The Fissure

Abandoned Cabal towers among the western edge, near the Faelands.

The Fissure is a large, vast stretch of desolate plains and rocky hills in the southeastern corner of Atheryin. Lying between the Byne Mountains and the southern edges of the Faelands, these rocky, misty plains are seldom traversed by those who do not seek adventure, or the council of a darker presence.

The area is avoided by most traders, save those travelling along the patrolled roads to Fónnin. This is mostly due to the area being somehow corrupted, as if a darker force possesses it. Caravans consistently disappear, and strange creatures and peoples inhabit the miles of empty plains, often acting with malevolent motivations. Many scholars have attributed this "haunting" of sorts to the break in the Palisade, at the very center of the region. This break is known to allow spirits of all alignments to pass freely through Atheryin and greater Arkai, and is believed to be associated with Daín.

Geography

Northern

To the furthest north, the Fissure borders the steep basalt cliffs of the Ohkorra Desert, and the Kunlas River slightly further east. The misty cloud cover of the Fissure sometimes strays north into Nachkun's elysian fields, causing it to become even further fertile and saturated. This northern region of Feonadh, named for the former occupying Kingdom of Fónna, which used this significantly more fertile region of the Fissure to foster their civilization. Distributaries from Kunlas carry waters and nutrient-rich sediments through the Feonadh region, supplying fresh water and rich soils to the now-ruined prosperous cities of the area.

The Fissure's eastern edges, near the Byne Mountains

Eastern

The eastern side of the Fissure is slightly sunnier than other parts of the region, due to its close proximity with the Byne Mountains. These mountains cast a rain shadow upon the area, making it significantly less misty and rainy, leaving it to be a much drier, desolate, and rocky tundra. Here, the few rivers flowing off the Byne's glacial melts foster advanced and thriving tundra ecosystems, but between these river oases are dangerous expanses of cold, dead tundral plains. Civilization has rarely tried to push its reach into this area; when any have tried to settle here, their colonies die by quick lack and overextension of resources available. This region is known by most to be the central reason Dunaan states have never bothered expanding east of their mountains.