Blood Cliffs
At sunset, the dark red cliff sides of Lorado reveal their secret: dozens, perhaps hundreds, of communities and homes built into the rock face, with many wary eyes staring outward from shallow tunnels and elevated doorways. The Blood Cliffs look like a natural fortress because they are one, shaped by desperation and cooperation into something neither of the founding peoples could have built alone.
Natural Ones settled the cliffs first, drawn by the elevated defensive position. They quickly learned the terrain was a trap as much as a shelter; pinned against the cliff face, they were easy targets for raider bands that swept in from the plains below. Wave after wave of attackers died against the rock, coating the walls in blood that gave the cliffs their name. But the name refers to the raiders' blood, not the color of the stone, and that distinction matters to the people who live here.
The alliance that saved the settlement came from an unlikely source. Lascarians, desperate for a new home after their mines collapsed, offered their tunneling expertise in exchange for a place to live. Together the two strains built a network of elevated homes and defensive tunnels that transformed the cliff face into a settlement that could be defended from above and supplied from below. The Natural Ones shoot from the high ground while the Lascarians maintain the passages that keep the community connected and supplied.
The most dangerous enemy does not climb the cliff. The jungle's evolution has produced massive predatory Shadow Vultures that use the Blood Cliffs as primary hunting grounds, picking off defenders who remain exposed on the ledges. Killing one is more than a rite of passage; it is a valorous act that elevates the killer's status to near legendary among the cliff dwellers.
Natural Ones settled the cliffs first, drawn by the elevated defensive position. They quickly learned the terrain was a trap as much as a shelter; pinned against the cliff face, they were easy targets for raider bands that swept in from the plains below. Wave after wave of attackers died against the rock, coating the walls in blood that gave the cliffs their name. But the name refers to the raiders' blood, not the color of the stone, and that distinction matters to the people who live here.
The alliance that saved the settlement came from an unlikely source. Lascarians, desperate for a new home after their mines collapsed, offered their tunneling expertise in exchange for a place to live. Together the two strains built a network of elevated homes and defensive tunnels that transformed the cliff face into a settlement that could be defended from above and supplied from below. The Natural Ones shoot from the high ground while the Lascarians maintain the passages that keep the community connected and supplied.
The most dangerous enemy does not climb the cliff. The jungle's evolution has produced massive predatory Shadow Vultures that use the Blood Cliffs as primary hunting grounds, picking off defenders who remain exposed on the ledges. Killing one is more than a rite of passage; it is a valorous act that elevates the killer's status to near legendary among the cliff dwellers.
Geography
Rocky outcrops of dark red cliff sides rise from the Lorado landscape, revealing at sunset the dozens to hundreds of communities and homes built into the rock. Shallow tunnels and elevated dwellings are set above the ground on the cliff face, connected by a Lascarian-built tunnel network that runs through the interior of the rock. The elevated position creates a natural kill zone below, where waves of raiders have broken against the defenses over the years. From above, the primary threat comes from massive Shadow Vultures that hunt the exposed cliff dwellers, dropping from the sky on wings wide enough to blot out the light.
