The Blightlands

After the horrors I encountered in The Twisted Forest, I dread to think what monstrosities lie in wait in The Blightlands, the seat of The Council of Nine's power

— Hajar Stoutsong, famous adventurer

Origin

Before the Cataclysm War, The Blightlands was a vast expanse of endless plains that surrounded the great fortress city of Arkran. In the early days of the War, The Council of Nine infiltrated and assumed control of Arkran, making it their base of operations. The Council brought forth and made a deal with Vaedrin, a Lich Lord. Vaedrin would be an import ally for them, eventually leading a successful assault on The Ancestral Tree. Vaedrin's speciality was corruption. He could twist you with a touch with Vaedrin's Blight, turning you into shambling horror version of yourself whose only desire is to pass on this Blight.
Vaedrin's Blight also affected flora and the land around too. Whilst, the Blight was expunged after the fall of Vaedrin and The Council of Nine, there is still a patch of forest in the Elven Woods that persists. Arkran and the surrounding plains, now a dusty arid wasteland, were also uncurable. Now officially called The Blightlands, it is a magically shielded off so that no wandering traveller accidentally enters.

Flora & Fauna

There is nothing uncorrupted remaining with the shielding. Perhaps thankfully, most larger predators call the forests or the mountains home, but some did, unfortunately, wander into the plains and were affected by Vaedrin's Blight. Strictly speaking, there may be more Blight Wolves and Blighted Bears in The Blightlands than The Twisted Forest, but the scale of the areas means you are more likely to encounter them in the latter. Notably, in terms of species affected, both birds and snakes seemed to sense Blight-affected creatures. As Blight is a corruption spread by touch and more effectively by a blood infection, they seemed to steer clear of prey that could turn them. However, there are a few directly corrupted by Vaedrin and his army.
Where the real danger lies, perhaps, is in the flora and smaller fauna, the beings you wouldn't normally perceive as threats. One bite from a Blight Wolf or a Blight Rat is the same outcome. The Twisted Forest is more impressive for blighted flora, or at least for variety. The Blightland's twisted trees are far sparser and now they appear as great warped black monuments that occasionally break up the never-ending cracked dirt of The Blightlands.

Type

Desert

Location under

Aldenia