The Shifting Badlands

A Land Desperate for Hope

The Shifting Badlands is in the southeastern portion of Utican. The region as a whole is home to several kingdoms but in recent years has been plagued by the rising threat of centaur marauders. The Shifting Badlands is part desert, part rocky grasslands, and part highlands, with only a few forests to be found throughout the region. Anyone caught in the Badlands unprepared will likely perish due to the inhabitants or the land itself.

Geography

The Shifting Badlands contains rocky grasslands, deserts, and high lands. The Highlands are predominantly found on the perimeter of the region. Further into the regiomn the highlands quickly give way to rocky grasslands that eventually turn into the Balic Desert that dominates the interior of the region. Like the highlands the only forests in the Shifting Badlands exist on the border lands with other regions. The Pride Peaks are a disputed region between the Antheran Grasslands and the Shifting Badlands. Currently it is controlled by the Balic Horde and considered part of the Shifting Badlands.

History

The Shifting Badlands was originally a sparsely inhabited area home to pastoral nomadic tribes that migrate along with their livestock to the areas on the broder of the badlands where vegetation is more abundant. Prior to the arrival of the Hellena Empire, the Badlands were predominantly inhabited by Carthan Humans and Wood Elves. When the Hellena Empire arrived and conquered Utican, the native populations intermingled with the Hellenans. Notably, Orcs, Dwarves, Halflings, Leonin, and Gnomes were introduced to the Shifting Badlands. During the Hellena Empire's rule, or occupation, of the Shifting Badlands, great aquaducts were built to redirect water from the rivers that formed the natural borders of the badlands. These engineering marvels made agriculture possible for a larger number of people and many settled in one place rather than continuing their nomadic ways. Ranching and livestock were still the primary source of sustenance among the people of the Shifting Badlands, but entire communities no longer moved from place to place in order to support their livestock. When Hellena withdrew from Utican, many in the Shifting Badlands looked toward New Hellena and the city of Balmora to provide the order and infrastructure that the region had come to rely on. Unfortunately, the rulers of New Hellena cared little for the people beyond their borders. Over the centuries the infrastructure that had brought prosperity to the Shifting Badlands began to deteriorate. Efforts were made to restore the great works of the Hellena Empire but few had the knowledge and tools needed to repair and maintain critical infrastructure. Further, aqueducts, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure became popular targets in times of war when crippling an enemy's access to water could all but ensure a victory. As life became harder again in the Shifting Badlands, many migrated to the surrounding regions. Some travelled to the Unclaimed Lands and settled in the city of New Polis. Others formed communities along the slopes of the Kyrr Mountain within the domain of Kumuldor. Still others traveled west and lived in the Antheran Grasslands with the Leonin. Those that stayed formed close communities mostly along the periphery of the Badlands. In modern times the biggest threat to the people of the Shifting Badlands is the Balic Horde. The Balic Horde is a Centaur war machine that has terrorized the people of the Shifting Badlands. No one is sure where the Horde originated but most speculate that they were driven into the Shifting Badlands from their forest homes by New Hellenan forces. The marauding of the Horde has created a refugee crisis in the regions surrounding the Shifting Badlands. Most who are able to flee the Horde have, though some remain behind to fight back the Horde and reclaim the Badlands. The chief organization fighting to push back the Balic Horde is the Restoration League, a coalition of Badland inhabitants from a number of different communities.