Waston, Magitech's Birthplace

Geography

Waston is a sub-tropical nation, dominated by the Spotted Woad, a massive jungle of sorts, that encompasses everything west of the Sauri Range on the continent of Wyriel. The lower coastal stretches are thick and more overgrown, giving way to hillier rainforests as one moves inland. Many rivers dominate the landscapes beneath the canopy, lifelines for both life and technology as many of Waston's largest cities are built along the larger of these rivers. The hills and western edges of the Sauri Range are vital for their mineral rich geology, these ancient mountains arguably the secret to the technological successes of the peoples whom live amongst the wildernesses here, carving out towns and cities of science and innovation amongst this vast wilderness. With massive deposits of coal, saltpeter, iron, sulfides, copper and more amongst the hills and mountain range, it is this mineral rich barrier between Waston and the massive central region of Wyriel, the Wyrie Expanse, that has made Waston what it is today.

Her geography then as one might expect, is definitely varied, but all under the dominant canopy of the jungle. Lowlands, river valleys, hill-lands, swamps/marshes, you have a wide variety here. However the stark contrast comes whenever one comes to a city or settlement. Like a large scar, the ground blackened, burned and salted, a necessity to control the jungle's natural virility, elsewise it would be a full time profession just keeping the growth trimmed reasonably back, the belching smokestacks, the metallic and stone buildings, the open sky above, the blackened and burned earth, these pockets are startling in their sudden contrast and transition, seeming almost without warning. Such is the unique nature of Waston.

Natural Resources

Waston's rich in natural resources, from timber to minerals, but perhaps the most important are the large deposits of Mithrium and Obsidian all about the highlands and Sauri Range, as well as Saltpeter and the notably plentiful, if random and small, deposits of raw manna gems that are found and stumbled upon with impressive regularity. It is these that are the foundation of both firearms technology as well as of course the most important crux of Waston's economy and worldwide prestige, as well as its internal infrastructure, magicore engines.

Localized Phenomena

Hurricanes and tropical storms are perhaps the biggest danger and natural phenomenon of note. Every year in the summer months and early autumn, also known as storm season, at least two to three such storms ride the ocean currents from the Ocean of Tears up into Wyriel, sometimes hammering into Waston's coastline. These storms bring with them massive destruction, winds capable of uprooting trees, collapsing walls, and ripping loose entire rooftops. Torrential rain can come, sometimes the winds so fierce and wild within the windstorm, tornados will form. These are only one of the dangers, the other is the storm surge, a wall of ocean water, drawn in to follow the massive storm. Capable of leaving low-lying coastal regions over a dozen feet or more under water with the harshest storms, they are devastating in their arrival, and damning in their finality. However they are rare storms and are massive, truly massive.

The peoples of Waston are well equipped for such storms however, and it is common to have waterproof self shelters beneath even houses, using combinations of magick and technology. The flooding from the storm surges is far from permanent, since the land is above sea level, the water always inevitably drains away. These storm shelters will be safe from flooding, though keeping them stocked with drinking water and canned/perserved foods and the like is the responsibility of the inhabitants in the case of private structures such as homes.

Another rarer and far more dangerous phenomenon is of course, Tsunamis. The reason its more dangerous, despite the size difference, is the lack of warning. Hurricanes create dark bands on the horizon, and if you have people in a coastal settlement who's job is horizon-tracking, which most settlements on any oceanic coast in Waston do, you will at least get some number of hours warning, if not even a whole day, or rarely even two, before a hurricane hits. Tsunamis do not afford that luxury. All that's fully understood at this time is that they are tied to earthquakes, but there is no known way at current to predict which quakes will produce a Tsunami and where it will come from, which direction. All the warning anywhere gets is a sudden dropping of the coastal water level, before a few minutes later, a wall of water that can tower up to 100 feet in size, and the sheer volume of ocean water that will smash into the coastline with such a wave will unleash a localized devastation that goes beyond words or description. Thankfully these are not even a yearly event, but they are also random, seeming without reason or forewarning and can occur any time of year.

Fauna and Flora

The trees and plant life on this side of the Sauri Range are more readily recognizable in this day and age. Trees bearing tropic fruits like Bananas, Mangoes, Papayas and more are common. However some remnant species from families like Ginkyo and Cycad manage to continue to thrive and compete with these others. The wildlife of these jungles is wide and varied. Jaguars, caiman, anacondas, they rule as apex predators, unmatched by any other in the biome, however capybara, all manner of fish, eel, turtle and frog, rodents and smaller mammals, a variety of small types of deer, as well as the elusive and solitary Longhorn, a unique member of the bison family, the only one without any social herding behavior or structure. All manner of monkeys and apes, as well as parrots and other tropical birds rule the canopy. The jungles here are teeming with insect life as well, a near constant hum part and parcel of day to day life if traveling roads and trails within the jungles of the Spotted Woad.