The Black

Amid the northeastern Wastelands, there is an area that encompasses every negative trait a landscape can have.  For an area that is estimated to be roughly 50 miles radius, there is nothing but a charred, naked landscape.  NOTHING natural lives in this terrain.  No trees, shrubs, weeds, birds, lizards, snakes, insects, or any other natural predator (or prey) makes this area their home.  Any natural creature that enters the area will, over a series of days contract The Creep.   The Creep is a decaying process and is unstoppable.  Once it's started, it's not a matter of when a person dies, but how long.  The longer a person remains in this area, the faster the spread.  Additionally, this decay is transferrable.  Any flesh that touches the decay will begin to decay as well.  It has been known to be cured by magical means from clerics of the Light but most instances of the black result in a quick death and burning by anyone local.  They will take no chances.  Early ignorant survivors killed several small villages before they realized what was going on.   Additionally, the area is absent of magic.  Not just absent, but the area absorbs magic.  Mages are useless in the area.  Magical potions, scrolls, armor, weapons all lose their enchantments upon entering the area.  Magical creatures that rely on magic to live will die upon entering the area.   While nothing living survives in the area, there have been encounters with long dead beings that now hunt the area.  Anything caught in the radius of the after effects seem to have been given a new 'lease' on the afterlife.  This is also unfortunate, as Xandu's castle is rumored to have been in the void.  Trying to verify those accounts are foolhardy without a very, VERY fortified group.  A few experienced groups have surveyed a little of the area briefly, but have found nothing worthy of further exploration and additional attempts have not been supported.   It is rumored that the area was created when Xandu was banished by the champions centuries ago.  The more superstitious theorize the area was cursed by Xandu as his parting 'gift' to the world.  Scholars conclude that the power needed to banish Xandu consumed all magic and life force from the area, and that the resulting effects are simply nature's way of trying to restore the balance.   This area is known as many things among many different people.  Some call it the null, the void, the badlands, but to most, it's simply called "The Black".