Fernia

Among the thirteen planes of existence that orbit the Material Plane of Eberron, Fernia stands as the undisputed domain of elemental fire. Unlike the more temperate or mutable elemental realms, Fernia is a plane of absolute and unyielding combustion, a primordial forge where the very concept of heat is made manifest. From the perspective of mortal life, it is universally acknowledged as the most inherently hostile and challenging of all the elemental planes, its geography utterly inimical to conventional existence. Planar studies confirm that Fernia is not merely hot; it is heat, a boundless ocean of incandescent energy.

The Incandescent Landscape

The foundational characteristic of Fernia's geography is its pervasive and overwhelming heat, consistently described as "white-hot." Visibility is often obscured by the intense luminescence of the environment itself, creating a landscape that shimmers and radiates with an unbearable intensity. There is no 'ground' in the conventional sense that is cool or stable; every surface, every current, and every atmospheric phenomenon is a direct extension of the plane's fiery essence.

The Molten Hydrosphere

The most prominent features of Fernia's geography are its vast, dynamic bodies of liquid fire. These are not merely superheated water, but true rivers and expansive seas composed of incandescent plasma, molten rock, and streams of various metals reduced to a liquid state by the unimaginable temperatures.

• Rivers of Flame: These serpentine currents cut through the more solid formations, exhibiting all the properties of terrestrial rivers – flow, eddies, and rapids – but composed of pure, undiluted flame. Their colors vary, from blinding white and searing orange to deep, internal blues indicative of extreme temperatures.
• Seas of Molten Metal: Expanses of liquid, glowing metal, often shimmering with iridescent hues as different elements mix and react. These 'oceans' are turbulent, constantly churned by internal convection currents and the movements of elemental life. Vessels capable of navigating these seas must be constructed of exotic materials or imbued with powerful elemental wards, as conventional ships would instantly vaporize.
• Lava Flows: Slower, more viscous currents of molten rock and slag cascade over and through the landscape, forming dynamic, ever-changing deltas and shorelines. These flows often carry superheated gases and clouds of corrosive ash, further contributing to the planar hazard.

Solid Formations

While liquid fire dominates, there exist 'landmasses' within Fernia, though their composition is far from terrestrial.

• Mountains of Compacted Ash: Colossal, jagged peaks rise from the molten expanses, formed not by tectonic uplift but by the immense pressure and heat compacting aeons of elemental refuse – the burnt remnants of planar processes. These mountains are often dark and craggy, providing a stark, albeit temporary, contrast to the surrounding brilliance. They are still intensely hot, often glowing from within, and prone to sudden collapse or eruption of internal heat pockets.
• Vitrified Strata: In certain regions, the intense heat and pressure have fused layers of elemental minerals and solidified magma into dense, glass-like formations. These 'islands' or 'plateaus' offer marginally more stable footing, though they remain intensely hot and often crack or shatter under extreme thermal stress.

The Incandescent Atmosphere

The sky of Fernia is not a void but an extension of its fiery nature. It is a perpetual panorama of elemental combustion, utterly devoid of conventional atmospheric properties.

• Burning Skies: The very air is alight, a vast canopy of swirling, incandescent gases and radiant energy. There is no clear horizon, as the sky seamlessly blends into the fiery landscape below.
• Smoke and Cinder Storms: Vast clouds of superheated smoke, ash, and cinders drift and surge across the plane, often coalescing into tempestuous storms that eclipse even the plane's inherent brilliance. These storms are comprised of corrosive particulates and can scour flesh from bone with their abrasive force.
• Curtains of Flame: Across the 'sky,' monumental sheets of pure fire cascade and undulate like auroras, but with destructive intent. These are not mere visual phenomena but active, dynamic elemental forces that can annihilate anything caught within their path. They are often the manifestation of powerful elemental currents or the activity of primal fire elementals.

