Dunia
This planet has come to be known as Dunia by its inhabitants, a direct translation would be 'lower or lowest' from its original language, Khar-Kushak, but is understood as referring to 'the present world upon which we reside'. Her lands have been drastically altered by a destructive magical event described in Common as The Cataclysm, for lack of a better word or phrase to describe it. Some believed it to be the work of mad wizards, others believed it to be an end-times event and now they're stranded, some hypothesize it was a planar collision, but there is a lot of speculation and not a lot of evidence to suggest what actually was the cause of The Cataclysm. The Cataclysm occurred at a convergent zone on Karrah, the largest continent, which is sometimes referred to as Mudira-Karrah, or The Ruined Continent in Common.
If one is from Karrah, they may say they are Min Al-Karrah.
It has been roughly two to five generations since the Cataclysm occurred, with the scars of change starting to fade with time. Some places have been rebuilt, others have been abandoned, but nothing has remained truly unchanged.
At one point before the Cataclysm, there were many nations on the planet, fresh water was abundant, and food was plentiful. Now Dunia is as hostile as it is dry. There was even a fledgling effort to colonize the larger of two moons, and for a time it seemed peace among peoples was possible despite two superpowers being locked in an arms race and proxy wars. Unfortunately, the plans were very quickly abandoned after the Cataclysm destroyed any orbital installments, leaving large fields of microdebris in orbit, and subsequently grounding any efforts to reach for the stars above. Now there remain only ruins of prior aspirations to seek the heavens. Occasionally, one can look to the sky and see a satellite or its debris returning to the planet. Old military installations are a treasure trove for adventurers seeking riches and equipment, leftovers from the arms race that preceded the Cataclysm, brimming with automated defenses, death, and the unknown. This is where wanderers, adventurers, and their ilk make their fame and fortune in the now-desolate wastelands of Dunia, crossing its vast swathes of desert in motorized, magical, or mechanical vehicles.
It is said that the gods themselves turned their backs on Dunia and cut the world off from the other planes of existence. There is no normal means of crossing the thresholds between worlds any longer. The celestial heavens and avernus are inaccessible to the dead at this point. All souls on Dunia return to Dunia in the cycle now.
Dunia has four major continents, and roughly 7-8 tectonic plates. In the middle of what once was a major ocean, there is a zone called the Hadal Rift, which is where a divergent boundary of the plates is. The four continents are Mudira-Karrah, Jazirah, Barid, and Kutib. Mudira-Karrah has a large chain of mountains that stretches from the northeastern portion, cutting through the middle of the continent and tapering off in the lower half. Across the middle of the mountain range is Ground Zero of the Cataclysm; the Khar-Kushak translation of this is roughly Nuktahat Alasil, though it is surrounded by near-permanent magic thunderstorms which only ever seem to rain on the plateau. Fog rolls in off the plateau so some try to harvest the moisture from that constant source. A massive biome spreading out from the center is what is known as The Dust: a massive barren landscape of dunes, badlands and oases. The Northernmost and Easternmost edges of the continent are host to the grasslands and some of The Last Strands, which are the few remaining forests and jungles on Mudira-Karrah, largely spared from the desertification that drastically altered 80-90% of the continent. The Southernmost bay near the Last Strands resides Erimipoli, one of the few remaining functional ports on the planet, and the largest. Underneath a vast majority of the surface of Mudira-Karrah is The Deep, a tunnel network that goes on forever. The smaller continent, Jazirah, otherwise referred to in common as the Westlands, has undergone less desertification when compared to the larger continent, due to its distance from Ground Zero of the cataclysm. It was previously separated by the ocean, but is now connected via a Coral Wastes landbridge at the southern portion. While it was spared mass desertification quite unlike Mudira-Karrah, the residual secondary shockwaves from the Cataclysm altered magic there as well, changing what was once a populous continent into a feral landscape. Most peoples migrated East to Karrah to get away from the dangers building. The hypersaline rivers that bisect the Coral Wastes landbridge are a very difficult crossing point, with mutated sealife, animals, and monsters roving the coral wastes, transformed by the Cataclysm's wild magicks. Numerous makeshift outposts dot the Coral Wastes, repurposed ocean-going vessels converted into safe harbor, some have