Sarkoris Scar

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Sarkoris Scar

(Nation)

Land

Avistan

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Capital

None

Ruler

None

Government

Anarchy

Languages

Chthonian, Hallit

Religions

Demon worship

Images of the Sarkoris Scar

Source: World Guide, pg(s). 24

See also: Sarkoris and Worldwound

The Sarkoris Scar is a jagged black gash that runs across the land once known as Sarkoris and, more recently, as the Worldwound. Although the yawning portal to the Outer Rifts is no more, the land of the Sarkoris Scar continues to be infested with demons, and the Kellid descendants of the original inhabitants of Sarkoris still have a long way to go before they can reclaim their ancestors' land.

Geography

Much of the land of the Sarkoris Scar now is little more than blackened, broken, and uneven rock, a direct result of its nearly century-long exposure to the Abyssal portal of the Worldwound. It stretches from the frigid plains of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords in the west to the West Sellen River and its border with the nation of Mendev in the east, and from the immense boreal Stonewilds in the north, to the Shudderwood, the Moutray River, and the border with Ustalav and Numeria in the south. Other major geographical features include the forests known as the Petrified Library, the Winged Wood, the Forest of Embers, and the Needleglens, along with the Lake Lost to the Sun, the Wolfcrags, and the Frostmire Fen.

History

A demonic skull stands vigil over the Sarkoris Scar.

The Worldwound, a direct connection to the Outer Rifts, opened in Sarkoris in 4606 AR. Demons poured through the rift and overran Sarkoris without meeting much resistance and in short order the entire country was consumed. Once the demons had overrun Sarkoris, they set their sites on its neighbors. In response, the nation of Mendev began an effort to drive back the demonic hordes and close the Worldwound with the aid of volunteers from across the Inner Sea region in 4622 AR: the crusades. These wars continued on and off for nearly a century until in 4718 AR, a band of Mendevian adventurers closed the Worldwound and killed its architect, the demon lord Deskari. The Crusades ended in victory and later that year, efforts to reclaim the Sarkoris Scar began.

People

Dolok Darkfur and members of the Farheaven Clan watch Carlhon Keep.

Although both Deskari and the Worldwound are no more, the land of the Sarkoris Scar remains very dangerous today. Even though the planar rift was closed, this did not kill the demons who were already present or cleanse the blighted land of its Abyssal corruption, and the stranded demons are desperate to survive. Most of the crusaders who fought in the war have headed south to fight the recently freed Whispering Tyrant, and those who remain behind are no longer as vigilant as they were before. After it was determined that the Sarkorian cities of Iz, Undarin and Storasta were too corrupted to rebuild, they were razed and abandoned, and for now, the mines outside Iz and the Sarkora River are left for demons and the dead.

The ysoki known as Ulfen Leapers sometimes make their way as far east as the Sarkoris Scar aboard riverbound ships and boats.

Reclaimers

A group of people who call themselves the Reclaimers are actively attempting to restore the Sarkoris Scar to its former glory. They consist of courageous ex-crusaders, followers of the Green Faith, and descendants of old Sarkoris who are determined to drive off or kill the remaining demons and cleanse the Abyssal taint from the land. Their only permanent holding is the town of Gundrun, which they have fortified with walls and wardstones, as most of the Sarkorian Reclaimers prefer a nomadic lifestyle. They focus on restoring the land's flora and fauna and believe that this way of life is cleaner and nobler than settled life, and that the Sarkoris Scar remains too blighted to settle. Two of the Reclaimers' primary targets are the city of Dyinglight and the great library of druidic lore deep in the Shudderwood, but both sites remain in evil hands: the former is controlled by fiendish, cannibalistic giants, the latter by corrupted, tormented fey.

Even the wild animals in the Sarkoris Scar are tainted with the touch of the Outer Rifts, yet the Reclaimers are making slow, painful progress eliminating them from the land. The Sarkoris Scar is also home to a large number of pitborn cambions, a result of the fiendish corruption that is still steeped into the land.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.