Wanderlands

Geography

The Wanderlands form the long southern peninsula of Aboyinzu, a great curved finger of land stretching southward into the South Sea. This diverse region is characterized by rolling plains, scattered forests, and rugged hill country, distinct from both the savannas of Central Aboyinzu to the north and the ancient rainforests of the Elderwilds to the east.

Boundaries and Position

• North: Central Aboyinzu and the interior savanna
• East: The Elderwilds peninsula; the South Sea separates them at the southern extent
• South: The South Sea
• West: Western coastline; the South Sea curves around the peninsula

Terrain

The Wanderlands encompass several distinct zones:

The Cursed North:

• Donclik Peninsula: A windswept finger of land extending into Donclik Sound, uninhabitable due to Donclik's Curse
• Donclik Sound: Cursed waters that draw the unwary to drown
• Grendel Inlet: A shallow, useless waterway separating the peninsula from the mainland
• The Troughs: Tidal gorges on the peninsula's western edge, rich with shipwreck salvage
• Serisa's Palace: Ruins of a pirate queen's fortress on the northern islands, guarded by kraken spawn

The Moors and Hills:

• Eshire Moors: Boggy moorland along the western mainland
• Karik Hills: Barren hills east of Grendel Inlet
• Argum Hills: Low hills on the Donclik Peninsula's eastern bulge
• Gray Hills: Hills in central Grendenheim
• Snakefoot Hills: Prominent range south of Grendenheim

The Pastoral Heart:

• Grendenheim: Open meadowlands, the only relatively safe area, wandered by Wispen halfling nomads
• Krinea Mikea: Marshland in the lowlands where Grendel Inlet terminates

The Dragon's Domain:

• Dragonsong: Ancient forest region covering the eastern Wanderlands
• Mylowach: Dense forest in northern Dragonsong
• Plyrthasnyach: Highland forest in northeastern Dragonsong
• Bysal Emmus: Southern forest, home of the dragon Ziru
• Sonagrev: Hills containing Dragon's Gate
• Dragon's Gate: A humming stone arch that Ziru guards, possibly a sealed portal

Why the Wanderlands Are Empty

The Wanderlands have no permanent settlements for good reason:

• The North is cursed. Donclik's Curse prevents anyone from staying on the peninsula or its surrounding waters for more than a few days without being drawn to drown.
• The West borders Echem Yiakraxes, Terrogone killing grounds that no sane person crosses.
• The East belongs to Ziru and the ancient Dragonsong forests. The dragon tolerates no intrusion near Dragon's Gate.
• The Center (Grendenheim) is the only area where extended habitation is possible, and even there, the Wispen halflings choose to wander rather than settle.

Relationship to the South Sea

The South Sea lies to the west of the Elderwilds and north of the Wanderlands peninsula. This body of water separates the Wanderlands/Elderwilds region from the eastern Shacklands. The peninsula's position could make it a major waypoint for maritime traffic, if not for the curse, the dragon, and the Terrogones.

Political Climate

There is no political structure in the Wanderlands. No nation claims this territory. The Wispen halflings who wander Grendenheim have no government; they simply avoid the dangerous areas and keep moving. The dragon Ziru is the closest thing to a ruler, and she rules only by threat of death.

What Makes It Interesting

• Donclik's Curse creates a ticking clock for any expedition: stay too long and you become part of the sea
• Serisa's Palace offers a flooded dungeon with real treasure and the possibility of breaking the curse
• The Troughs provide accessible danger with tidal mechanics and salvage opportunities
• Dragon's Gate poses mysteries about draconic origins and sealed portals
• Ziru is a dragon who can be negotiated with, for those brave or foolish enough to try

What Will Go Wrong

• Expeditions that misjudge their timing on the peninsula
• Treasure hunters who delve too deep into the Troughs and lose track of the tide
• Adventurers who think they can sneak past Ziru
• Anyone who tries to settle permanently
• Scholars who find the contract in Serisa's Palace and try to read it without understanding what they're doing

Dragon's Gate

A massive natural stone arch rising from the Sonagrev hills in eastern Dragonsong. The arch spans nearly two hundred feet at its apex and hums with a low, subsonic resonance audible from miles away, the same tone that gives the Dragonsong region its name.

The Sealed Passage

Local legends claim the first dragon arrived through Dragon's Gate, stepping from somewhere else entirely. The stone itself vibrates at a frequency that sets teeth on edge and makes campfires gutter. The arch may be a dormant portal, a doorway to somewhere that has been sealed for millennia.

Whatever passage it once offered is closed. But it still hums. Still waits.

Ziru's Vigil

The dragon Ziru considers Dragon's Gate sacred and destroys anyone who approaches without her explicit permission. The Sonagrev hills surrounding the arch are littered with the bones of the curious, hence the name, which translates loosely to "song-graves" in Old Aboyinzan.

But Ziru doesn't guard the arch to protect it. She guards it to keep anything from coming through.

Those few who've spoken with Ziru and survived report that she never explains what she's watching for. She simply says the arch "remembers how to open" and leaves the implication hanging.

What It Looks Like

The arch is weathered gray stone shot through with veins of something darker, not quite obsidian, not quite void. At certain angles, the dark veins seem to shift, forming patterns that almost resolve into meaning before slipping away. The ground beneath the arch is bare stone, scoured clean of vegetation in a perfect circle. Nothing grows there. Nothing rots there. Bones left within the circle remain pristine for centuries.

The hum is constant but not quite rhythmic; it shifts in pitch and intensity seemingly at random, though the shifts may follow patterns too long for mortal observation. Standing beneath the arch for extended periods causes headaches, nosebleeds, and a persistent sensation of being watched from behind.

For Adventurers

Dragon's Gate offers:

• A mystery at the heart of draconic presence in the region
• Ziru as gatekeeper: she can be negotiated with, but the price is always steep
• The question that haunts the brave: what is on the other side, and why does it want to come through?
• Potential planar connections for campaigns dealing with portals, other realms, or dragon origins