Crush Valley
Crush Valley is a low-lying stretch of land sunk between the mountains and the Salt Flats in Progress, and at its center sits the City of Saints, the closest thing to civilization in all of Deserter. The valley was once a much larger urban sprawl that stretched from the mountains almost to the Great Lake. What remains outside the City's walls now belongs to raiders, gangs, and struggling mercenaries who have reclaimed the ruins as their own.
Stepping outside the City of Saints means willingly walking into a predatory environment. People are stolen, hurt, and abused until they join raider ranks or die trying to resist. The valley watches the City's every weakness, every internal struggle, every religious argument that draws attention inward instead of outward. Religious moots have failed to address the problem. The valley observes, and it grows stronger.
As the City becomes more populated and residents are forced outward by overcrowding, the raider population in Crush Valley swells with fresh recruits who had no other option. From the View mountain villages above, wealthy families look down on the valley and the City alike, funding gangs and causing avalanches for entertainment while the people below fight for survival. The chances of Crush Valley pushing inward and overwhelming the City grow higher with each passing season. One of the few viable pieces of farmland in Progress, the valley could sustain thousands if the violence ever stopped. It shows no signs of stopping.
Stepping outside the City of Saints means willingly walking into a predatory environment. People are stolen, hurt, and abused until they join raider ranks or die trying to resist. The valley watches the City's every weakness, every internal struggle, every religious argument that draws attention inward instead of outward. Religious moots have failed to address the problem. The valley observes, and it grows stronger.
As the City becomes more populated and residents are forced outward by overcrowding, the raider population in Crush Valley swells with fresh recruits who had no other option. From the View mountain villages above, wealthy families look down on the valley and the City alike, funding gangs and causing avalanches for entertainment while the people below fight for survival. The chances of Crush Valley pushing inward and overwhelming the City grow higher with each passing season. One of the few viable pieces of farmland in Progress, the valley could sustain thousands if the violence ever stopped. It shows no signs of stopping.
Geography
A low-lying valley sunk between the mountains and the Salt Flats, Crush Valley contains some of the few viable farming lands in Progress. The City of Saints occupies its center. Surrounding it are the remains of a much larger urban sprawl that once stretched from the mountains almost to the Great Lake, now overrun by raider gangs and mercenary bands. The View mountain villages sit above the valley, looking down on everything below. The terrain itself is one of the most contested stretches of land in Deserter, caught between the pressure of a growing City and the violence of a valley that refuses to be tamed.
