Whispering Marshes

The Whispering Marshes, as they have been known for centuries, are more of a bog than a swamp. A wide swath of land full of stagnant water and unstable soil that is a haven for mosquitoes. Trees are basically nonexistent, as their roots can’t handle being entirely submerged, and there’s not enough soil for them to cling onto.
The Whispering Marshes have long had an unfavorable reputation. Many rumors have been passed down about the unsavory things that happen there. And, like many things, the unknown is a breeding ground for fear and distrust.
But, the Whispering Marshes’ reputation was actually well earned.
Many that had attempted to transverse the mire had been lost, and never to be seen again. Even in the early days. Entire groups had suddenly disappeared. With only a few survivors, reportedly, making it out blabbering tales of the swamp itself eating their compatriots.
After enough dedicated study, it was discovered that no malicious force was truly at work. That the likely culprit had to do with travelers’ ignorance of the bogs many peculiarities. The worst of which is its massively unstable ‘ground’ as it is so water saturated. Indeed. Some areas that look like solid ground because of their low growing tightly connected plants, with their dry mossy foundations, were actually floating peat islands. You could walk along, thinking you’re heading across a path of solid ground, then suddenly step on the peat island and fall right through into the water. To make matters worse, those falling in would, if it was deep enough, have a problem trying to break back to the surface as the plant life would block out any light from the hole they made, assuming they’d be able to see anything at all in the murky water to begin with.
With enough care, guides were able to pick trails through the bogs using poles and prodding along the entire way. After a while they managed to mark these paths, and caravans were able to transverse it if they paid enough care. Although the paths were windy and subject to change after large storms came through. After the Archano Tech revolution, and the advent of the Sky Chariot , the paths fell into disuse as they were simply too annoying and troublesome to keep up with. Not to mention dangerous.
But, even without all of that, there were still tales of super natural or magical forces at play in the swamps. Lights glowing in the distance. Voices heard in the wind of loved ones. All trying to lure them off the path. Though the stories persisted, there was never any way of actually proving their existences.
But enough people fell victim to it, with befuddled comrades able to do nothing but watch in horror as their traveling companions seemingly committed suicide by walking into the murky water and disappearing under the surface, that the warnings and stories persisted despite any assurances by official research.
Since the war, the tales have grown, and the dangers have increased many fold.
Mutated creatures, tainted by Nectomantic laced Primordial magics, and other magical feedback, stalk the swamps with impunity. The tales of floating lights and “Wisps” leading travelers through the fog, only to be leading them to their death, have grown such that people have simply stopped trying to pass through anymore.
Despite the progress that has been made during the reclamation period, no one has managed to cross the Whispering Marshes successfully in the last decade. Not a single soul that’s stepped foot in the bog has been heard of since. The ones that had managed to escape, before the Marsh had perfected its net of death a decade before, increasingly talked about large monsters able to hew a man in half with a single swing and phantasms that seemed to have unbreakable charms at their disposal.
Finally, the malicious intent had been confirmed.

Geography

It’s along the southern boarder of the allied races country, with the Bad Lands flanking it to the west and its eastern side eventually connecting to the coast of the Crystal Sea. Making yet another obstacle for anyone attempting to travel to the southern countries over land.

Fauna & Flora

The marsh lands that make up the Whispering Marsh have been an inhospitable land to sentient races since time immemorial. But lesser creatures didn’t seem to run into the same problems. Thus the marsh was teeming with as much life as any other marshland would. Insects like mosquitoes have such high dense populations, on a per capita basis they beat out even the most built up metropolises of sentient peoples many fold.
Given its inhospitable nature to sentient races, any efforts to settle or develop the land had, and have, been entirely avoided. Not even for paved roads. Thus the wildlife has been free to roam and develop unhindered by sentient race intrusions within their little marshy sanctuary. As for the plants in the area, they are limited to ones that can handle having their roots submerged constantly. Swamp grasses grow to such heights that they make practical mazes through the Whispering Marshes. Other plants have developed that can grow on clusters of floating dead matter, creating floating peat islands.
But, since the End Days war, other creatures have arisen to dominance. And they are even less hospitable to sentient races. Many of them have been twisted through contaminations of after effects from the Archano-Tech and Primal-Magics weapon detonations. The wild torrent has had unpredictable effects on the wildlife. And, in some cases, has created some true monsters worthy of the fear the bog already had the reputation for.

Alternative Name(s)

Death Marshes, Dead Lands

Type

Wetland / Swamp