The City of Brass

Amidst the swirling inferno, a singular architectural marvel dominates the planar landscape. This mythical metropolis stands as the undisputed heart of Fernia and the primary domain of the efreeti, the plane's most powerful native inhabitants. Constructed largely from massive, intricately worked brass and infused with elemental fire, the city is a fortress of unmatched grandeur and resilience. It is said to float upon a colossal, unyielding sea of molten gold and brass, its immense walls and towering spires glowing with an internal heat that rivals the sun. The City of Brass serves as the efreeti capital, their seat of power, and a nexus for planar trade, albeit one conducted on their own demanding terms. Its internal geography is a labyrinth of molten canals, blazing avenues, and structures that constantly shift and reform under the will of its fiery masters.

Navigational Challenges and Survival Imperatives

Fernia's geography presents an unparalleled challenge to those who seek to explore or exploit its elemental energies. The constant, overwhelming heat demands powerful protective magic and specialized constructs. The ever-shifting landscape of molten rivers, collapsing ash mountains, and volatile atmospheric phenomena necessitates extreme caution and unparalleled planar navigation skills. Only beings intrinsically linked to the element of fire, such as the various forms of elementals, efreet, and certain highly adapted denizens, can truly endure and thrive within this crucible of creation. Fernia remains a testament to both the raw destructive and creative power of elemental fire, a realm of unparalleled danger and boundless, untamed energy.

Manifest Zones

• On the continent of Sarlona, the barren region of Borunan is dotted with manifest zones to Fernia and Shavarath.
• House Cannith sought out manifest zones to Fernia and Shavarath when looking to build new creation forges, but it has not been recorded which forges were built on which zones.
• The Fang Crater on Argonnessen was the site of a great planar incursion from Fernia. Now a field of glass and shattered rock, it remains a potent manifest zone.
• High in the ice-covered tops of the Byeshk Mountains in Droaam sits the Fantaran Hot Springs. Discovered by the Wayfinder Foundation, the hot springs sit on a manifest zone to Fernia.
• Sages say that the Fist of Onatar, an active volcano deep within the Mror Holds, is a manifest zone to Fernia.
• The active volcano Kobek's Voice in Breland is said to have a manifest zone to Fernia at its heart.
• The Volcanic Fields of Xen'drik are a manifest zone to Fernia, which inhabitants of the plane call home. Fernia manifest zones in Xen'drik result in the growth of Fernian firepeppers, a pepper coveted by chefs across Khorvaire.

Effects on the Material Plane

Coterminous

When coterminous, Fernia generates intense heat on Eberron, especially surrounding volcanoes. Air temperatures can reach as high as 140 °F, causing pain when breathed in. Existing lava or magma pools become hotter. In areas of high heat (like volcanoes or lava pools), inhabitants of Fernia can cross over into Eberron. In these areas, fire spells become more powerful.

Fernia becomes coterminous for one month (the midsummer month of Lharvion) every five years.

Remote

When remote, heat becomes somewhat less intense. Outside of areas of extreme heat, casting fire spells becomes more difficult.

Fernia becomes remote for one month (the midwinter month of Zarantyr) every five years.

Fernia represents one of the most extreme environments within the planar cosmology of Eberron. Defined by its ceaseless infernos, molten rivers, and mountains of perpetually burning ash, it presents conditions seemingly antithetical to conventional life. However, meticulous planar expeditions and scrying observations have revealed a complex, albeit alien, ecosystem uniquely adapted to these pyrogenic conditions. This report outlines the primary categories of indigenous flora and fauna identified within Fernia, emphasizing their remarkable adaptations to an environment of pure elemental essence and extreme thermal activity.

I. Flora of Fernia: Pyrogenetic Vegetations

Conventional carbon-based life is virtually non-existent in Fernia. Instead, what functions as "flora" in this plane are unique constructs of solidified elemental fire, minerals, and highly specialized crystalline growths that metabolize thermal energy or raw elemental essence.

