Crawling Marshes

The crawling marshes cover most of the riverside between Montelume and Lorelume. More or less 10 kilometers wide across the land and extending more than 200 kilometers counterlight - that is, moving away from the light on the horizon - it is named so because of the multitude of insects swarming the available ground. It consists mostly of cool and damp lands, with no trees able to grow there except for some small shrubberies of moss dotting the monotonous and flat landscape. The panorama will, from time to time, bear some crimson red shrubs in which smaller mammals will often nest and seek shelter. Their thick mossy-like walls are perfect for protection against marsh-wandering predators. Most of the land will flood and replenish empty waterholes when the moon is high, and over the course of the rest of the moon cycle, water holes will gradually drain over a moon cycle. The marsh sits just above the river’s basin, causing all moon-cycle floodwater to slowly drain toward it. Despite the fresh climate, the moon-flooded waters are reasonably warm since they flow directly from the sacred lakes, touched by Light's hand, sustaining several hardy amphibious predators that will go into dormancy when the light fades too much after a half light cycle (six moon cycles).

Deep burgundy moss, commonly known as blood moss, covers most of the ground over this extended area, and it is often possible to happen upon an abandoned insect colony, where only animal remains cover the deeper part, becoming new fertile ground for future blood moss. They most often grow where previous animals died, creating bigger shrubberies, sometimes as big as a whole carriage. It has strong medicinal purposes for curing rough fevers.

The crawlers, various insects populating most of the wetlands and earning it its name, are most active during the low moon and have various body structures amongst their members. The only similar feature between them is two pairs of pincers, one pair for interlocking with each other, and another, bigger and stronger pair of pincers to easily gnaw through flesh. They have a multi-jointed body, and their size can range from a single thumb-length to as long as a hand. Acting as a hive mind, they mostly use their smaller pair of pincers to articulate the complex structures between members of the colony to form a unified whole. They each possess the same light blue to dark blue light-reflecting shell. Their interlocked outer plates overlap into a continuous, flexible membrane capable of reflecting light like a shallow water surface.

At times during their peak of activity, that is, mostly when the moon is low, these swarms of insects will coalesce into what might seem like patches of water with pale blue hues of seemingly reflected light, mimicking the ebb and flow of water. Careless animals and birds often mistake these spots for fresh water spots until it is too late and the swarm grapples them and brings them to their gruesome death. Many a rookie Trader has also lost their lives while thinking they could refill their water flasks at one of these fake water spots.

Gigantic scavenger birds, aptly named Bonegrinders, cover this huge area in search of wounded mammals and fresh bone pits on which to feast. They range from two meters to sometimes five meters of wingspan and have dangerous claws able to pierce most armor, which they use to pierce bones and skulls. On their back are dark feathers, and on their belly deep blue ones, to easily camouflage them while they glide stealthily over the marshes. They are most present when a complete light cycle, equivalent to 12 moon cycles, starts again, and the migrating animals come back with the warmer climate. Most of them will leave and follow for a short time when they continue their migration after three moon cycles. A few of them that stay behind are the weakest members of the species, the smaller ones, and will stay behind to try and feast on the processed remains of bone pits and the occasional pale stalker.

The most frequent predators are packs of pale stalkers, four-legged mammals resembling dogs, but with a much smaller backside and a bigger and larger front part, culminating with a head and jaw big enough to crush the whole skull of a man easily. They are recognizable by their dark fur with streaks of pale resembling different bone parts and skeletal structures. They dig shallow depressions or wallow in soft mud, letting their pale streak patterns simulate scattered bones half-buried in muck. They will often lie on the ground, in a pack, to look like a bone pit for flying predators, and will jump as a group to devour the unlucky bonegrinder.

To wander too long in the crawling marshes invites death, so it is quicker to cut across it and enter the more inland Iridescent Forest on the other side of it than to linger in this place. Many an aspiring Trader, in search of adventure, has lost their lives or been so terrified by this obligatory leg of the way between Montelume and Lorelume, that they never set foot again outside of the ome's blissful safety.

Reaching this place is often the most vivid first experience of a rookie Trader's first outing as the blood-like colors of the land, the pits of swarming insects, the permeating strong scent of sulfur, from the slow rotting organic matter in black mud, and the gigantic scavenger birds scouring the horizon often bring instant regret to the person witnessing this wet and unforgiving hell. Even if this patch of land is reasonably dangerous, going around means a multi-week detour through worse lands. The less time you spend in the Twilight Lands, the better the survival chances for people born in the domes. Nomads generally avoid these wet marshlands but will occasionally go on the outskirts to gather the bloodmoss, since it has medicinal purposes. They will also gather some peat, a dense compaction of decomposing organic material, from the marshes to smoke their food and maintain their fires.