Washington State Fantasy, Pt. 2 - Gondwana

Thought I'd do a little more brainstorming regarding the setting, and so I've decided to detail the Gondwana region, which correlates to the deserts of southeast Washington.

Gondwana was supposedly once a hot and humid place, much like the Quon Jungle to the west. Here, the race of reptilian alchemists and scholars known as the Scaled ruled during the Age of Ignis. After having driven out the Formless, promethean creatures of chaos, the Scaled built up their own empire amongst the jungles and marshes, constructing stone citadels and carving their likeness into their buildings.

However, near the end of the Age of Ignis, a massive earthquake struck Olympia, and once the shaking subsided, the Barrier Mountains loomed to the west. Soon the moisture was sucked out of Gondwana, leaving the footlands of the mountains arid at best, with the Dune Sea encroaching from the east.

This only compounded problems for the Scaled, whose bloodlust had resulted in a decades long civil war. This provided a perfect chance for the Fey, the Children of Aqua, the sweep down from the north and break the Scaled, ushering in the Age of Aqua.

But during the current Age of Terra, Gondwana has taken on a much different appearance. To the southeast is the Dune Sea, a vast desert that has all-but-consumed the old Scaled civilization. Plowing across the desert is the city-state of Iram, The City of a Thousand Silks, built onto the back of a giant beetle that has survived since the Age of Terrors. Iram marches throughout Gondwana, offering trade to all they come to.

To the north, the land cools slightly as it approaches the First Forest Range, becoming a land of praries and savannahs. Called the Ivory Plains, it is dotted with minor tribes who did not swear allegiance to Ai. They are a nomadic people who ride strange beasts seen nowhere else.

West lies the Steplands, strange foothills of the Barrier Mountains that are geometric and cubic in shape. Few live here, but many see it as a place of arcane power. In the northeastern Steplands sits the Valley of Bones, a massive graveyard where the skeletons of creatures beyond imagining made their final resting place. In the largest skeleton is built Ai, the City of Ten Tribes, who pride themselves in both their battle prowess and their social progressiveness.

Finally, southwest the Steplands grow up into the Bleeding Mountains, a volcanic area of the Barrier Mountains that is believed to hold an entrance to the underworld. Built in the face of one of these mountains is Agartha, the Bronze Metropolis. Famed for their advanced technology and hardy lifestyle, Agarthans have their eyes on expanding their empire throughout Olympia.