sunlight.

Alternative Name(s)

Skoyr'chall, The Scorched Lands, the Old Emberholds, the Smoking Sierra, the Dark Wards, the Endless Forges.

Type

Peninsula

Location under

The Burning Arm of Lorthal