The Rust Coast
The Rust Coast is a land of broken giants. The mountains are the fallen body of Mother Nature, dead from our predecessor's actions. The giant forests to the south reach up to space, trying to grow far enough to leave the misery that is below. The cities we have repurposed are the dying hands of culture reaching from the grave. We live in a place where all things wish to remind us of how truly small we are.
The Rust Coast spans a large area that runs from the massive forests north of the Frisky City and stretches all the way north to the border of the Pacific Providence. Traversing both terrain and cultures that are night and day to one another, the Rust Coast still seems to keep a strange sort of dichotomy of harmony. With the extremely faith-focused Nation of Accensor having such an influence in the north, and the community-focused Red Star pulling from the south, it would appear to outsiders that the Rust Coast is always in a conflict looking for a middle ground.
The terrain is one of the most diversified across the Merican wastelands. In the southern extremes, forests so immense that a single tree could produce enough wood for multiple fishing ships. Continuing westward, the forests quickly give way to a vibrant and active ocean crashing on hard stone shores. Traveling northeast brings travelers to near impassable mountain ranges, which divide the gnarled wastelands of the east from the more populated western civilization of the Under Sea.
Nestled within the forests, mountains, and wastelands of the Rust Coast are a number of Genjian settlements that were founded either just before or during the fall of humanity. These locations, keeping the most accurate records possible since before the fall, inspire scholars and the scientifically minded to travel for hundreds of miles like pilgrimages of logic.
The Rust Coast spans a large area that runs from the massive forests north of the Frisky City and stretches all the way north to the border of the Pacific Providence. Traversing both terrain and cultures that are night and day to one another, the Rust Coast still seems to keep a strange sort of dichotomy of harmony. With the extremely faith-focused Nation of Accensor having such an influence in the north, and the community-focused Red Star pulling from the south, it would appear to outsiders that the Rust Coast is always in a conflict looking for a middle ground.
The terrain is one of the most diversified across the Merican wastelands. In the southern extremes, forests so immense that a single tree could produce enough wood for multiple fishing ships. Continuing westward, the forests quickly give way to a vibrant and active ocean crashing on hard stone shores. Traveling northeast brings travelers to near impassable mountain ranges, which divide the gnarled wastelands of the east from the more populated western civilization of the Under Sea.
Nestled within the forests, mountains, and wastelands of the Rust Coast are a number of Genjian settlements that were founded either just before or during the fall of humanity. These locations, keeping the most accurate records possible since before the fall, inspire scholars and the scientifically minded to travel for hundreds of miles like pilgrimages of logic.
Geography
The Rust Coast runs from the massive forests north of the Frisky City to the border of the Pacific Providence. The terrain shifts dramatically across the region: ancient forests in the south where individual trees can supply enough lumber for entire fleets; hard stone shores where the ocean crashes against the western edge; near-impassable mountain ranges (the Cascadia Range) dividing the eastern wastelands from the western settlements.
The northern portion has survived dramatic terrain changes without losing the spirit and body of the coast. Tall spire-like trees and vertical rock cropping are not completely dissimilar to the pre-fall terrain. Volcanic activity was triggered in Mount Baker, Mount St. Helen, and Mount Adams during the fall. The Axial Seamount volcano erupted with unpredicted ferocity, releasing miles of hot magma into the ocean. While forest fires raged, massive waves crashed, and ash fell from the skies, the process of environmental evolution was setting the stage for generations to come. New landmasses and raised bays provided shelter. Massive trees began to regrow in areas where small towns had been burned away and buried by ash. The environment was recovering despite the damages of man.
The northern portion has survived dramatic terrain changes without losing the spirit and body of the coast. Tall spire-like trees and vertical rock cropping are not completely dissimilar to the pre-fall terrain. Volcanic activity was triggered in Mount Baker, Mount St. Helen, and Mount Adams during the fall. The Axial Seamount volcano erupted with unpredicted ferocity, releasing miles of hot magma into the ocean. While forest fires raged, massive waves crashed, and ash fell from the skies, the process of environmental evolution was setting the stage for generations to come. New landmasses and raised bays provided shelter. Massive trees began to regrow in areas where small towns had been burned away and buried by ash. The environment was recovering despite the damages of man.
History
Corebook Era
The earliest records describe the Rust Coast as occupying the northwestern corner of the Merican landscape, a territory whose name comes from the hard rains and harsh sea air that quickly corrodes even the most stalwart metals. While the above ground cities had long since become gloomy, dreary hulks of their former glory, many communities moved underground to escape the harsh winters and wet summer seasons. Lascarian and Retrograde communities in particular kept the Rust Coast alive, promoting a small but stable trade market for buried relics, local food, and whatever bright baubles could be found that had not been washed clean of any color or shine.
Further down the coast, the shoreline was transformed not only by weather but by the earth itself, with massive cracks forming new bays and inlets, plunging the remains of old towns and cities into the Pacific Ocean. The great forests also grew and expanded in the absence of mankind's constant consumption, reclaiming much of the formerly settled regions.
