Faska

**Faska** is a dark and stormy world residing in the Faskari cluster of the Reach. The home of the feared Heskra and their subservient Jorkala cousin-race, Faska has long been the center of conflict that has brewed from the covens and empires that occupied it. During the Great War, it was the capital of the Dark Star Empire and was the staging point of the Coalition's forces.

## Geography

A murky world blanketed in thick, poisonous fog, Faska is abundant in marsh lands, swampy forests, and cold, jagged mountains and deserts. Faska's sun is constantly blotted out by a thick black cloud cover over the skies, with periodic light being shown by the arcs of green lightning that surge across the skies. The air is described by offworlders as thick and heavy on the lungs, with the fog-covered areas being virtually unbreathable. Occasional acid rains will plague some areas where such fog is most dense.

The landmasses are split into three separate continents, each divided by toxic oceans:

* **Kespeth:** The smallest of the three continents, Kespeth is primarily swampy forests and river lands. Many covens call Kespeth home and have built connected cities raised above the watery floor. Others embrace the hostile wilderness, having mastered survival in the otherwise inhospitable landscape. The most noteworthy cities in Kespeth are the Three Sisters, Vikap, Dura, and Resha. These three cities are connected by wooden bridges over long distances and have a long standing alliance between their respective old covens and families.
* **Gurvat:** The largest land mass on Faska, Gurvat is a stark desert plagued by acid rain, random lightning strikes, and large carnivorous wyrms that burrow beneath the sands and devour unsuspecting travelers. Few covens live in Gurvat due to its sheer volatility, and those that do have mastered a sort of equilibrium with their harsh environment, even mastering control over the wyrms themselves. While no cities exist in Gurvat, small oasis’s do exist.
* **Tykoth:** The most inhabited of Faska’s lands, Tykoth has been effectively “conquered” by the Great Covens, allowing sprawling cities to form over the millennia thanks largely to the abundance of slaves and offworld resources. The capital of Faska, Trasoth-Nur, rests far north in Tykoth and has been the seat of the various Witch-Kings, Felkar, and Warlords for many years.

## Native Life

### Sapients

The only two sapient races on the planet that have evolved are the Magickally potent Heskra and the biologically formidable Jorkala. Because of their power and their diversity, the Heskra dominated the Jorkala and their culture, turning them into submissive slaves for their various covens, clans, and empires.

### Wildlife

Dangerous and territorial are the fauna of Faska, who prowl over the many landscapes of the stormy world in search of food.

* **Kikaran** - Resembling an octopus, kikaran have eight, beady eyes, a circular mouth ringed in sharp teeth, and barbed, powerful tendril arms used to subdue and constrict prey. They are opportunistic hunters, using their camouflaged bodies to lie in wait in the murky depths of lakes and swampy waters. They can grow to be as large as land cars and move surprisingly fast for their size. They are known to be frighteningly tenacious when it comes to the hunting of their prey, even being willing to stalk elusive targets for up to two miles before retreating back to a safe spot to watch. Fade once recalled that a kikaran chased her and her target from its lake and seemingly ran on grassy surface, pulling itself along with its tendrils before they were able to elude it.

## Vegetation

Much of the flora on Faska is poisonous to outsiders and even to the natives. The tall, spiked cochora cactuses bore seeds resembling dark apples that, when cooked, are edible to Heskra and Jorkala alike.

## Notable Heskra

* Harkan Felreave
* Karassa Felreave
* Hexa Jurusa