Charnel Steppes

The Charnel Steppes are a region of bloodsoaked flatlands lying to the north of Continent Kirron, separated from the rest of the landmass by the Qiangshan Mountains and the World Scar. They came into being when a storm conjured by Narzhak from the Lake Seidhd, commingled with his own ichor, washed over the once-barren terrain, leaving a fertile ground for the god's creations to thrive.
== Terrain and Climate ==
For the most part, the Steppes are flat, rolling plains, only broken in a few spots by a prominent range of hills and the mountainous massives at both ends, and transitioning smoothly into the Pan to the north. They are almost entirely overgrown with vegetation, although some spots remain dry and gravelly, with only a few stains of life-bearing soil. Besides the Seihdhar, they are only crossed by one major river, sluggish and murky; however, it branches out into multiple smaller streams, most of which end in swamps and stagnant lakelets. Still pools of residual diluted ichor dot the landscape at wide intervals.
The skies over the Steppes are perpetually covered in a black-reddish sanguine fog lingering after the storm. The light passing through it is deadened and gains a macabre hue; winds are entangled in its dense web and greatly enfeebled. While rain falls at fairly regular intervals, it is invariably contaminated by the grisly vapours, and harmful to life not adapted to this environment.
== Life ==
Wherever one may look in the Steppes, all is grey, red and black, and their inhabitants are no exception. Plants and animals alike have steely exteriors, whether of hide or bark, crossed by exposed, yet uncommonly resilient crimson or dark veins. Tufts and fields of grass resemble the spears of numberless hosts, sharp and hardy; thorny shrubs hunker down on hillsides as if lying in ambush; the rare trees are stout and twisted, gnarly branches swaying slightly with unnatural animation. Streams are clogged with sanguine water-weeds, which cause them to grow rank and stagnant. Voracious packs of vile savage rats roam the plains like restless waves at sea, preying on heavyset reptilian beasts and hystrices bristling with envenomed quills, and many-tusked dire hogs roll over loose rocks in search of vermiform prey.
More recently, camels and jackalopes have been introduced to the Steppe by virtue of Chopstick Eyes' long stay there. The camels, being large, tough, feisty creatures, fit right in. The jackalopes are one of the few species that won't hurt you on principle, and as such their numbers are in constant decline until freak rains water the Steppe long enough for buried jackalope-fruit to sprout into thousands of jackabunnies, some of which will make it to adulthood.