A. Crystalline & Mineral Growths

These formations often mimic terrestrial plant structures but are composed entirely of inorganic materials.

• Obsidian Blight: Appearing as jagged, multi-faceted obsidian crystals, these formations can reach immense sizes, forming razor-sharp "forests" across cooler volcanic plains. They absorb geothermal heat to grow, often glowing faintly with internal heat.
• Pyrite Shrub: Compact, metallic formations resembling dense shrubs, composed primarily of pyrite and other sulfurous minerals. They thrive in areas rich in volcanic gases, extracting elemental components for their slow growth, often emitting sulfurous fumes.
• Veins of Ignis: Not a discrete plant, but a networked, root-like system of glowing, solidified elemental fire that permeates the molten rock. These veins draw energy directly from the plane’s core, acting as a foundational energy source for certain elemental fauna. They present as constantly shifting patterns of light beneath the surface.

B. Elemental Constructs

These are less like plants and more like semi-sentient, self-sustaining aggregations of fire and elemental energy.

• Cinder-Moss: A low-lying, smoldering substance that coats vast stretches of ash dunes. Composed of finely particulate elemental ash and trace minerals, it absorbs residual heat from the environment and contributes to atmospheric stability in certain regions, often acting as a substrate for other minor elemental life.
• Flame-Lichen: Delicate, shimmering sheets of solidified flame that adhere to the surfaces of volcanic rock or the hides of larger elementals. They photosynthesize using ambient thermal light, producing small bursts of pure elemental energy that are consumed by microscopic fire motes.

II. Fauna of Fernia: Elemental & Heat-Adapted Biota

The fauna of Fernia is overwhelmingly elemental in nature, ranging from simple constructs of pure flame to complex, sentient beings with structured societies. Adaptation revolves around heat absorption, consumption of elemental energy, and resistance to extreme thermal and pressure conditions.

A. Elemental Archetypes: Beings of Pure Energy

These creatures represent the fundamental building blocks of Fernian life, often lacking complex biological structures as understood on the Material Plane.

• Fire & Magma Elementals: These are the most ubiquitous and primal forms of life in Fernia. Ranging from minor, swirling motes of flame to colossal, sentient infernos, they embody the raw volatile energy of the plane. Magma elementals are distinct, incorporating molten rock into their forms, indicating regions where the earth's molten heart meets pure flame.
• Fire & Magma Mephits: Lesser elementals, often exhibiting rudimentary sentience and mischievous tendencies. They are common, flitting about larger elemental currents or congregating near opportune vents. Magma mephits are notably denser and more disruptive.
• Fire Wysp: Ephemeral and beautiful, these small, flickering motes of pure fire are often mistaken for ambient heat. They are a foundational energy signature of Fernia, providing sustenance for various minute life forms.
• Thoqqua: Unique among elementals, these burrowing, serpentine creatures are composed of molten rock and superheated metal. They are tireless tunnellers, carving pathways through the solidifying crust of Fernia and often encountered near active volcanic fissures.

B. Sapient & Semi-Sapient Denizens: Masters of Flame

This category encompasses intelligent or highly adaptable life forms that have carved out distinct societies or niches within Fernia.

