The Impossible Shores

Credits to Joseph Feely on Artstation for the awesome cover art!

The Impossible Shores is the moniker given to the various subregions that form the easternmost "explored" coast of Drumis -- though explored is a kind term for the amount of knowledge that is held on this area. As alien as its geographical siblings, this coastline has earned its name well. As far as current explorative records show, the Impossible Shores consist of two main subregions: the Bleeding Crags and the Desert of Skin. It is also separated from the Untamed Valleys by the geologically active mountain range known as the Iron Slopes. Current knowledge and theories on those places can be found below.
Additionally of note, the islands that dot the coast along the shoreline of the Bleeding Crags can be strangely tropical. In fact, some explorers have reported seeing an island awash with flora amidst the fertile, volcanic soils and then returning years later and seeing the same island grey and barren, as though it never bore life.

Bleeding Crags

Forming the southern "half" of the Impossible Shores, the Bleeding Crags is an area of literal rivers of lava that flow between titanic cliffs and broken monoliths. Believed to have perhaps been home to an Obsidian Lord fortress, whatever truly preceded the current state of this region is unknown and subject to many theories. Today, it is a land of blasted obsidian, broken stone, and massive cliffs that form jagged valleys. Those who have seen the Bleeding Crags claim that it is though Emaxus itself is broken here, and that the stuff of the world bubbles up through the wounds.

Desert of Skin

At times a horrifying nickname and at other times an equally horrifying description, the Desert of Skin forms the northern "half" of the Impossible Shores. Here, the heat is unimaginable -- especially considering the fact that it borders on the Fields of Frost. Places of equal latitude, such as Aasveig, tend to be frozen for most of the year. The Desert of Skin is perpetually dry and perpetually blazing hot. Temperatures here are believed to dwarf even the Ureret Desert of Aitreas, but the real kicker is how it got its name: among the towering pillars of yellow and orange stone that have somehow survived the weathering of the winds and sand, explorers have claimed there are living oases. Instead of water, there is blood, and instead of plants and fertile ground surrounding them, there is bone and flesh erupting from the ground. Some have claimed the surface of the desert becomes skin in these areas and that there are swaths of this subregion that are sandless, covered instead by brittle yet impenetrable human skin.

Dichatama River

Formed from various meltwater and springs on the northeastern side of the Iron Slopes, the Dichatama River flows out into the Fields of Frost before curving back and passing through the northern portion of the Desert of Skin. Explorers have reported that the Dichatama River sometimes flows backwards, or even flows as though it is liquid despite being frozen solid -- even in the unnatural heat of the desert. Whether or not these claims are true is unknown.

The Iron Slopes

Forming the barrier between the Impossible Shores and the Untamed Valleys, the Iron Slopes are the geologically active eastern arm of the Wall of Drumis. Like their kin to the west, the Iron Slopes are impossibly tall and reach well over a hundred thousand feet into the frigid sky. Like the rest of the Wall, it is believed that these mountains were supernaturally heightened as a result of the Reckoning -- though to what end or reason, no one knows. Perhaps a battle pushed the ground up beneath them, or the Obsidian Lords used it is a geographical defense. Who knows? All that is known is that these mountains can be seen from many miles out to sea, and the plumes of ash and smoke that belch from the impossibly tall mouths of the volcanoes that dot this mountain range can be seen even further. In fact, the ash is spewed so high into the air, it will often form into ash storms and blow westward, sometimes reaching as far as even the Istavinion Coast, bringing lightning and even flaming tornadoes with them.

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