The Land of No Man

There are only a few places in Phytor where no soul dares to enter. It is these lands, where no man lives, which are often forgotten in time.

### The land of No Man

When the various human races moved into the lands of Phytor they divided almost all of it among themselves, leaving few places for Phytor’s original inhabitants. Although humans eventually learned to live together with the other creatures, there would be one place that would stay impassable for them. Early civilisation would call it ‘Nullesterra’, ‘Argus’ or ‘the white plains’, but the area is now most famously known as the No Man’s Land.

Little is known about the region, as only few people have seen it or set foot on its barren soil. It seems highly unlikely that any civilisation, human or otherwise, has had the will nor the opportunity to live here. But as the region marks the most southern tip of Phytor and borders two renegade states, namely Haithiki and Estrilië, it’s almost impossible to reach the area in this era. We do however possess various scripts of old describing the landscape of this far away land.

##### *Translated passage from ‘The Lands of Phytor’ by Scigo Vaspasius - 1843 BNE*

*… ‘Three days west of the Collosus, over the river of the snake, the forest of the barbarians ends. There seems to be no barrier stopping the trees, nor is there a transition of vegetation, the forest just simply ends. Behind it is a vast plain of white sand, so sharp it cuts into the sole of our sandals. There seem to grow some plants, comparable to those which can be found on the Yellow Coast, but these seem different. We’ve set camp beneath the trees near the treeline, from where we will wander the great white plain.*

*It was a calm day, the day of the expedition. The wind had died down completely in this area and we would have no protection, but our scarves, against the searing sun. But we persisted despite these hostile conditions, wondering whether here too, barbarians would live. After a quarter day of sunlight my companions urged me to return to camp as our water was already running low and the heat of the still rising sun became unbearable. Sand had cut through our sandals and with every step sliced in our feet. Reluctant to return empty-handed I myself climbed the largest dune I could find, hoping we could still discover something worth our time. Atop the white hill I was the first to see it, a gigantic river, even wider than the Meridian, splitting the white plain in half as if the continent had snapped. My companions cheered at the sight of water, but their cheers would be in vain. The riverside was as barren as the plain itself. The water was clear, but the river was empty, no plant, nor fish was to be found. And when one of my companions reached for the water with his hands, he fell back screaming. His hands were burned. The river would not be our salvation, rather it would see to the demise of many who started this journey. The walk back seemed endless, but the sun never moved from its place. One after the other collapsed from the heat. If we had helped them, we would have shared in their fate. Sight of the trees gave us the last bit of hope we needed to reach our camp. Only half of my retenue would make it back to the shade of the forest. But the most disturbing part had yet to come. According to those who stayed at camp, we had been gone for four days, but on the white plains the sun had never set. To us it was evident; No one could live in such a place, this is the land of no man.’*

##### *Translated Children's Song from Cata*

* Beyond the great nago, lay the land of white
* With death in the deeps and the sun never sleeps
* The land of white, and the sand shimmers bright
* Where no man lives and no god ever gives
* Beyond the great nago, lay the land of white
* With a river dead and the animals fled
* The land of white and the water shimmers bright
* Where nothing grows and the wind never shows
* Beyond the great nago, lay the land of white
* The land of white of the ashen man
* And of the ashen man alone