Downfall

The Downfall, also known as Untergang (german) or the Sunken Quarter is a small, recently formed geological oddity located in-between Germany, Kazakhstan and the Soviet Union. Most of it's surface area takes up Russian soil, though a bit of territory is taken up by other countries, most notably Kazakhstan.

## History of the Downfall's Creation

After the bombing of Dresden in late 1945. and the following geological cascade that had split the Eurasian plate into two, a huge fragment of the plate had formed on the fault line. Due to the current rapid geological activity, this fragment was pushed downwards into the ground, sinking a few hundred meters into the ground before further splitting down the middle, thus creating what would become the Great Cliff. During the war, there had been many powerful earthquakes that occurred as the fragment sank, though the most severe ones happened in 11.2.1946. (average elevation dropped to sea level), 5.27.1949. (average elevation violently dropped to -5400) and 11.10.1949. (average elevation dropped -5700). The plate, now named the Downfall, had slowly settled into place with it's general elevation being about 6700-7200 lower than where it was a few years ago.

Just as the Low Divide, the Downfall is a part of the Grand Fracture which it had formed from. The Downfall's climate is very diverse due to the huge difference in it's air pressure and elevation. For example, the outskirts of the Downfall cast a massive shadow over a large area beneath them for many hours each day, leaving the area surrounding the tall cliffs very cold year-round. Besides this, Airflow caused by denser air wanting to settle at low altitudes creates many phenomena such as bizarre cloud meshes, expansive walls of fog a huge, mostly stationary hurricane that annually forms and disappears. The Downfall also has an ecosystem unlike the one that can be found in the outside world due to the effects of the renaissance extract during Neustarten and the varied climate mentioned above. The Downfall also includes many varying biomes that have highly varying geological and ecological features.

Since 1964. the Downfall is mostly controlled by the factions of the Unity of Broadheart though many lawless groups and smaller companies are still separate entities, most notable of which is the pseudo-country of Chainsail that is in near constaint unease with the Broadheart's companies, that tend to lead to smaller scale wars.

Due to the Downfall being quarantined by the Surface and it's star fortress assembly ever since the discovery of the renassiance extract's risk to humans in 1963. the people of the Downfall have created a diverse culture that varies from region to region. Through the sunken quarter you may find different traditions, cuisine and varying changes that occurred to local languages over the relatively short period of time. The belief in Fen is notably very prominent in the Quarter.

## Trivia

* Due to the low elevation of the Downfall all the form C that was deployed during the Neustarten had all pooled up causing the sunken quarter to go through the strongest of rapid ecosystem changes in a short span from 1959 to late 1962.
* in the Downfall air is twice as dense. Besides an initial discomfort when breathing such dense air, a heightened risk of getting multiple chronic diseases while young, and narcosis kicking in quicker when breathing diving gasses, Water also boils at about 120°C, meaning that following cooking instructions for most pasta will leave it overcooked.
* A decent bit of the Downfall's rivers, lakes and creeks are salty, due to the inflow of seawater from the Ob Barrier.
* In the earliest iterations of Outskirts the setting was called the Uprising and it was the polar opposite of the Downfall, as it stretched out of the ground like a strange several kilometer tall highland.
* the Sunken quarter was a name that if i recall correctly was made up by Atris Hayport, who also named most of the god eyes of the star prison.