Shatterlands

The Tsandria Shatterlands was a regional wound left in the planet Echelon by the use of magic. The Shatterlands broke apart the southwestern Midden Valley and the Dilzweld mountains as a result of the Thaedran Imperium using the same zarum spells to float the Dawning Isle. Though the original spell was so powerful that it fractured the supercontinent in ancient times, the effects that led to the Shatterlands were much less devastating on a global scale.

A circle of powerful druids, the Grey Circle, came together in the early 9th century LA, and settled in the Shatterlands. Their goal was the ultimate restoration of the valleys and mountains to their original state, a process of healing that would take millennia. The Grey Circle guarded the dangerous Shatterlands, working in isolation to repair the damage done by mortals.

Characteristics of the Shatterlands

The Shatterlands was once tens of thousands of square miles of natural land. However, after the dreadnought Emancipator tore the city of New Volkenburg out of the ground, earthquakes and fissures rocked the region left behind. The towns of Tsandria, Moonbow, and Reen were obliterated. Nature itself was upended, both literally and figuratively, and the wound in the planet manifested in several ways.

The souls lost during the upheaval caused wraiths and ghosts to appear in the Shatterlands, much like those in the nearby Naeldan Scar. Shadow crossings to the Shadowfell and even portals to the Feywild emerged. The region was corrupted by arcane energies, making for a significant amount of wild magic in the area. Beasts and monsters in the area were particularly aggressive, driven mad by the damage done to the planet.

The terrain was characterized by hundreds of massive plateaus surrounded by deep canyons, much as a handful of damp sand would break apart if held in one's palms and flexed outward. The tops of the plateaus were windswept, barren rock, and the canyons teemed with noxious gases, razor obsidian, and unnatural plants.