The Cracked Plains

The Plains are a vast expanse of flat land on a peninsula extending east out of the continent of Volgruth. The peninsula's western border are the impassable Azgaz mountains, with one road leading in and out. Because all trade in and out of Deth-Tamen comes by way of this road or across the tumultuous seas, the city of Gannorran which lies upon it has grown extremely rich. The city is located on the slopes of the mountain which is home to the pass, with towering structures on all sides, sometimes carved into the sides of the mountain. Bridges span from building to building, with cable cars used as transportation to avoid the lengthy treks up and down the slopes. The main road carves its way through the very centre of the city from the western to the eastern gate, the only two entrances the city has. Four spires dominate the city's skyline, each located in one of its four main districts and each home to one of the city's ruling orders of Magi, these are the Ul-Gath, Ser-Gath, Jol-Gath, and Volkoth-Gath. Each order specializes in a type of magic and their constant struggle for more seats in the city's Hall of Dominion impacts much of the inhabitants' daily lives.
The Plains were not always flat, but the powerful spells used by the different warring factions around the peninsula have leveled it completely and caused massive crevasses and more minor cracks to appear all across it. Due to this, the interior of the peninsula is mostly uninhabited, with the exception of some smaller states still holding out in a few places.
The southern coast of Deth-Tamen is mostly under the control of the Brez-Gelag Empire, but the ever-shifting maze of allegiances and declarations of war make the Empire one of the most volatile areas of the already volatile region. The eastern coast is controlled by various kingdoms and city-states, with the city of Kuz-Gid at the very tip of the peninsula. Kuz-Gid is considered the second richest city on the Cracked Plains, following Gannorran. The road from one city to the other is patrolled relentlessly and remains one of the few ways to cross the Plains relatively safely. The northern coast of Deth-Tamen is home to the remaining kingdoms and city-states on the sub-continent. Two new colonies of the ever-warring Aarakockra and Sea-Goblin Empires have also recently been established on the northern shore.

The climate of the area is cold, almost sub-arctic, but the magical emissions and cracks in the surface of the world have made the peninsula quite hot, with strange weather patterns. Neverending rain gives way to punishing droughts seemingly overnight and dust storms often fly in from the hotter centre of the peninsula. The cold ocean that surrounds it brings freezing rain and snow which sometimes clashes with the dust storms, creating tornados of snow, ice, and sand.

The Deth-Tamen peninsula was not always a war-ravaged land but that changed when the First Empire was established. The Empire, hailing from the city of Korkollun, conquered the whole sub-continent and ushered in a golden age of the science of magic. Different orders of Magi were established in cities all across it, and magic and technology flourished and advanced to unprecedented levels. Weapons were developed, but also vehicles, machines for production, farming implements, and much more. The Empire traded with the world, sharing its technology and establishing itself as the first global superpower. However, one of its Emperors, Erezon the Third, was a religious sort.
The lands of Deth-Tamen had always worshiped the Devils of the Nine Hells and believed them the ultimate power in any Plane. A simplified form of Infernal was widespread, and one of the Empire's official languages, but the Temple of the Lords preached that no Devil should be contacted, except by high enough members of the faith. They knew that dealing with Devils brought great rewards but was also a great risk. Erezon decided he, as the head of state, was the only authority who should deal with the Hells and contacted the Lord of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus. Asmodeus drove him insane and led him to begin the Endless War, which lasts to this day.
The magical technology of the Empire is the reason for the destruction of the Plains, and while its development is by no means as fast as it was during the golden age, the Magi still study and develop it.