The Hard Lands
"...the Hard Lands are notorious for the constant wind..."
The Hard Lands are a large, barren and generally sandy plain or steppe. The geography combines a number of different habitats including dunes, grasslands and scrub, moors and heaths with a few hilly and mountainous areas.
There are few streams or rivers and very little standing water in this region.
The inhabitants are centred in a few settlements quite isolated from one-another. The absence of habitation in this region means it has more than its fair share of hermits and people who want to distance themselves from civilisation.
Geography
The porous nature of the land means that there are few rivers and streams and hardly any lakes. Most running and standing water tends to be seasonal, drying out by the start of summer and not returning until mid-winter when the rains are heavier. Depending on the level of rainfall, these streams and lakes can dry up for years, only returning during particularly wet winters.
It means the Hard Lands are criss-crossed with gulleys and flat-bottomed depressions, some of which are roads and ancient sites of civilisation, and some quite natural features created by the weather.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Hard Lands are notorious for the constant wind that helps keep them such a barren place, it rarely drops to anything less than a strong gusty wind, even during the summer season.
For most of the year the weather tends to be wet, with some sort of precipitation on most days. Fog is frequent, this tends to be caused by low cloud and can cover the land at any time of day, with mornings and evenings being the most common.
The temperature generally stays between 4-12 degrees C in the colder months and 15-25 degrees C in the warmer months. For about two months after midsummer there is no rain in the Hard Lands and it is reasonably hot (approx 30 degrees C). This summer heat is usually accompanied by a constant strong southerly wind which drys out the land and withers all but the hardiest plants.
The temperature usually drops well below freezing every year for a couple of weeks around Yuletide and snow is almost guaranteed every year although it rarely stays more than a week. The constant wind causes the snow to form deep drifts, making travel even more difficult.
Whatever the temperature, the constant wind means there is always a wind chill factor which makes the Hard Lands feel colder than they look.
Climate
For most of the year, the prevailing wind is from the north, the west, or is generally north-westerly.
For around 2 months after Midsummer, a hot dry southerly wind blowing up from the Desert Neck takes over.
After the Hunters Moon the Maelstrom storms start to batter the land until Yuletide.
Fauna & Flora
Flora
Most of the Hard Lands are covered in tough grass which seems to be the only plant that can flourish in most of the wilderness. The barren landscape is dotted with the occasional stunted tree or clump of scrub.
As the elevation increases the grass gives way to heather and gorse, and the trees vanish. When the plains give way to hills and mountains most of the undergrowth disappears and even the lower slopes are devoid of cover.
It appears the constant wind and the sandy nature of the soil prevent a buildup of nutrients, despite the near-constant rain, and only in key pockets of the wilderness can you find a variety of wildlife, such as in and around the Creepy Crawly Woods.
Grasses and Shrubs
When you wander the Hard Lands, your feet will brush against more than just the sturdy marram grasses. Among the windswept plains, you'd find shrubs like the pricklebush windwhip shrub and sorrowgorse. They're thorny things, squat and stubborn, but they've learned to survive here, with their deep roots and toughened leaves.
Trees
There's a rare kind of tree dotting the horizon every now and again. Names like twisted thornwood and sandy bark pine might come up if you ask the hermits. They're not tall or grand, but in a place like this, they've got grit. Their roots go deep, holding onto life and the land.
Heathland Plants
Up in the hills, it's not just heather and gorse. You might spot the little blue moorbell or the windward fern dancing in the wind. They're small and fleeting but brighten up the land when they bloom.
Special Habitats
Every so often, in the dips and hollows, there's a bit of a surprise. These pockets, little havens from the wind, shelter plants like the delicate desert lily or the hard-to-spot dune orchid.
Creepy Crawly Woods
This place is like a world of its own. Trees with names like shadowbark and webwood tree stand crookedly, next to Oaks, Alders, Beech and Hawthorns, protecting plants below. The crawler's lace vine, for instance, weaves its way up, while the spook frond ferns sprawl out below. It's a spot of green in the beige, a little wilder and a lot more alive.
The plants here, they've got stories. Stories of deep roots and thorny defences, of brief but fiery blooms, and of holding onto life in a land that often seems like it doesn't want them. But here they are, and they've made the Hard Lands their home.
Fauna
Above ground there are few creatures that flourish in the Hard Lands apart from birds. The lack of good grazing on the landscape means only small mammals, insects and small reptiles like snakes and lizards can really sustain an existence, and to the untrained eye, the Hard Lands may seem vacant of animal life apart from the occasional small flock of birds.
Underground is somewhat different and the many caves and underground buildings that remain from times past house all manner of strange beasts or 'Fings'.
Natural Resources
Much of the plains area is barren and unsuitbale for crops or grazing, but the mountains in the Hard Lands seem to be rich with mineral deposits. Some enterprising cumminities have grown on the wealth of the precious metals and gems they have been able to mine, but the deposits are difficult to mine and all supplies of food and materials need to be imported, making any new venture an expensive enterprise.
History
In times past the Hard Lands formed an important part of a larger kingdom which has now faded into the past. The remmanents of this past can be discovered by those with sharp eyes. Often a small mound will reveal itself as the remains of an old fort, or a strighter-than-usual line of dunes may indicate an area once used for farming.
Whatever may have happened here in the past is lost to memory, and only the wisest of sages know the real history of this place.
In more recent times no-one has tried to settle here at scale or make the place their realm due to the challenges of the natural environment which makes farming so difficult nowadays.
Danger for travellers
The absence of civilisation for so many years has made the land a place of refuge for bandits and roving groups of ne'r-do-wells.
It means travel in the Hard Lands can be quite dangerous depending on the route you choose and how close you are to the infrequent settlements. Those who can afford it always travel with an armed guard, especially if they are heading up or down the Long South Trail with their trade goods.
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