Geography and Circumstance:
The supercavern known as Ainuin stretches under a significant portion of the Great Escarpment, reaching from under the Endless Plains in the north to the Sunlands in the south, and from Feywood in the west to the Ashlands in the east. By no means a single contiguous unsupported cavern, its vast expanse is broken up by mountain-sized pillars of rock and earth, supporting the cavern roof kilometres above the floor - the roof from which rivulets and waterfalls cascade to provide a portion of the freshwater in the cavern. The rest of the potable water to be found in Ainuin comes from aquifers which filter water from the surrounding regions.
The artificial stars which once pocked the ceiling of the cavern now largely lie broken, or damaged, in craters forged from their dislodgement during the Calamity. Many of these still function to some extent, burning throughout the days or nights, though most of these now flicker sporadically (or incessantly). The remaining number of these stars might briefly flash into luminescence periodically, and there are some few which lie utterly shattered and broken on the cavern floor, never to burn again.
The easternmost regions of Ainuin become progressively more volcanic, as the region's borders come closer to the Ashlands. Sedimentary and metamorphic rock gives way to igneous and extrusive rock, and lava leaks from the cavern walls and floors in places.
Races of Ainuin:
As with most of the devastated vaults under the continent, most of the surviving civilised races of Ainuin are those with a natural ability to thrive in darkness:
Ainuin Society:
Ainuin is home to a variety of civilisations, with most of the surviving races keeping their own enclaves or cities in the most defensible reaches of the cavern. Their societies and cultures are detailed in their own articles, as follows:
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