Demon Wastes
Rivers of lava cut across plains of black sand and volcanic glass. The only vegetation you can see is blood-red moss and a thick layer of slime, and that appears to be moving. A jagged rock formation might be a piece of an ancient wall… or perhaps that’s just your imagination. This is the Demon Wastes. Tens of thousands of years ago, fiends ruled Khorvaire. This region was the seat of power of some of the mightiest archfiends, holding cities of rakshasas and demons. These foul spirits were bound long ago, but their power still lingers in this place. Vile creatures continue to crawl up from the depths of Khyber. And there are a handful of primordial ruins sustained by dark magic… ruins that may still be home to fiends and their treasures.
A mountain range known as the Labyrinth separates the Demon Wastes from the Eldeen Reaches. Due to ancient warding magic, any foul thing that wishes to leave must pass through the Labyrinth. These passes are guarded by the Ghaash’kala, tribes of orcs sworn to contain the evils of the Waste. The Ghaash’kala worship a version of the Silver Flame that they call Kalok Shash; they consider the people of the Five Nations to be soft and naive.
The Carrion Tribes are savage barbarians who dwell in the Wastes. Each tribe is devoted to one of the archfiends and they engage in endless battles against the Ghaash’kala and the other Carrion Tribes. These people are mostly humans, but there are corrupted orcs, half-orcs, and tieflings mixed in, along with a handful of other races represented. The Carrion Tribes are savage and cruel, and know almost nothing about the world beyond the Labyrinth.
Interesting Things About the Wastes:
- Stories tell of the lost city of Ashtakala, a citadel of fiends still populated by rakshasas. The libraries of Ashtakala contain arcane secrets and details about the Draconic Prophecy and its vaults hold untold treasures.
- The Demon Wastes contain portals to Khyber—specifically, to demiplanes within Khyber. These are similar to the layers of the Abyss in the core cosmology, unearthly realms populated by demons. The Ghaash’kala raid these demiplanes to get the supplies they need to survive.
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