The Charnel Flats
The Charnel Flats constitute what was once the North American Midwest, from the base of the Rocky Mountain Range to the Appalachians. With the entire continent destroyed in the Great Cataclysm, what was once thriving prairies, plains, forests, and deserts is now a barren wasteland entirely buried beneath the thick blanket of ash that falls perpetually from the skies of Ashrain. Stretching for hundreds of miles, this treacherous landscape is feared by all who know of it and the graveyard of all those who do not. Virtually impassable and encompassing so much of the terrain across the central portion of the US that it effectively divides the East Coast from the West, navigating across the Flats is a certain death sentence. Because of this, crossing the North American continent is a lengthy, dangerous task, as the edges of the Flats are lined with territories controlled by various human factions, many of which are hostile to travelers.
Geography
The Charnel Flats are comprised of a blanket of ash and soot nearly a thousand feet deep that covers almost the entirety of the former Midwestern North America. The ash collected on the flat prairies and plains of the Midwest in the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm, forming a soft upper layer and a hard lower layer compressed by the weight of the ever-accumulating matter. Across this broad, barren hellscape, great dunes of ash blown into near mountains by the wind are the only features that break the monotony of the flat desert of ash and soot, stretching for hundreds of miles. In some places, jagged peaks of volcanic rock, blast-carved into sharp points by the oppresive winds, jut out of the ash like haunting spires. These are prone to collapse, adding to the treachery of the landscape. The most dangerous aspect of the Charnel Flats is the ash's instability. Enormous ash flows and avalanches that may stretch for hundreds of square miles may be triggered without notice, burying anything in their path. In some places, the ash is too soft for a human being to walk on, and trodding unaware into these places will result in being swallowed by the ash, never to return to the surface. Beneath the ash, vast sulfiric pits accumulate, remnants of the cataclysm that led to the creation of the Charnel Flats. Within these pits, toxic gasses are stored in subterannean bubbles just beneath the surface. These gases may escape and spread across the landscape, poisoning anything within their reach before they dissipate into the ever-toxifying atmosphere.
Ecosystem
The ecosystem of the Charnel Flats is inhospitable and violent. Only the most dangerous and insidious of creatures can survive on its empty plains. The only plant life found within the Flats is carnivorous, adapted to the lack of nutrients from the sun and earth by feeding on organic matter. Many of these plants are large enough and subtle enough to ensnare and digest large animals, including human beings.
Localized Phenomena
The Black Spire
The Black Spire is a towering, blackened rock formation near the approximate center of the Charnel Flats. Many legends told by those who live near the borders of the Flats claim that it is cursed and that it formed upon the site of a mysterious, arcane power. Legend tells that this insidious evil calls to any who stray too close to the edge of the Charnel Flats, luring them across the dreaded terrain to their deaths. Those who approach the Spire itself are said to find about it a void of pure darkness and malevolence, unbearable to the human mind. Many believe that this is some machination of the Ash Gods, and that perhaps the Spire itself is an alien construct.The Whispering Ruin
The Whispering Ruins are the remnants of what was once a city, perhaps Denver, in what was once the State of Colorado. Somehow preserved from total destruction during the Great Cataclysm, the city is now buried beneath the ash, though not entirely. The peaks of skyscrapers still just out of the ash sea, and supposedly may lead to a preserved city beneath it. Legend tells of some attempting to penetrate the ruins to find sanctuary or resources below, but none returning to tell of either. The whispers of the dead are said to be carried on the winds around the ruins, driving those who hear them to insanity.The Dead Forest
On the northern edge of the Charnel Vale lies what was once a vast stretch of dense forest, laid to waste. Rather than simply being burned to ashes in the fires that swept across the world, the trees of the Dead Forest have been rapidly petrified after being buried beneath the ash blanket and subjected to intense heat and pressure. Now, only their towering trunks remain, jutting out of the ground as spikes of solid rock. The Dead Forest was exposed by a massive ash storm over a decade after the Great Cataclysm, leading some to theorize that it may have been rapidly buried before the fires could reach it, then fossilized gradually over the decade. Now, freed from the ash bed, the petrified trees stand tall in a labrynthine maze said to contain within it unspeakable horrors and deadly creatures. None have ever entered the Dead Forest to explore its mysteries, the fear it inspires being too potent for any to dare.Climate
As across the entirety of Ashrain, across the Charnel Flats the steady snowing of ash from the choked atmosphere of the planet is near constant. Immense ash storms plague the Flats, with virtually no topography to stop them from growing to immense, unstoppable proportions. These storms sweep the face of the Flats, replenishing displaced ash and burying anything unfortunate enough to fall in their path. The Flats are also subject to intense temperature fluctuations, with searing heat during the day and freezing cold at night. Most dangerously, the toxins and noxious gases trapped below the surface make the atmosphere difficult to breathe, and even deadly in many places. Prolonged exposure to the environment of the Flats can lead to irreparable respiratory damage.
Fauna & Flora
What life can survive in the Charnel Flats is extremely dangerous and deadly to any travelers foolish enough to wander into their domain. Most prevalent are ash serpents, sidewinders and other breeds of venomous snakes that have adapted to life slithering across the treacherous ash bed. All of the plants that grow in the Flats are carnivorous, adapted to the lack of nutrients from the sun's light by feeding on organic matter. Many of these plants are large enough to ensnare and devour human prey; however, these plants are also the only sources of water or nutrients in the entirety of the Flats. As such, though they are extremely dangerous to approach, there is often no choice, as survival in the Flats becomes a matter of eat or be eaten.
Alternative Name(s)
The Wasteland, the Great Ash Sea
Type
Wasteland
Location under
Included Locations
Characters in Location
Inhabiting Species
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