Northern Territory
A region transformed by heat, fire, and radiation into one of the harshest environments on the Australian continent. The land has been baked into a deep red expanse of irradiated soil, split by giant clefts and fissures that scar the terrain from horizon to horizon.
The northern coast has been reshaped by volcanic eruptions that created a series of mile-sized islands where none existed before. The mainland interior supports stiff reed grasses, harsh bushes, engorged lizards, and massive insects, but the hard soil has been baked to the point where most indigenous life has been rendered non-existent across the broader territory.
Despite the horrific conditions, some tribes make regular expeditions into the Northern Territory. Pragmatic obsidian-harvesting groups venture into the volcanic terrain to collect the valuable glass-like stone, accepting the extreme risk for the resource it provides. More troubling are the Darwinist cults: extremist groups who believe that overcoming the tortures of the Northern Territory leads to true evolution and finding what they call "the heart of Darwin." They journey into the furnace willingly, seeking transformation through suffering.
Permanent habitation is rare. The heat alone kills the unprepared, and the irradiated soil ensures that nothing grows easily. Those who enter do so with purpose, whether that purpose is profit or zealotry, and they leave as quickly as the land allows.
The northern coast has been reshaped by volcanic eruptions that created a series of mile-sized islands where none existed before. The mainland interior supports stiff reed grasses, harsh bushes, engorged lizards, and massive insects, but the hard soil has been baked to the point where most indigenous life has been rendered non-existent across the broader territory.
Despite the horrific conditions, some tribes make regular expeditions into the Northern Territory. Pragmatic obsidian-harvesting groups venture into the volcanic terrain to collect the valuable glass-like stone, accepting the extreme risk for the resource it provides. More troubling are the Darwinist cults: extremist groups who believe that overcoming the tortures of the Northern Territory leads to true evolution and finding what they call "the heart of Darwin." They journey into the furnace willingly, seeking transformation through suffering.
Permanent habitation is rare. The heat alone kills the unprepared, and the irradiated soil ensures that nothing grows easily. Those who enter do so with purpose, whether that purpose is profit or zealotry, and they leave as quickly as the land allows.
