Fyrren's Wandering is a huge maze of intertwining canyons located in central Aggradar. It has been carved out by a number of rivers over the last few centuries which have since dried up. The canyons are about 150 meters (500 feet) deep and have steep rocky sides. The terrain at the bottom of these canyons is loose gravel and sand. The rock of the region is a reddish tan streaked with grey. Plant life here consists of hardy scrubs, weeds, lichens and moss.
The Wandering really is a maze. It's very easy to become lost in the Wandering and many caravans have vanished in this region. A main road cuts through the heart of the region. The general advice is that you are fine as long as you stay on the main road. If you leave the road and venture off into the Wandering, you won't come out.
The Wandering lies between Magrakor and the Republic. It is the most direct route to travel between these two great nations and caravans travel through the region every week. Both nations work together to maintain five large military keeps at equidistant points along the road. Each keep is one day's ride from the next. Seven days total to get through the region. Both nations also maintain military patrols that ride through on the main road once every few months and maintain the road.
The Wandering is home to numerous petty bandit groups that prey on travelers and caravans. It is also home to a variety of monsters and tribes of primitive humanoids. Dozens of pugnar tribes live here as well. The largest of the bandit groups is the Bloodtusks. Several attempts have been made by both Magrakian and Aukarian militaries to dislodge the bandit groups, but all attempts have been unsuccessful. The Wandering is simply too vast and complex to effectively clear out.
The most famous inhabitant of Fyrren's Wandering is the exiled House Wizard, Sarroch the Wise. Sarroch dwells in a ruined castle in the middle of the Wandering along with a handful of survivors from House Ademar, a once might Aukarian house that no longer officially exists.
The Wandering has a unique geology. The rock in Fyrren's Wandering is permeated with millions of "fyrren crystals". These are magically active crystals that radiate a kind of "magical static". This causes "friction" in the magical energies in the area. Spells will meet a certain resistance when cast in the area of fyrren crystals. This has the effect of reducing the overal strength of spells over time and severely limiting their duration. Spells that occur suddenly are not effected. However, spells that have a duration will be used up quickly. A spell that normally would stay in effect for hours would only last minutes. One that last days will only last hours. Individual fyrren crystals have little effect, but the range is great and the effect is cumulative. In Fyrren's wandering, there are millions of these crystals embedded in the rock and scattered lose in the soil. Therefore, magical effects are "used up" much more quickly than normal and have a much short duration in Fyrren's Wandering. For instance, anyone who tries to use magic to fly over the Wandering will find their magical flying ability sapped out of them and they will be forced to land in the Wandering.
In addition, because of this magical "static", methkari crystals will be useless. They will show the presence of a strong magical field the entire time they are in the Wandering.
This website was last updated February 29, 2024. Copyright 1990-2024 David M. Roomes.