The Deadlands

"The Deadlands" is a blanket term for all of the lands outside of a Sanctuary zone, where death runs the risk of being permanent. Due to this it is now almost completely wilderness, despite many areas previously being inhabited by multiple people groups.
Even if death in the Deadlands does not result in permanent death, it is almost guaranteed to result in soullessness unless immediate steps are taken. 
A number of dangerous creatures alien to the Sanctuary zones may be found in the Deadlands. The Deadlands is also where a number of necropolises have been built to contain the soulless.

Localized Phenomena

In the Deadlands, Star Shrines that were once a functioning part of the Sanctuary system may still restore the dead to life, but sapient creatures return without their souls. Non-sapient creatures that have been devoured or that have had their bodies completely destroyed may not return at all.

History

Some academics believe that the Deadlands may not have existed at all prior to the Sundering, or at the very least that they occupied far smaller and more isolated patches of land. There is also a common knowledge that the currently isolated Sanctuary zones were once linked to each other across stretches that are now too dangerous to travel across casually.
During and after the event known as the Sundering, the Deadlands expanded dramatically, taking over large swaths of land and cutting between what are now known as the Sanctuary zones, isolating them from each other.
Early on, attempts were made to investigate the cause of this expansion, but each excursion cost so many lives that further efforts were deemed too dangerous to continue.
Most of the settlements that previously existed in what had become the Deadlands were abandoned to nature. Only a handful still exist, and that only out of necessity.

Alternative Name(s)

The Death Zone, Soullessville

Type

Region

Included Locations

• Byrock
• River Tirvidae

Inhabiting Species

• Djourni Beasts