been unfortunately stolen by giant ghost crabs that have taken it upon their bodies as armor. With desalinated water being more precious than anything else available in the region, the few water purification stations that remain are heavily guarded and armed to the teeth as trading hubs. The remaining oceanic oil rigs were converted into fortresses, no longer easily accessed aside from narrow pathways or makeshift elevators, visible from an incredible distance they resemble giant haphazard houses on stilts belching fire into the sky. All in all, crossing the landbridge is a dangerous prospect and should be planned for carefully. Traveling to Jazirah is a gamble few intentionally take. Overgrown forest regions in the interior of the continent are filled with vicious, mutant wildlife, as the veil thins between worlds in the Westlands. Wild, windswept plains stretch on for miles where predators stalk the oceans of high grass. Ancient magical artifacts are found and coveted there, but risking travel in Jazirah could mean you wind up swallowed by the world, never to be seen again. Temples to the old gods are a point of attraction for those making pilgrimage. Overgrown, abandoned cities are scattered throughout, becoming a new jungle for the wildlife and the ferals. The Southern polar region is harder to access, but the Northern cap has a land bridge that connects it to Karrah. The Northern pole is called Barid, and the Southern pole is called Kutib. One of the few new cities on Dunia is found in Barid, powered by geothermal energies and run by a technocratic society, all contained within the husk of a generational ship. Dragonborn, Dwarves and Vettir congregate in the surrounding area along the Verkoj coastline. Bands of Tenok, Goliaths, and Orcs patrol the Reykol glacier region and form hunting parties to take down monstrous beasts or unlucky folk searching for relics of the past. In the interior of the Frostlands is the Crystal Desert, a strange anomalous land littered with iridescent shapes, altered by the auroras that pass overhead. The island chain in the Hadal Rift zone is referred to as The Saghiras, and since the Cataclysm, it has become a stronghold for an oceanic group of pirates. Sekolin and Sahuagin are exceedingly common there, altered by the Cataclysm's magicks, becoming more cunning and intelligent. The two largest islands, one just west of Karrah and one just south of Karrah, are home to some of the more lush zones, but are generally very wild and diverse. The largest of the two major islands is Malabar, host to the largest temperate rainforest left on a single landmass in Dunia. Malabar is one of the singular most diverse landmasses on Dunia at this point, with its snow-capped peaks, sandy beaches, deep glacier lakes, and verdant lush valleys. Once exclusively home to a group of warrior peoples attuned to nature, Malabar is no longer solely inhabited by them, instead accompanied by numerous climate refugees that escaped Karrah. They have since fortified the coastal defenses left over from prior colonization attempts and repurposed them. The smaller island is named Malinga for its attempts to maintain sovereignty while the world was still lush and green. Its eastern edge is more of a savannah grassland at this point, and its Northwestern edge is filled with greenery on its mountainous upper edge. Attempts to modernize their cities lie in disrepair, but are still much more intact than their continental counterparts. The first moon of Dunia, and its largest, Qamar, is resultant from a large impact from an extrasolar body during the formation of the star system Dunia resides in. Qamar cooled and is closer in proximity to Dunia when compared to Earth's Luna. It is a rocky body with a large streak across its surface resultant from an ancient grazing impact from another body. Its orbit is not decaying and is very stable though one would think it should have eccentricities. Its core is still active, unlike our moon, and provides a secondary magnetic bubble. Its eclipses are much more dramatic than those of Luna. The second moon of Dunia is not actually from the star system. Its name is Chandrama. Chandrama has a very eccentric orbit and is an oblong captured super-comet's core. It's small and distant enough that it won't cast a complete shadow over a portion of the world but will cast a moving, sort of wobbling shadow. Its reflection, thanks to its rotational rate, is very inconsistent at night and can cast strange undulating shadows when it's the only moon reflecting Phoebus' starlight. Qamar's light cast from its reflection drowns out the strange, erratic behavior of Chandrama. Some animals' sleep schedules are altered by Chandrama's eccentricities, and some magic casts are stronger or weaker depending on Qamar's and Chandrama's relative positions. Phoebus is the nearest star, which Dunia orbits around and is a somewhat small G-type main sequence star that is slightly further aged in its cycle than our Sun.
