Tembrae Marsh

Place

Place Name:

Tembrae Marsh

Biome:

Marsh

Size:

300 Square miles

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

Tembrae Marsh is a shallow valley running roughly north-south, on average just above sea level. A small river, also called Tembrae, flows into it and is temporarily lost in the marsh. To the east is a sea which the Pasomsul call the Eastern Ocean. Before the hurricane, the Tembrae valley was a few miles away from the coast; however, the flood changed the landscape so that the ocean now forms the eastern border of the region. To the west and north, the land rises to a range of hills, forest-covered in some parts. The Tembrae region contains half a dozen sizable “islands” of more or less dry ground, rising a few feet or up to one yard above the regular ground level. Aside from this, the bottom of the valley is a marsh of brackish water and a bewildering number of marsh plants.

Though most of the marsh is open ground, trees adapted to the wet environment grow on occasional mounds of soil and tufted grass, trailing their roots into the water. The depth of the marsh water is variable. On a year of average rainfall, most of the marsh has a depth varying from 1–2 feet up to kin'toni waist height, but there are also areas that are much deeper, several yards. There are occasional small, deep ponds that are difficult to spot from above the surface, creating unpleasant and dangerous surprises for travellers. A large area in the central and eastern parts of the marsh, where most of the higher islands are situated, is the shallowest, often only one foot deep, whereas the deepest areas are in the north.

During dry and sunny summers, parts of the marsh may dry out. On the other hand, sea storms have led to the marsh flooding again, leading to miserable months with shortage of prey. The Pasomsul kin'toni sleep in underground bunkers dug beneath seven caves in the northern and western hills, where the land is dry. The bunkers were dug before the time of the kin'toni , by the zu'aan population, for use as tombs. They are clean and dry, solidly constructed, and provide more than enough living-space for the clan. The Pasomsul kin'toni do not live in the natural caves above the crypts, but use them for religious purposes, to house relics dedicated to Aughel-Iye. The caves are complex tunnel systems, and an intruder would need luck to find the way to a significant area.

The Wall of Wisdom is a site of great cultural and religious significance, built across a hill pass where entry to the valley would otherwise be easy. According to the Pasomsul clan, the start of its construction goes as far back as the start of kin'toni history. Initially, it may have been simply a defensive wall against invaders, but now it holds religious significance, with each stone block being dedicated to a specific day in the life of the clan’s god Beezul. The wall has never been finished. It was greatly damaged during the flood, and since then, the clan has been trying to rebuild it. The construction and guarding of the wall is in the hands of the clan’s military, the Pasomsul Order.

Plants

The primary plant of the marsh is marshgrass, a kind of dark green, fleshy grass that can grow up to four feet high. The inside of the straws is filled with a white fluffy substance. Another grass found in the area is uagadval ahask, wetland grass, which is blade-shaped and dark green, the tips turning red when mature. It is fast-growing and can get up to five feet tall. Another low-growing plant of the marshes is called nooseweed. It is fully aquatic, taking root in the muck and growing thin, slimy tendrils that can get up to ten yards long. It gets its name from the way the tendrils, which are very tough, tangle the feet of travellers in the marsh and trip them up.

While this is only a nuisance in the shallower parts, it may be fatal if someone is unfortunate enough to fall in deeper water and does not have a companion to help. Another, less dangerous, marsh vine is the yellowgarland, which grows out long tendrils that float on the water and bloom with small, bright yellow flowers in spring. The adreba chedan is an underwater plant, light blue-green in colour and without flowers, that spreads under water as strands that can grow up to ten feet. Its stems are thick and rough when fully grown, and it spreads its seeds via water currents. The cherpit flower is a carnivorous aquatic plant living in deep waters. When it reaches maturity, its calyx, which is striped in pink and yellow, is almost completely submerged, with its edges barely showing above the surface.

If an animal gets inside the edges, the calyx will react to the movement and flip upside down, drowning the prey in the bottom sludge so that its roots can absorb the nutrients from the corpse. The calyx floats back to its predatory, upwards-facing state once the prey is dead. While they may seem nightmarish, they are actually rarely a danger to sapients, for two reasons. Firstly, they take many years to grow to a size where they pose a danger to kin'toni , and secondly, the flower does not harm its prey except by holding it underwater, meaning that a victim who does not panic will likely have time to fight their way out before drowning, especially if armed with an edged weapon.

Even so, they are understandably loathed, and the kin'toni tend to destroy small specimens on sight to prevent them from growing larger. The most common tree in the marsh is the trailbranch, a slender-branched tree with lancet-shaped leaves and high water demand. The kirak tree bears many yellow fruit that are eaten by Pasomsul kin'toni . A type of mangrove trees called enkasil are also found, especially in the eastern part of Tembrae. They grow up to about fifteen feet at most and have slender, twisted trunks and very dark bark, standing on groups of thick knotted roots. The dry islands and higher land by the cave openings are covered with common grass, green in the spring and turning yellow in late summer. The trailbranch trees grow here as well.

Animals

The fazul is a bipedal herbivorous primate that usually weighs around 300 pounds and has an average height of around eight feet. They roam the marshes in small groups, particularly looking for fruit, but also eating leaves and plants. They are rarely aggressive unless threatened, and will let Pasomsul kin'toni drain their requirement of blood from them without struggling. The Pasomsul kin'toni usually bite the fazul’s leg to suck blood, and the bite heals remarkably fast after they let go. For this reason, the fazuls are the Pasomsul clan’s preferred blood source. The ynzora is a four-limbed herbivorous animal with thick, light grey waterproof fur. It is fully aquatic, living in the deeper areas of the marsh.

Since Pasomsul kin'toni are good swimmers and generally adapted to water, they are able to prey on ynzoras for blood. The baydgad is a scaled animal with four limbs, grey-blue or silver in colour and about three feet long when adult. It lives under water but comes up to breathe, and crawls onto the land to mate and lay eggs. It is herbivorous, grazing on marsh grasses and algae. A predatory species is the yaubsa, an aquatic reptile that breathes air. It grows to about six feet long and has an armour of thick grey scales, as well as sharp teeth and long claws. They feed on smaller animals, and thanks to their natural weaponry they can pose a danger to kin'toni , though they tend not to hunt them if they have access to easier prey.

In turn, the kin'toni tend to avoid them. Gyas are very small, slimy-skinned amphibians. Their most significant trait is that they latch on to mammals and suck their blood to feed themselves, and their offspring in the case of pregnant females. They are the most common prey of small cherpit plants. The most common fish is the spwinoth, which has a serpentine body that is better adapted to negotiating the marsh than open waters. Its scales vary between silver-white and dark brown. Kara are common in the summer months, hatching from the standing water in huge swarms. They spread a blood-borne infection that the Pasomsul kin'toni refer to simply as “the Warm Scourge.” While Pasomsul kin'toni rarely die from it unless their health is already weak,

It leaves them incapacitated and feverish, sometimes recurring with an interval of a few months. The mosquitoes have become rarer in recent years thanks to the cooler climate. The kha, a very small yellow bird, preys on these mosquitoes. Clan members sometimes capture an animal to raise and care for, which is considered a sacred service to the god Beezul. While any large animal is suitable for this, fazuls are commonly chosen because of their docility and the general affinity towards them in Pasomsul culture.

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	Pasomsul Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Tembrae Marsh

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