Sárezket

She trembles like a nervous child, our homeland. We cannot soothe the pains she feels so easily.

— Hvalgoran grandmother

The region of Sárezket is a large plain encompassing the lands surrounding the delta of the river Zoldrav in the west of Hvalgora, stretching from the Korom Mountains to the escarpments marking the beginning of Terelof's thick forests. Sárezket was named first for the poor drainage that has contributed to the birth of its many lakes, and second for the earthquakes that regularly rock its shores, and both characteristics have shaped the terrain to be the wilderness it remains today.
The area has long been fought over, particularly by Hvalgora, Yksinka, and Gildómar, for the resources it provides access to. Many of its current towns and cities are built upon the bones of those that came before, and ruins are plentiful amidst the trees. Not all ruins are crafted from war, however; a great number of Sárezket's settlers have not understood how to construct for quake-prone terrain, and the lingering ruin of their settlements is testament to the power of nature's fury.
Falazkevok stands as the current largest city within Sárezket, though the competition is close. Recent war with Gildómar has seen Hvalgoran focus shift to constructing larger, more defensible settlements in the land that invaders may pass through, and as such, Sárezket has seen a flurry of activity as of late.

Geography

It's always a challenge to tell if Sárezket's cliffs are from the glaciers of times of eld, or if they're the result of quakes. Some are both. Cataloguing it is a mild headache at best.

— Hvalgoran druid

Sárezket is a large lowland plain with a number of distinct biomes across its far reach. Periods of glaciation in the long past have carved intriguing shapes to the landscape, causing valleys through which the region's countless rivers cascade, and lack of drainage throughout the area contributes greatly to the marshy coastal wetlands and lakes that grant part of the region's very name.

Zustvér by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Tectonic activity has marked its history through fault scarps across the region, particularly towards the fault line in the region's east, where a large escarpment marks Sárezket's end.
Sections of taiga carve around northern reaches where rainfall runs down fastest, creating dense, tall forests that eventually give way to sub-taiga forest and then to wide open steppe.
The contrasts are dramatic to those able to travel from air, and contribute well to the defensibility of the nation: travelling through taiga is an annoying and dangerous process, and the grasslands are too exposed to offer much shelter or subtlety to approaching armies.
One of the more interesting areas of Sárezket is within its wide grasslands. Csilsik Lake, a wide crater lake, marks the area that was once impacted by either a particularly large meteorite from space or by a furious deity's attack in the time before the gods were forbidden from such interference.

Magic is notably quickened around the lake's border, and a large tree stretches out of the crater's centre. The tree, named as the Zustvér by locals, is an awe-inspiring thing of glittering silver and glowing light.

Though it has not proven possible to create propagations from the Zustvér, nor has it ever naturally borne children like itself, small seed-pods from its flowers can be carefully cultivated by druidic magic to create lesser versions of the great tree. As the Zustvér's givings are each blessed with potent magical properties, these lesser versions are prized in magical circles.
Not all regions of Sárezket are so gorgeous as Csilsik Lake or the sweeping taiga. Regions hit particularly hard by hurricanes recover with gentle ease, but those impacted by particularly strong tremors wear the scars of their battles for centuries.
Tularyuk claims the most lives of these, for Tularyuk - named for a local spirit of catastrophe - is a hidden ravine in the very earth itself, masked in the endless grasslands by long grasses and shrubs. The rift is unusual in geologic formation, and extends so far beneath the ground that Sárezket's rainfall has never seen it become a lake like so many of the smaller faults and rifts nearby.

Tularyuk by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Local mythos describes the ravine as the result of a terrible earthquake that saw water drown the entirety of Sárezket; the only way the water was able to be banished back was through a drain into the depths of the world. Despite the devastation a second earthquake would cause, the struggling survivors prayed to the gods to grant them one that might create such a drain to protect them from the rising tides, and thus Tularyuk was born.

Localized Phenomena

Ah, when the cold sets in and the light yet lingers..!

Though the majority of the weather events sweeping over constantly-besieged Sárezket are natural (or in the case of leystorms and similar, usual enough), there are a handful of stranger occurrences. The one known best to outsiders centres around Csilsik Lake, though it affects far more than the lake itself. It is said that should winter freeze the lake in its entirety, then when the sun next peers out from behind its cocoon of clouds, the Zustvér tree standing tall across the ice shall reach for the sunlight and reflect it as brilliant gold across the snows and ice of the whole region.

Silver turned Gold by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

This dazzling reflection is incredibly bright to witness, and transforms not only the tree from silver to gold, but every natural surface that it touches in a surprisingly large radius. Supposedly, the gilding only stops once it reaches something of mortal make through which it cannot easily pass, though this does not seem entirely accurate.
Travellers surprised by this phenomenon tend to believe that such an event is a deific miracle, for they come across not a land of snow and ice, but a glittering golden haze of magic.
This golden transformation does not alter the properties of snow, ice, or the like, so it largely fades away as snow continues to fall and winter eventually comes to an end.
However, other natural materials such as leaves may be permanently altered. It is said that should the Zustvér's lost leaves be turned to gold, they will grant their bearer luck and health beyond nearly any magical spell.