Dunia has four major continents, and roughly 7-8 tectonic plates. In the middle of what once was a major ocean, there is a zone called the Hadal Rift, which is where a divergent boundary of the plates is. The four continents are Mudira-Karrah, Jazirah, Barid, and Kutib. Mudira-Karrah has a large chain of mountains that stretches from the northeastern portion, cutting through the middle of the continent and tapering off in the lower half. Across the middle of the mountain range is Ground Zero of the Cataclysm; the Khar-Kushak translation of this is roughly Nuktahat Alasil, though it is surrounded by near-permanent magic thunderstorms which only ever seem to rain on the plateau. Fog rolls in off the plateau so some try to harvest the moisture from that constant source. A massive biome spreading out from the center is what is known as The Dust: a massive barren landscape of dunes, badlands and oases. The Northernmost and Easternmost edges of the continent are host to the grasslands and some of The Last Strands, which are the few remaining forests and jungles on Mudira-Karrah, largely spared from the desertification that drastically altered 80-90% of the continent. The Southernmost bay near the Last Strands resides Erimipoli, one of the few remaining functional ports on the planet, and the largest. Underneath a vast majority of the surface of Mudira-Karrah is The Deep, a tunnel network that goes on forever. The smaller continent, Jazirah, otherwise referred to in common as the Westlands, has undergone less desertification when compared to the larger continent, due to its distance from Ground Zero of the cataclysm. It was previously separated by the ocean, but is now connected via a Coral Wastes landbridge at the southern portion. While it was spared mass desertification quite unlike Mudira-Karrah, the residual secondary shockwaves from the Cataclysm altered magic there as well, changing what was once a populous continent into a feral landscape. Most peoples migrated East to Karrah to get away from the dangers building. The hypersaline rivers that bisect the Coral Wastes landbridge are a very difficult crossing point, with mutated sealife, animals, and monsters roving the coral wastes, transformed by the Cataclysm's wild magicks. Numerous makeshift outposts dot the Coral Wastes, repurposed ocean-going vessels converted into safe harbor, some have been unfortunately stolen by giant ghost crabs that have taken it upon their bodies as armor. With desalinated water being more precious than anything else available in the region, the few water purification stations that remain are heavily guarded and armed to the teeth as trading hubs. The remaining oceanic oil rigs were converted into fortresses, no longer easily accessed aside from narrow pathways or makeshift elevators, visible from an incredible distance they resemble giant haphazard houses on stilts belching fire into the sky. All in all, crossing the landbridge is a dangerous prospect and should be planned for carefully. Traveling to Jazirah is a gamble few intentionally take. Overgrown forest regions in the interior of the continent are filled with vicious, mutant wildlife, as the veil thins between worlds in the Westlands. Wild, windswept plains stretch on for miles where predators stalk the oceans of high grass. Ancient magical artifacts are found and coveted there, but risking travel in Jazirah could mean you wind up swallowed by the world, never to be seen again. Temples to the old gods are a point of attraction for those making pilgrimage. Overgrown, abandoned cities are scattered throughout, becoming a new jungle for the wildlife and the ferals. The Southern polar region is harder to access, but the Northern cap has a land bridge that connects it to Karrah. The Northern pole is called Barid, and the Southern pole is called Kutib. One of the few new cities on Dunia is found in Barid, powered by geothermal energies and run by a technocratic society, all contained within the husk of a generational ship. Dragonborn, Dwarves and Vettir congregate in the surrounding area along the Verkoj coastline. Bands of Tenok, Goliaths, and Orcs patrol the Reykol glacier region and form hunting parties to take down monstrous beasts or unlucky folk searching for relics of the past. In the interior of the Frostlands is the Crystal Desert, a strange anomalous land littered with iridescent shapes, altered by the auroras that pass overhead. The island chain in the Hadal Rift zone is referred to as The Saghiras, and since the Cataclysm, it has become a stronghold for an oceanic group of pirates. Sekolin and Sahuagin are exceedingly common there, altered by the Cataclysm's magicks, becoming more cunning and intelligent. The two largest islands, one just west of Karrah and one just south of Karrah, are home to some of the more lush zones, but are generally very wild and diverse. The largest of the two major islands is Malabar, host to the largest temperate rainforest left on a single landmass in Dunia. Malabar is one of the singular most diverse landmasses on Dunia at this point, with its snow-capped peaks, sandy beaches, deep glacier lakes, and verdant lush valleys. Once exclusively home to a group of warrior peoples attuned to nature, Malabar is no longer solely inhabited by them, instead accompanied by numerous climate refugees that escaped Karrah. They have since fortified the coastal defenses left over from prior colonization attempts and repurposed them. The smaller island is named Malinga for its attempts to maintain sovereignty while the world was still lush and green. Its eastern edge is more of a savannah grassland at this point, and its Northwestern edge is filled with greenery on its mountainous upper edge. Attempts to modernize their cities lie in disrepair, but are still much more intact than their continental counterparts. The first moon of Dunia, and its largest, Qamar, is resultant from a large impact from an extrasolar body during the formation of the star system Dunia resides in. Qamar cooled and is closer in proximity to Dunia when compared to Earth's Luna. It is a rocky body with a large streak across its surface resultant from an ancient grazing impact from another body. Its orbit is not decaying and is very stable though one would think it should have eccentricities. Its core is still active, unlike our moon, and provides a secondary magnetic bubble. Its eclipses are much more dramatic than those of Luna. The second moon of Dunia is not actually from the star system. Its name is Chandrama. Chandrama has a very eccentric orbit and is an oblong captured super-comet's core. It's small and distant enough that it won't cast a complete shadow over a portion of the world but will cast a moving, sort of wobbling shadow. Its reflection, thanks to its rotational rate, is very inconsistent at night and can cast strange undulating shadows when it's the only moon reflecting Phoebus' starlight. Qamar's light cast from its reflection drowns out the strange, erratic behavior of Chandrama. Some animals' sleep schedules are altered by Chandrama's eccentricities, and some magic casts are stronger or weaker depending on Qamar's and Chandrama's relative positions. Phoebus is the nearest star, which Dunia orbits around and is a somewhat small G-type main sequence star that is slightly further aged in its cycle than our Sun.
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