Hot Lands

The Hot Lands are a continen in the southern hemisphere of Aebrirea. The Hot Lands are characterized by mountainous terrain and high volcanic activity. It is bordered by the Sea of Lights in the east, the Fire Sea in the west and the Great White Water in the south. The Hot Lands are the homelands of the Myridna. Large populations of Humans, Baólians and Druyul also inhabit the continent.

Due to the invention of agriculture, animal husbandry, metalworking and urbanization in the Hot Lands, it is sometimes known as the Midwife of Civilization. The Hot Lands is the most densely populated continent on Aebrirea.

## Continent

### Inhabitants

Myridna, Humans, Baólians, Druyul, others

## Geography

The Hot Lands encompass some 5 million square miles (or 13 million square kilometres). Much of this land area is foothills, mountains, volcanic plateaus and barren highland moors. The eastern side of the Hot Lands is dominantly hills and grassland. The south-west of the continent hosts greater forest cover. The interior of the continent is dominated by the massive range of the Great Vatumaka Mountains or Torchspine Mountains.

The bedrock of the continent is exceptionally rich in valuable ore and stone. Volcanic ash in the soil has left it highly fertile in many areas as well.

### Climate

The Hot Lands enjoys a mixture of alpine, semi-arid, oceanic and subtropical climates. The continent grows both colder and drier as one travels from north to south. Volcanic heat and magma channels bring greater warmth to many regions of the Hot Lands than normal. Summer rainfall is heavy, with summer storms often coming with typhoon strength from the volcanic Fire Sea.

## Political

The Hot Lands hold several established states and hundreds of independent tribes, clans, nomadic bands and other non-state polities. The Myridna are the dominant species of the continent, with great influence also resting on Humans, Baólians and Druyul.

### Mountain Kingdom

*See also: Mountain Kingdom*

The mountaineous interior of the Hot Lands is ruled by the Mountain Kingdom. Its power also extends to parts of the eastern lowlands and the south-west. This feudal realm is made up of hundreds of fiefs, temples and fortresses with their own lords or high priests, each answering to the Mountain King at Ironmount, the royal capital. Though vassals have strong autonomy, the supremacy of the King is unquestioned and no serious threats exist to the royal house's rule.

### Federation Successors

*See also: Federation of Horns*

The eastern lowlands are politically fragmented under the so-called Inheritor Cities, the successor polities to the Federation of Horns. The Federation was a strong league of clans led by the Mihoza family, but its centuries of existence came to a *de facto* end in the aftermath of the First Draghai Invasion. The Federation still exists on paper, with its titles, laws and fragments of its bureaucracy still in place - but there is no central government or unity. These successor states tend to be simple autocracies or oligarchies ruled by a noble elite. Aside from local rulers, important political forces include martial chapters of Hrududu riders and the elite Dawn Guard.

### Iron Principality

*See also: Iron Principality*

The north-west of the continent is held by the Iron Principality of Kerong-Jast of the Draghai Druyul. This principality is a semi-autonomous fiefdom of the greater Empire, ruled by Kerong-Jast with the blessing of his divine brother. It was forged in conquest, with the human, Baólian and Myridna peoples of the region brought forcefully under Draghai rule. Many of these peoples were pressed into slavery and put to work for Kerong-Jast's Druyul or shipped to replace lost slaves on the mainland. All political power rests in the hands of the Draghai military elite. Resistance is put down with extreme measures.

### Other

Emblatha is an influential human city-state in the south-eastern Hot Lands. It balances between the powers of the continent, trusting in its diplomatic influence, great walls and vast population to keep them away. Emblatha stood side by side with the Federation in the First Draghai Invasion, but has not rekindled an alliance with any of its successor states. Emblatha is governed by the Council of Regents, an assembly made up of high priests, powerful merchants, military leaders and guild-masters. Officially, it merely governs on behalf of Mother Embla and awaits her return.

Independent tribes, clans and bands of Humans, Myridna and Baólians inhabit the rest of the continent. Some are nomadic or semi-nomadic and may cross into foreign territories on their migrations; others are settled, with small polities scattered around the coasts. They may have pacts or alliances with other powers, though some are isolationist and hostile to outsiders. The social and political organization of such groups varies greatly.

## Ecology

The Hot Lands is a diverse continent shaped in complex ways by natural processes, mortal development and the hand of the Makers. Over the centuries, generations of flora and fauna have evolved and competed in myriad forms over its surface. Most Hot Lands organisms have evolved survival strategies for its frequent wildfires and volcanic eruptions, from burrowing, heat resistance, migration and amphibious nature.

Volcanic flora are divinely shaped plants native to the Hot Lands that can endure heat and magma and indeed use them to thrive and spread. They flourish in the aftermath of eruptions and even inside volcanoes.

