Badlands

The **Badlands** is a district located in the far right side of the tropics. Wildclaws and Recruits populate this place. The founder of this district is Cove, who was king. Dusk is now the ruler of this district.

The Wildclaws admire Dusk, the dragon god, for bringing mischief and mayhem. They say if they didn’t make problems, then none of the Wildclaws would have been living the Badlands, head to toe with stolen riches. They think that Dusk makes bad events happen in order to bring the Wildclaws power, but not enough for them to overthrow The Royal Kingdom.

Their official symbol is three, dark red claw marks.

## Pre-Badlands

Before the Badlands, the Wildclaws used to live along the Leaflets. These lizards shared everything together, from food and water to houses and materials. The bond between them was very, very strong, even if the two colors acted differently from eachother.

The Wildclaws used to grow agriculture on them, but it was always dead and dry. The brown lizards never knew why it happened, but they continued growing agriculture on their backs anyway. Some said it was a bad omen made by Dusk, signifying that they were not meant to live in the rainforest.

The Wildclaws did not care where they slept or how they ate, as they were particularly messy and selfish lizards. Even if the animal was plagued or sick, Wildclaws still hunted it down and ate it ferociously. When they crossed a water hole, they would drink the water empty and leave no room for the other lizards. Some Wildclaws would sleep on the bare ground out of exhaustion and no care of finding a proper burrowing hole. Other Wildclaws would sleep in the bushes and pre-burrowed holes.

Wildclaws were intelligent at this time and were able to make many new weapons that the lizards had never seen before. The brown lizards would sharpen sticks, use the teeth of snakes, and craft a plank of wood and rocks together to make something that looks like a sword. It was way more efficient for the brown lizards to hunt with these weapons, so they made more to trade off for good materials.

## History

The Badlands was a dying part of Barancha Tropics. Even though it could be restored, no one was active enough to do it, so it left the area with dried-up tan plants for miles.

When districts were being made, the Wildclaws decided to stand their ground with the Leaflets and refuse the tropics to be torn down. The Royals let them be, and that left the Wildclaws and Leaflets living together for a while. Back then, the Wildclaws were called Leaflets too, and lived along with the three other colors. They too grew plants on their back, but it wasn’t colorful. They would only grow dark-colored agriculture.

It didn’t go very smoothly, as there was already a huge amount of lizards populating the place, and with the Wildclaws being added there, it was a tough squeeze. The two didn’t agree on fair terms, as Wildclaws wanted some agriculture to be cut to move more freely as the Leaflets wanted to let it stay. The Wildclaws also had a more playful attitude, running everywhere and pulling tricks while the Leaflets were more calm.

Eventually, the Wildclaws got annoyed with living with the Leaflets. They desperately wished everything would go back to normal, with every lizard living freely. To them, it felt like they were trapped in a bushy abyss, and they were only allowed to go ever so slightly until they reached another district and had to go back. Cove, one of the Wildclaws that was getting annoyed with this problem, presented a plan. They would go to The Royal Kingdom and force the king to switch everything back to normal. Of course, they didn’t know how powerful the kingdom had gotten, but they still thought it was an amazing idea. They told the Leaflets the plan and requested them to join it, but none of the leaflets wanted to. They thought the Wildclaws were going crazy. The Wildclaws bitterly left them to be as they took the trek to the kingdom.

Cove led the Wildclaws to the kingdom. He was the most confident that the plan would work, and most eager to get everything back to normal. They snuck past The Floral Palace little by little and finally got to the area of the district, with the kingdom being high in the air. They entered by elevator, stating that they were guests.

The Wildclaws split in two: One bunch would distract and attack the guards and the other bunch would go to the throne room and find the king. Cove and a few other lizards calmly entered the throne room, but as they were inside, they shut the door and pulled out swords. Cove held Indigo by his throat and whispered his demands in a rough voice while other Wildclaws circled Indigo. The king did not respond to Cove and simply hollered, making guards appear left and right. The group was tied in shackles while Indigo declared that the WIldclaws were officially banned from every district. They were thrown out of the kingdom, defeated. If they had nowhere to go, where would they live?

Cove still had ideas. He remembered the dead part of Barancha tropics and figured that it would be a plenty spot for living. They trekked back to the tropics, not turning a blind eye to the leaflets, and settled down there. They angrily ripped out every dead plant in sight and began to turn the place into a rocky wasteland. The leaves on their backs died and dried up, while rocks grew in their place. Years later, only rock formations could be found, and not a plant in sight was there. Because Cove was the lizard responsible for these plans, they decided to make him king, or ruler, of the Badlands.

## Areas

When you first enter the Badlands, you will see the great view of the many caves and rocky mountains there. Because there are few materials to make houses out of, the Wildclaws live inside of the mountains, as there were already multiple entrances to the inside, and most of these damp areas were snug and could be heavily furnished. When you go inside the main cave, it looks bigger inside, with more tunnels directing to different areas. Each of these areas either goes to tunneled homes or meeting areas to strategize plans. Only one tunnel enters the feasting area, a place that can fit every Wildclaw to eat here. This area is just one long table filled with many types of food for Wildclaws to eat away. They don’t use any plates, as they just grab anything and smash it in their mouth. All of the tunnels are circled in the middle area of the mountain. It is a long, rock pillar that Dusk, the dragon god, is carved into. There is a small golden plaque that says their name and what they do.

## Bounty Room

The tunnels leading to the areas above are reserved for the Leaders. There is a bountiful supply of riches and gold, all obtained by stealing from the other districts. In the middle of all of these riches sits one red leather chair that was stolen from The Royal Kingdom. The leader sits in this chair, having a view to the outside where other Wildclaws can praise them. The other tunnels lead to the leader’s room, and other additional rooms for family members.

## Chamber

The tunnels leading to areas underground go to the chamber. If a Wildclaw manages to kidnap a lizard, they throw them down there. It is an area deep under all the mountains with only flames being a source of light. To enter, you would need to go down a long, long line of stairs. There are many individual cells made with rusted iron and chains. The prisoners are kept in big cells and given no food. Wildclaws force them to give them answers about what their district does, or else, it results in death.

## Highgrounds

The highest mountain in the Badlands, also known as the Highgrounds, is an area used for fighting and battling. The platform is smooth and circular, and surrounding the edges are barbed fences for protection. There is a good chance you can fall, and the Wildclaws don’t mind that. If they are fighting someone for glory, they will do whatever it takes for them to die. When a battle happens, Wildclaws surround the high grounds, rooting for the Wildclaw fighting and booing at the opponent. How one of these battles happens is if an important Wildclaw wants to take revenge or get glory on one of their enemies, and to get that enemy to get to the high grounds, the Wildclaws either trick them or tie them and then transport them. There are many blood stains here, but no one cares to pick them up. This results in this area being a sharp, smelly, and filthy battling arena, with the common chance of falling and the wobbly feeling of being so high up in the air.

## Outside

Outside of the mountains, there is a path leading to a small town, having small and shabby buildings on each side. It is hidden away from the entrance of the Badlands to avoid attracting other lizards. There are small clothing stores, weapon stores, pubs, and bars. It doesn't look pleasant at all there, but Wildclaws go there in their free time to buy and have fun at these buildings. Every building smells heavily of smoke and ash and is made out of bricks.