Powder produced from these glittering gifts can be used in herbal medicines to sharply increase the potency and safety of almost any remedy. The area has at times been subjected to the ravages of war in search of this brilliant remedy, nearly leading to the death of the Zustvér in one horrific case. Thankfully, by some miracle, it remains standing - for now.

Climate

Did you see those travellers set off, all bundled up in wool? Why do travellers keep thinking our summers are as cold as our winters? Even Kylmävikk gets warmer in the summer months!

— annoyed local

Sárezket has a combination of subarctic and continental climates, with the southern reaches having more of a hemiboreal climate, and northern reaches covered in taiga tending towards boreal climate conditions. As wind patterns from the seas to the south chase strong rains across the area throughout the year, these differences in climate can occasionally mean that the steppe may be warm and wet whilst the more northward areas are frozen and snow-covered.

Summer temperatures tend to average somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees °C in the hemiboreal sections of Sárezket, with temperatures tending towards the lower end of the spectrum most of the time and occasional spells of heat bringing the occasional scorching days.
Summers are marked by drier months moreso than the heat, as the ever-present rain finally takes its own summer holiday. Autumn brings the return of the rain in time to water the plants in advance of winter's chill touch; winter itself brings snow, ice, and temperatures regularly dipping beneath -10°C.
The warmer months in the southern regions carry risk of hurricanes from early summer to the beginning days of winter, bringing a level of uncertainty to coastal settlements.
Most years, these hurricanes are merely bringers of warmer weather and pleasant rains, but occasionally, strong hurricanes will destroy all in their path.

Hurricane's Reminder by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

When these synchronise with an earthquake's devastation, the humanitarian crisis that follows is often of horrific scale. By some fortune, Hvalgoran understanding of the winds through its naval development has lead to better prediction systems for these devastating hurricanes; in modern times, there is usually some warning when a horror is approaching, and inhabitants may flee to higher ground.

Steppe Snows by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

In the subarctic sections, summers are far shorter, and the temperatures generally much cooler. This difference creates areas of permafrost within the taiga's soils, and results in poor farming conditions in areas where this permafrost is present. As a result, most agricultural activities take place beyond the subarctic barrier.
Winters in the cooler areas are strikingly colder than their southern siblings, despite not being as bad as those that strike more northern regions in Iskaldhal: temperatures do not rise above 0°C, and can dip beneath -20°C in particularly cold weather patterns.
In these wintry areas, one must be well prepared for travel. Those who do not heed the warnings may never be found; they serve as adequate prey for the area's plentiful wildlife, and if not, then as yet another body claimed by the Northern Continent's chill grasp. Death is an ever-present spectre in winter across Iskaldhal, and even Sárezket's warmest areas do not forget that.

Sárezket Rivers by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Alternative Name(s)

the Drowned Steppe

Type

Plain

Location under

Iskaldhal

Included Locations

• Csilsik Lake

Owning Organization

Hvalgora

Contested By

• Gildómar
• Yksinka

Wildlife in Sárezket

Cataloguing the many varieties of wildlife in Sárezket's different reaches is a task that many, Hvalgoran or not, have attempted to take on for centuries. There exist species here that none have seen elsewhere, and in such plentiful number that it boggles the mind.
The difficulty lying within the task is not only in finding and studying each and every creature, but in surviving the venture.
Nonmagical creatures like bears are very present, yes, but so too are far more dangerous magical beasts, from the ice-wielding winter wolves to actual dragons and their minions.
The undead, too, wander, risen either from tragedy or from often-careless practice of necromancy. Iskaldhal is known for its liches, after all.
Even demons walk parts of Sárezket as if they were home. Some believe them to be children of the rifts, suspecting hidden portals to the Abyss...
...others think the tales of demonic presence are tales and tales alone.

Nature's Consequence by Hanhula (via Midjourney)

Surviving & Living

To survive in Sárezket is a rather different task than to live there. Surviving is more straightforward, and techniques are shared with other areas of Iskaldhal - and indeed, other steppe or taiga areas across the world. That said, it has some of its own tricks.
For one, earthquake survival techniques are important to be aware of. The risk of tsunami is something few remember outside prone regions.
To live, however, is to need to build.
Architecture needs vary depending on the exact area of Sárezket one lives in, but invariably, it will need to survive earthquakes. Deep stone foundations are generally used for this, with wood generally being the material of choice for the rest of the building.
Why wood? Well, if a wooden roof collapses, it is easy enough to rebuild. If a stone roof collapses, it is much harder to fix - and far more deadly to those inside.
Most settlements can be found in slightly raised areas of Sárezket or near fertile rivers. Few are along the southern coast itself, but those that do still stand there are some of the most well-built and well-defended in all Hvalgora.

Taiga Snows by Hanhula (via Midjourney)