### Northern Hot Lands

The northern Hot Lands from Ashen Sound to the Slime Coast are characterized by subtropical rainforest, grassland and mountain areas. The Lesser Spine of the Vatumaka Mountains rises south through this region to join the higher interior range. It shelters many riverlands and volcanic valleys of splendid beauty and diversity, including the Valley of Glacis. Rich fish and cetacean populations thrive in the Sea of Sails and the outer Fire Sea. The Kelpwild Gap, a shallow strait between the Hot Lands and Western Arka, is known for its vast subsurface kelp forests and vibrant marine life.

#### Fauna

The rich flora of the region sustains countless pollinating insects from the humble bumblebee to the venomous lion wasp. They are in turn fed on by insectivores, which include many birds, ungulates, reptiles and other creatures.

Prominent primary species include Hrududu, Nym-Haggis, yaks, river buffalo, falchion birds, cassowaries, shearbeaks, bastion turtles, tusked boars and landfish. Mineravores such as Iktai and pebblefish as well as magovores such as Hikanophs can also be found in the region. Slimes are a common species, especially on the eponymous Slime Coast. Wyverns are apex predators on land and sea, with sea-diving cliff wyverns especially numerous. Major predators also include leopards, teratorns, mountain lions, leaper cats, howler birds, strangler serpents, winnows and goliath eagles.

Marine animals include cetaceans such as fireback whales, hooved whales and dolphins. Freshwater and saltwater fish are plentiful. Amphibious species such as K'orlannsch, water birds, silt cats and myriad reptiles thrive in coastal and freshwater areas.

#### Flora

Broadleaf trees make up most of the arboreal cover of the region. Scorchsap trees, a subset of volcanic flora, are a notable local species known for its incendiary and corrosive sap. Shrubs, grass, flowers and fungi flourish in the grasslands and rainforests.

### Western Hot Lands

The western or southwestern Hot Lands stretch from Ashen Sound to Leviathan Bay. These windy and sea-lashed lands are covered almost entirely in forest, swamp and craggy woodlands. The region is characterized by its rough terrain, poor soil and frequent wildfires. Another name for the area is **the Fir Sea,** owing to its thick canopy of coniferous trees. The soil is drained by the tree growth until a wildfire sweeps them clear and fertilizes the land anew, giving birth to another explosion of growth. Wetlands, replenished and flooded often by frequent storms, help form firebreaks against these infernoes.

#### Fauna

The region's rich growth offers shelter to many species. Keystone primary species include deer, blacktongue goats, forest yak, tusked boars, beehemoths and shearbeaks for larger animals and peccaries, bush pigs, landfish, seeder birds, elemental salamanders, glider lizards, bull skinks for smaller animals. They are preyed on by a variety of beasts; fir wyverns, well-adapted to the area, are an undisputed apex predator. Other prominent predators include great white boars, teratorns, leaper cats, death's-head owls, manuls, digger cats, falcons and ballista wasps. Honey produced by the native golden bee is prized as a delicacy by both local beasts and sentients.

Marine life includes a wide variety of cetaceans and fish. Leviathan Bay is notable for hosting a population of Leviathans adapted to shallower waters, feeding off a rich thermal vent at its base. K'orlannsch are common and an important keystone species. Seabirds have rich pickings off the waters and nest on the coast in great numbers - as do populations of deep-diving cliff wyverns and tireless salt wyverns, for which the western coast is known as the Wyvern Coast.

#### Flora

The region is home to a great variety of coniferous trees, but it is the pale-needled mithril fir that stands high above the rest in its forests and offers a nesting place in its canopy for the fir wyvern. Beneath the thick canopy are flourishing fungi, moss, flowers and plants of various kinds. This underbrush is rich in berries and mushrooms. Much of the flora in the southwest grows very rapidly and can shelter roots, seeds or spores in moist soil, all the better to survive and recover from wildfires.

### Central Hot Lands

The central Hot Lands are almost entirely taken up by the Vatumaka mountain range, which fills the interior of the continent. These high alpine peaks with their deep gorges, steep-sided river valleys and hundreds of volcanoes, geysers and hot springs form a difficult and unique environment. The region is almost entirely lacking in trees both from natural development and deforestation brought on by the Highland Myridna.

#### Fauna

The central Hot Lands are the realm of those with wings and those who can climb. All major predators are flying creatures, of which the wyvern is the most prominent. It rules over various teratorns, giant eagles, hookwings and raptors of different stripes. On the edges of the region, beasts such as snow leopards and mountain lions join the fray. They prey on a variety of smaller birds, domesticated animals, goats and sheep, mountain yaks, lizards and fish from the lakes and rivers. The diminutive rock dolphin is found in some rivers in the region, the smallest cetacean in existence at an average of half a metre long.

