The Wild Lands

The Wild Lands
Wenaria has very few specific borders between its nations. Kingdoms patrol as much territory as they think they can hold, but wide expanses between their territories prevent most conflict. Dozens of villages claiming no allegiance fall between them. This creates more of a wide blur instead of a defined line. The only way to know if one enters a specific kingdom is to ask the citizens of a village. There are no border markers or sentries on the few trodden paths. This leaves tens of thousands of square miles unclaimed, a sea of wilderness in which islands of civilization flourish. Many of these would dangerous locations in which to settle, thanks to the presence of magic or monsters.

Many forests in the wild lands are enchanted and to check one needs to look at the variety of trees growing. If the trees are of radically different species, growing in the same region without regard for light or temperature (conifers mixing with fruit trees, or cactus growing on mountain slopes), it is a forest populated by magic. Often times, the creatures that inhabit the forests spill out into the surrounding scrub and plains, making open space only slightly safer to traverse than the paths under the trees.

The upheavals caused by the regions constant volcanic activity also opened many spaces beneath the mountains and under the ground, into which less than savory new life-forms quickly ascended. Some of these chasms even swallowed up artifacts of the old age, so it is not unknown (though hardly common either) for a dungeon delver to descend into a natural cave system and find an expanse of worked stone inside. These unchecked areas of the world feature the most dangerous life forms. Some rumors claim the largest percentage of dragons in the world is spread over the unclaimed forests in the Wild Lands.

Beyond dragons, not known for their hospitality anyway, these forests, plains, and mountains showcase the greatest ratio of magically endowed life, from dire and elemental animals to monstrous beasts of ill will.