• Efreeti: The undisputed masters of Fernia, these powerful genies are beings of immense power, arrogance, and intricate societal structures. Their colossal fortresses, forged from obsidian and solidified flame, dot the plane, and they command vast retinues of lesser beings.
• Azers: Sturdy, humanoid beings forged from brass and fire, Azers are renowned for their metallurgical prowess and unwavering dedication to the forge. Many serve the Efreeti as artisans, guards, and architects, though some independent clans exist.
• Salamanders: Intelligent, serpentine entities with a keen intellect and a mastery of fiery magic. They are often nomadic or inhabit specific molten river systems, known for their fierce independence and occasional mercantile endeavors.
• Ifrits: Humanoids with a strong lineage connection to the elemental forces of Fernia, often born from unions between mortals and elementals, or mortals imbued with powerful planar energies. They typically possess innate fire resistance and a mastery over lesser flames.
• Fire Veelas: Graceful and often alluring humanoids composed of solidified flame, capable of shifting their intensity and form. They are rare and elusive, often found in the more stable, yet still scorching, regions of Fernia, possessing a unique connection to the plane's aesthetic.
• Iophanites: While rare, certain celestial beings, specifically Iophanites, are known to manifest within Fernia. These angels are beings of pure, benevolent light and flame, often sent as arbiters or guardians, their forms ablaze with divine fire that rarely singes.
• Onkushu: Curious and often benevolent winged beings native to Fernia, they will often align themselves with Iophanites and other such beings. It is believed that it was the onkushu who taught the Angels of Shavarath the use of cleansing fire. Onkushus are kindly by nature but terrible when roused, and their alien appearance often strikes fear into those fools who would oppose them.

C. Apex Predators & Draconic Lineages: Sovereigns of the Scorched Skylines

These creatures represent the more formidable and often predatory life forms, embodying the raw power of Fernian wilderness.

• Cherufe: Gargantuan, primordial beings of living volcanic rock and destructive flame. They are often mistaken for active volcanoes themselves, arising from the deepest, most volatile regions of Fernia to cause immense devastation before receding.
• Magma Dragons: Among the most fearsome and ancient denizens of Fernia, these true dragons are massive, scaled titans composed of living magma and obsidian. They command vast territories, their roar capable of shaking the very foundations of the plane.
• Flame & Lava Drakes: Lesser, yet still formidable, draconic kin. Flame drakes are agile aerial predators, darting through plumes of superheated gas. Lava drakes are heavier, terrestrial hunters, often found near molten rivers, capable of withstanding direct immersion in lava.
• Rasts: Ferocious, four-legged predators resembling fiery, scaled canines. They hunt in packs across the obsidian plains, their bodies radiating intense heat, capable of overwhelming less robust prey.

D. Unique & Aberrant Physiologies: The Unconventional Life of the Plane

This category encompasses creatures that defy easy classification, showcasing the extreme adaptations and strange forms life can take in Fernia.

• Fire Whales: Immense, leviathan-like creatures that navigate the vast, hot air currents or molten rivers of Fernia. Their forms are often described as being composed of contained fire, their "spouts" being geysers of superheated steam or flame.
• Pyropiscis: The "fire fish," these small, scale-less creatures swim within the molten rivers and pools of the plane. They demonstrate an extraordinary adaptation to high temperatures, forming schools that drift through molten rock as earthly fish navigate water.
• Phoenix: Legendary and exceedingly rare, the Phoenix is a majestic avian creature of pure flame, embodying cycles of death and rebirth. Its appearance signifies profound planar shifts or events, and its feathers are said to contain immense healing and transformative power.
• Pyrausta: Minute, almost insect-like creatures composed of embers and flickering flame. They are often mistaken for ambient sparks or heat distortions, but their clustered movements reveal their independent, albeit ephemeral, existence.
• Magma Ooze: Amorphous, highly corrosive masses of sentient molten rock. These dangerous entities consume anything in their path, slowly expanding their forms. They are particularly hazardous in areas of high geothermal activity.
• Cinderghosts: A form of sentient elemental undeath. Cinderghosts are often the remnants of those who perished in Fernia's fires, their spirits animated by residual planar energy.

Conclusion: A Dynamic and Fiery Ecology

The ecosystem of Fernia, while profoundly alien, is far from barren. It demonstrates an astonishing diversity of life forms, all uniquely adapted to thrive within an environment of constant conflagration. The interaction between solidified elemental matter, pure energy constructs, and sentient elemental beings exemplifies a complex planar biology that challenges conventional notions of life. Further study of Fernia's biota offers invaluable insights into the fundamental principles of elemental existence and the boundless adaptability of life across the multiverse.