Iktai are everywhere in the mountains. The tunnels they leave behind and the collapses they can cause on the surface are swiftly colonized by various smaller lifeforms, from fungal growths to tiny blind cavern cats. Unlike mundane beasts, they have no tendency to avoid settlements and groups of mortal folk - death by Iktai-caused collapse accounts for a significant number of highlanders every year.

#### Flora

The heights are fairly barren, with hardy mountain shrub and grasses triumphant. Small copses of trees remain in the valleys and in secluded gorges, but most of the region's tree cover has long since been cut down for fuel. The central Hot Lands are also known for the splendor of their high mountain meadows, colonized by hundreds of different flowers in radiant colors.

Wild-grown Entangled Wreathes can be found in the region, connecting to the greater Wreathways. For this reason, they are pruned by the royal gardeners whenever discovered.

### Eastern Hot Lands

The eastern Hot Lands correspond roughly to the lands of the Federation of Horns and Emblatha. The region begins where the mountains of the interior turn into gentle hills and fertile plains. In the north, it terminates at the Kahelawe Mountains, in the south at the end of the Morning Coast. Its eastern terminus is in the rough, broken shore of the Sea of Lights. The region enjoys a temperate oceanic climate with ample rainfall, mild winters and cool summers. It is the most intensely cultivated and developed region of the Hot Lands, with little in the way of true forests. Hundreds of small and large geysers and hot springs dot the region.

#### Fauna

Hrududu and Nym-Haggis are by far the most populous species in the eastern Hot Lands. Their herds shape the landscape with their grazing and their trampling passage. Other livestock animals such as yaks, cassowaries, shearbeaks, pigs, sheep and goats are also present in large numbers. Pollinators such as bees and seeder birds are vital and many. Wild and feral populations of these animals are common. Deer, landfish, rhea, boars, maned horses and many smaller bird species are also common. Seabirds are present in large numbers on the coast. Slimes play important roles in the ecosystem. They are preyed upon by cliff wyverns, birds of prey such as the goliath eagle, lions, strangler serpents, crimson storks, leaper cats and others.

Fish are plentiful in the waters off the coast, supporting a rich ecosystem. K'orlannsch, cetaceans such as the hooved whale and many species of coral form the backbone of this complex network. Predators include orcas, bearded sharks, many species of seabirds including the enormous whaler bird and the amphibious diving silt cat. Freshwater species include various ducks, geese, herons, river dolphins and smelter eels.

#### Flora

Much of the region is cultivated with rice, millet and other staple crops; wild breeds of these plants are also common. Volcanic peppers and other volcanic flora are common nearer to the mountains. Broadleaf trees, flowers, grass species, fungal growths and kelp are important species of flora.

### South-Eastern Hot Lands

The southeastern Hot Lands from Leviathan Bay to the Farstrider Sea have markedly less rainfall and colder temperatures all year round than most of the rest of the continent. Shrublands, highland moors and semi-desert terrain dominate. Mahaka Island, just off the tip of the continent, hosts rocky deserts and receives rain only in the summer typhoons. Nevertheless, it shelters a robust ecology of hardy flora and fauna at home in the arid climate.

#### Fauna

Keystone primary species in the southeast include Hrududu and Nym-Haggis, mountain yaks, blacktongue goats, woolly rheas and eldersheep for large herbivores and bush pigs, seeder birds, meadowcats and red geckoes for smaller herbivores. The semi-arid and desert regions of the southern end of the region lack for large prey animals save for nomadic dwarf elephants. Prominent large predators include wyverns, snow leopards, great white boars, teratorns and sand crocodiles. Smaller notable predators include eagles, manuls, sweltertails, caracals, runner birds, gila monsters and elemental salamanders.

Marine life off the southern coast includes large cetaceans such as the iceberg whale, which moves with floating ice for concealment, and orca, as well as many species of fish including several successful sharks and smaller cetaceans. K'orlannsch are a vital marine and coastal keystone species. In coastal and inland waters, prominent species include cave crocodiles, fangfish, catamaran birds and swimmer bees.

#### Flora

Highland shrubs and grasses blanket the northern slopes and hillsides. The rich forests that once occupied the region have been culled over the centuries by grazers and mortal hands, leaving only pockets of woodland in their wake. Sparse woods of mixed coniferous and broadlead form a transitional belt between the region and the southwestern Hot Lands. In the far south, dominant plants are thorny bushes, agave, saguaro and desert ironwood. The volcanic ember palm is notable for thriving in total absence of water, growing stronger the hotter it gets. The volcanic valley of Saketama has the honor of hosting a thick jungle made up almost entirely of ember palm fed on the magma channels underneath and coating the bowl-like depression in lethal heat.