Misery Bay
Misery Bay is what happens when a region decides to kill everything that lives in it and the inhabitants refuse to leave. A vast expanse of wetlands, rivers, and lakes steeped in radiation and toxic chemicals, the bay produces fog that rises from its waters carrying enough contamination to blister and burn the skin of all but Retrogrades. Settlements have bells and sirens that sound when the fog begins to roll through. Spending too long in it is fatal. The water itself is a cesspool of irradiated material where mutated creatures live and die within minutes of birth. Even the Overgrowth from further west has not encroached; the toxicity is sufficient to repel fungal growth that has consumed entire regions elsewhere.
Most buildings in the bay are sealed airtight against the chemical-laced air. Settlements sit on stilts, floating docks, or the few dry plateaus at higher elevations. The architecture shifts constantly as people adapt to seasonal changes in water level and contamination. Underground, Lascarian communities inhabit cave systems like the Onon Caves south of the Arch. Above ground, Retrogrades walk without masks, their rotting skin a badge of pride rather than shame. Baywalkers work the water but struggle with the radiation. Purebloods have all but vanished.
Despite conditions that should make the region uninhabitable, Misery Bay has become a center for Darwinist faith and scientific experimentation. The Church of Darwin views the bay as a living laboratory of evolution. Darwinist sects proliferate. The Mon Corporation operates secret laboratories beneath Marshal's Town. The mutated zed that emerge from the toxic waters are arguably more dangerous than the hordes of the Mass. And shellfish, largely untouched by the contamination, remain the only food source that will not kill you for eating it.
Most buildings in the bay are sealed airtight against the chemical-laced air. Settlements sit on stilts, floating docks, or the few dry plateaus at higher elevations. The architecture shifts constantly as people adapt to seasonal changes in water level and contamination. Underground, Lascarian communities inhabit cave systems like the Onon Caves south of the Arch. Above ground, Retrogrades walk without masks, their rotting skin a badge of pride rather than shame. Baywalkers work the water but struggle with the radiation. Purebloods have all but vanished.
Despite conditions that should make the region uninhabitable, Misery Bay has become a center for Darwinist faith and scientific experimentation. The Church of Darwin views the bay as a living laboratory of evolution. Darwinist sects proliferate. The Mon Corporation operates secret laboratories beneath Marshal's Town. The mutated zed that emerge from the toxic waters are arguably more dangerous than the hordes of the Mass. And shellfish, largely untouched by the contamination, remain the only food source that will not kill you for eating it.
Geography
Misery Bay is a vast expanse of wetlands, rivers, and lakes steeped in radiation and toxic chemicals. The waters are a cesspool of irradiated material where mutated creatures emerge with mutations that either sustain them or kill them within minutes. Fog rises from the surface carrying enough contamination to blister and burn the skin of all but Retrogrades. Some dry plains and plateaus exist at higher elevations where settlements have formed, but the majority of the terrain is wet, shifting, and hostile. Underground complexes house Lascarian communities, particularly the Onon Caves south of the Arch. The Overgrowth borders the region to the west but has not encroached; the toxicity of the bay is sufficient to repel fungal growth that has consumed entire regions elsewhere. Most buildings are sealed airtight against the chemical-laced air, and settlements sit on stilts or floating docks to cope with rising waters. The architecture shifts constantly as inhabitants adapt to seasonal changes in water level and contamination patterns.
Toxic wetland region of irradiated fog, sealed settlements, and Darwinist experimentation
