Amasyan Swamp
Type Drowned valley / swampland Region The Amasyan Valley (former [[Settlement-Kios Formed 1300, in The Great Dam Incident
The Amasyan Swamp is a vast, drowned wetland filling the floor of the Amasyan Valley - once one of the most fertile valleys in the world, and now one of its most lethal.
History
The valley was old long before the swamp. Before the stagnant waters and the toxic fog, the land was the heart of the ancient, nature-worshipping realm of Loreshia. Loreshia flourished until it was utterly shattered by the great demon-flood of 731 during the Fiend Flood.
Centuries later, in 903, the wandering alchemist Kaios - the Red Alchemist - settled among the ruined capital of Loreshia. Delving into the lost engineering and ancient structures beneath the overgrowth, Kaios raised a tower that would eventually attract settlers. From this tower grew the city of Kios, and around it, the mighty Kingdom of Swadia, ruling the lush Amasyan Valley for generations.
Swadia held power until 1300, when it fell to the conquering Lexalians in the catastrophe long remembered as The Great Dam Incident. With the kingdom’s fall the valley itself was lost: its great dams were breached and its waters loosed, turning the fertile Amasyan Valley into the stagnant, poisoned mire that bears its name to this day.
The Land
The swamp is a land of slow, stagnant water and rotting growth, and survival within it is a constant struggle:
- No clean water. The sluggish, standing water is foul and disease-ridden; drinking it untreated is to invite sickness.
- No warmth. Everything is wet and sodden, and dry fuel for a fire is almost impossible to find.
- No clear sight. Mist, fog, and low ground smother the swamp, cutting visibility to a few paces.
- The Rotting Mire. The thick, humid air and pervasive fungal growth spoil food at a furious pace; unpreserved rations rot within a day, and even hardtack moulds within a few.
Dangers
The Amasyan Swamp is rated among the deadliest country a traveller can cross. Its named perils include:
- Foul Water - blood in the water draws disease and hungry predators alike; the wounded are most at risk.
- Deep Water - the bog hides sudden, dark drop-offs where the footing falls away into pools dozens of feet deep.
- Foggy Surroundings - choking sheets of fog that confound navigators and let swamp predators stalk unseen.
- Marsh Gas - toxic, flammable vapours that pool in the deepest reaches, ready to ignite or to suffocate.
- Bog Pits - sucking sinkholes of mud that swallow the unwary whole.
- Razorvine - thickets of bladed, thorned vines that shred flesh and gear.
The very creatures of the swamp are warped by it, many bearing an acidic touch and an uncanny ease at hiding and ambushing within the mire.
See Also
- Kios · Kaios · The Hub
- Mechanics & Encounters - travel hazards and DM rules for the swamp
- History of Thelemar - the fall of Swadia and the Great Dam incident