Legend says the violent energies of the Tempest’s magic reopened Tridia’s legendary Void Rift, resulting in a massive explosion, the fallout of which still affects this area of the material plane. Today, the area known as the Rift is a shallow, flat crater of rolling grasslands many miles wide. Powerful void energy permeates the area which repels the Tempest and its magic, but not without other effects. Most notably, magic doesn’t always work like it should, and the locals have learned to live without relying on it. A hazy purple fog often blankets the land, said to cause illness or altered mental states if exposed to it for too long. Lacuna, with their inherent tie to the void, are resistant to the effects, and they predominantly inhabit this area. Despite its strangeness, the land is quite fertile, and most of the Rift’s people make their living as farmers. The Rift is known to be more dangerous deeper within the crater, so rather than a large city, locals have settled in many small rural communities forming a ring around the epicenter. At the eastern side of the ring is Treyark, the largest town within the Rift. On the opposite side to the west is a Throatian holy site, the Temple of the Myopic Eye. North of the Rift, a couple miles outside the safety of the fallout zone, are the remains of the Tree of Eli’niwar and the elves who inhabit it.
Local Legend: Many have ventured into the epicenter to uncover mysteries of the Rift and its strange nature. Many do not return, and what few do come back rarely remember much due to the fog within.
Typical Threats: Void beasts and strange eldritch creatures emerge from the fog, causing problems for the locals. Some are nearly harmless pests, while others can be dangerous, necessitating intervention by the local rangers.
Typical Surges: Surges surrounding the Rift are rare and wildly inconsistent. No known pattern of surges is known at this time.
Closest other regions: The Rimelands to the northwest. Taure’malda (The Golden Forest) to the southeast.
Origins in this Region: Treyark, Temple of the Myopic Eye, Rift Wardens
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Gate: This region’s only Gate is located on the outskirts of Treyark, on the east side furthest away from the Crater. The light amount of guarding is mostly there to make sure nothing dangerous gets into the region – however, they may also screen people leaving for signs of unusual Fog effects they don’t want spreading to other regions.
Size/scope: It would take 4 days’ travel to walk all the way around the “safe” part of the ring. Travel time could be cut by venturing into areas of thicker fog.
Interactions between Origins: There is generally peace and cooperative interaction between all the named Origins (though perhaps some Wardens shaking their heads at some Pupils’ antics).
Access to the crater: The locals are well aware of which areas are relatively safe and which have hazardous levels of fog. They don’t have much by way of detailed signposts and warnings for visitors. That said, there are ominous warning signs around the densest area near the epicenter of the crater. When the occasional weirdo tourist wants to go deeper, it is highly recommended (though not technically required) to hire a guide (usually a Rift Warden).
Parzela’s Pass: There is one most traveled, safe-ish route from the edge of the Ring (north) into the crater. Control of Parzela’s Pass = control over who can reasonably access the crater / moderate fog. There are other possible access points, but these are steeper terrain and more likely to harbor dangerous creatures.
Mistbunkr: Since Surges are rare in this region, so too are Stormborn. Those few unfortunate Stormborn are believed to be more susceptible to The Fog. Thus, they are usually banished *sent* to Mistbunkr, a small settlement in the woods two days south of the Ring, for their own protection. Though typically outside the dangers of the fog, Mistbunkr faces its own threats in the isolated wilderness. Sometimes a whole family may move in with a Stormborn child; otherwise, the village will raise Stormborn people and animals left on Mistbunkr’s doorstep.
