Itond Deadlands

Place

Place Name:

Itond Deadlands

Biome:

Deadlands

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Located as part of the bridge between the temperate and tropical zones, the Itond deadlands acts as a solemn reminder that not every region in the area is lush or alive. In the deadlands there is only the craggy ground, random rock formations, a short maze of steep ridges leading to a muddy watering hole and clay mud caves where the original settlers of Itond once lived. The entire place is dry and barren due to no rain fall for most of the year. The surrounding areas are all better suited for living than the deadlands and yet the path through the deadlands is the easiest to manage.

If one wants to get from the temperate grassland in the north to the jungle that lies across the southern chasm with the only land bridge other than the coast being through the deadlands. To the west is a more grasslands and to the east is the rocky cliffs that overlook the coast. No buildings or construction has touched the deadlands and the most common form of decoration is the bones and even some times the whole skeleton of the creature, regardless of what it once was. Though travel is easy there is some hardships. The region has only the one heavily guarded watering hole.

Much of the wildlife that now roams the territory serve the local Ja Anarath Kin'toni Clan, and the ground is given to breaking up into sink holes since the Shattering. Some believe that these new developments are because the land has been cursed or tainted by the actions of the Xerea Empire, while others just look at it as part of the changes that precede the coming end. There was two times when the deadlands were the site of temporary landmarks. The first was when the neighbouring regions built a totem to say that the residents of the region were peaceful tinkerers in need of supplies.

And were protected by the other tribes from the neighbouring territories. This helped give them a safety net whenever they were likely to face danger. The totem was repaired and maintained by the sympathetic neighbors for many years in the hopes that it would dissuade all from acting aggressively while entering the region. The totem was destroyed by the Xerea Empire as a message to the world. They made sure nothing could repair it as a way of saying the days of protecting the Itond were over. In its place they erected a massive fake tree which they decorated with the bodies of the Itond people who died in the weapons testing.

They would leave the bodies there until they returned with the threat that if the bodies were touched before they returned that they would then kill everyone. This kept the fake tree up for many years. It became a place where travellers paid their respects to the dead and offered gifts to help keep the rest of the Itond alive. It also became where the Itond children were sent away before they could be taken by the Empire.

Plants

The Itond deadlands does not play around with it’s name. At least not in terms of vegetation. Any animal that lived there before the plague was either carnivorous or omnivorous. This is due to the land having nothing but clay for soil. Nothing can take root in the deadlands no matter how hard the neighbouring regions tried to aid the Itond people. The land rejects to bear any vegetation of any kind. Even things that survive in other barren areas wither and die in the deadlands. It is such that stories have spread of the potential for a curse on the land.

One tells of a witch who was trying to kill a fair maiden but her spell was rebounded into the land and ever since everything planted there dies. Another says that the Itond people must have offended a god and their punishment was to have their land be eternally barren. Still others are certain it’s the actions of some sinister people for unknown reasons. Regardless all agreed that unless something happened to change the region on a fundamental level, it would remain barren forever. Because of this the Itond people relied on the aid and trade agreements they received from other nations.

They sold their skills in order to live while unwilling to leave their barren wasteland of a home. Every time it rained and the watering hole filled with fresh water, some of the other regions would attempt a new strain of every type of plant they could think of. But nothing came of it. Not even fungi grow in the moist caves and cracks in the tall ridges. And yet the Itond people were stubborn and refused to give up on their home. They would dig until they hit bedrock and fill the hole with proper soil and attempt to plant things that way.

But the lack of water and the overwhelming heat has scorched every attempt to make this tactic work. It’s as if the land just wants to die in every sense. Even when attempted in complete shade there was not a single type of seed that even attempted to take root. For this reason the Itond people were well treated and taken care of by everyone they met. Soldiers would not only share their supplies, but bring different plant cuttings with them in the hopes that maybe something would take to the soil. Others brought potted plants and types of succulents to see if they would last because they weren’t in the actual soil.

But still they lasted three days before they withered away. The kin'toni clan that took the region after the fall of the Empire also attempted with their own mutated strains of plants derived from the experiments the Empire performed in attempts to terraform the world into their preferred biome. Even the most durable of the mutated plants refused to survive within the region. No matter who tried or how they worked to get around it, everyone had to admit the truth: nothing grows in a dead land.

Animals

The deadlands of Itond are curiously not devoid of wildlife in the same way they are devoid of vegetation. In fact it’s more common to see a live animal than it is to see one of the Itond people. However it proves for visitors to be careful as the lack of vegetation means that every single creature in Itond is either omnivorous or completely carnivorous. Thus unlike the usual hierarchical symbiosis, the deadlands of Itond are a complete free for all where there is no top and there is no bottom. All animals have an equal chance of being the predator or being the prey.

And while the Itond people hated violence and tried to get along with the other zu'aan tribes and countries, they were quite capable of fighting to the death in order to get something to eat. After witnessing such a struggle, a visiting soldier asked his commander why they always put away their weapons around such a dangerous unarmed fighting people. The commander answered that it was because the Itond did not like fighting, and “when someone more capable of killing without a weapon than you are with everything you carry says they don’t want to fight, you do everything you can to not provide them a reason to change their mind.”

Even for the visiting soldiers on the way to or from battle, the wildlife of Itond was such that only the locals were allowed to deal with them to prevent any loss of life for the military professional. And when the kin'toni claimed the region, they brought their own personal hunting animals to let loose on the native creatures and any potential zu'aan prey nearby. One of the reptiles that thrives in the aptly named deadlands of Itond is the Itondi beaded lizard. This large reptile is recognised by its white and brown splotchy coloured beaded skin and its snubbed snout.

They are extremely venomous and territorially aggressive. One bite is enough to spell the end for its victims and as such it tends to move more slowly than other animals. This allows them to easily approach unsuspecting prey and strike before they can react. Then they will often wait and follow the bitten creature, waiting for when the venom takes hold and paralyses their victims. It is then that the lizard will begin to feed, often starting with the legs as the venom slowly shuts down the rest of the body. The venom never reaches the pain receptors or the part of the brain that controls a person’s capability to think and reason and understand.

So the victim is completely capable of feeling every single bite the lizard takes and fully understands what all is occurring, while at the same time they can not move or scream or do anything to draw attention to receive much needed aid. They just can lie their silently screaming in agony and terror as they feel themselves being eaten by the slow moving lizard.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Ja Anarath Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Itond Deadlands

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This article is written by xoishtar. Copyright 2026 xoishtar. All rights reserved.