Ashes of the Empire

Now that most of the crunch of the campaign is starting to be in order, it's time to turn our attention to the lore. This thread is, as the clever among you have guessed, about the areas and resource zones of the campaign. Both need some sort of descriptions, whether it be history, backstory, environment or whatever else floats your boat, so something like the stuff I've posted or the Neter ones found in this thread. So if you have a need for speed to write some fluff, this is your chance to do so.

So, what exactly needs writing? Well, first things first the island where the campaign happens doesn't have a name as of yet, so I'm open to suggestions. The only fluff on it is that it's a separate area that is outside the main Neter map and that it's a part of the Steel Empire, at least nominally. The island is spread into ten different Areas marked with red color. The areas are usually a single biome of the island with its own weather conditions. In addition there are 15 Resource Zones marked with green color. Each enemy faction has two zones (a HQ and a regular one) and the player has two finite and one infinite one. These will be mentioned under whatever area they reside in. If you want to check where the stuff actually is, you can find them in the map editor. Areas can be found under (surprisingly) areas, whereas RZ:s are under Instance -> Resource.

Here's the list itself. I've written some of the descriptions already, but if you think you have a better one for any of them feel free to post it. Spellchecking is also appreciated, especially as I'm not a native speaker and I presume most of us aren't either.

Corsal Dunes: The sun-baked desert of Corsal is a truly inhospitable place. Water is far and few between with almost all bodies of water are either salt lakes or long since dried up whereas flora and fauna are almost mythical sights in their rarity. Still this barren wasteland has its own inhabitants: Raiders of the Dustwind clan claim the wastes as their own, striking from the heart of the desert where the armies of the Empire dare not to follow them, and foolhardy seekers of fortune scour the dunes in search of artifacts of long-dead civilizations.

DWG HQ: Ratmast: The ragtag Town of Ratmast is one of the only permanent settlements in Corsal. Situated near one of the only sources of fresh water in the whole desert, this wretched hive of scum and villainy is a well-known hub for black market business where everything from illegal military salvage to rare artifacts dug up from the dunes can be bought and sold far from the prying eyes of the Empire. Conquering it would grant a man of dubious morals a great if less-than-legal source of wealth.

Southern Expanse: These vast plains were given a rather misplaced name during the early exploration of the island. Apart from the seasonal monsoon rains and a few landmarks the whole area is rather unremarkable and only sparsely inhabited by a few farmers and ranchers.

SE RZ: Fort Phantom: Formed as a response to the constant raids of the Dustwind Gypsies, this lone garrison is mostly crewed by soldiers who have been reassigned there after some form of misconduct. Endless pelting by heavy rain and living on a constant state of alert due to their raider neighbors have rendered the men stationed here remarkably mean-spirited and quick to vent their frustration on anything vaguely enemy-shaped encroaching on their territory.

DWG RZ: Riverbank Ruins: Aftermath of the recent monsoon and the floods that followed have revealed a rare find: An ancient library buried in the muddy riverside, untouched by robbers and filled with tablets written in a long-forgotten language. Such treasures could fetch high enough prices from wealthy collectors to outfit a small army.

Northern player RZ

Player HQ: Stockpile 114:
Through a semi-legal acquisition of a few official documents and by greasing the right palms you have managed to buy an old and remote stockpile that was nearly forgotten by the Empire. The countless ancient AFV:s, curious prototypes, towering mountains of discarded parts and other oddities will take decades to shift trough and will certainly fetch a hefty price from scrap merchants and collectors. Maybe you could even get a few of them up and running...

Gemini Lakes: These twin lakes were one of the most visited tourist traps in the Neter, owing to their uniqueness and year-around perfect weather. Recent tensions and the increasingly dangerous waters surrounding the island have however resulted in the resorts becoming abandoned ruins with even the most stubborn idle rich avoiding them like plague.

TG HQ

Coldwell Plains

SE HQ

TG RZ: Magru Delta
A few centuries ago the Magru river was the home of one of the biggest gold rushes seen on Neter. Thousands of prospectors and other seekers of fortune congregated to pan the river and mine the surrounding countryside in a mad dash for riches which lasted for two decades and resulted in the finding of the single biggest gold nugget in the world, nicknamed "The Heart of Magru." Nowadays the the riverside is mostly inhabited by ghost towns and stubborn adventurers still seeking to find long-lost abandoned mines, though recently Twin Guard mining drones have been sighted mining the mouth of the river.

The Titan's Tundra

OW HQ: Peak of Rauros: Named after the renowned explorer who originally found it, the Peak of Rauros is jokingly referred to as the sacred ground of the Onyx Watch. No other location in whole Neter that features as massive reserve of oil, which surpasses even the already legendary wealth of the Cold Loch. Many would-be raiders and conquerors seeking the riches within the mountain have been utterly crushed by the zealous defence mounted by the soldiers of the Watch, who will gladly lay down their lives for this unique natural wonder.

OW RZ

Annaz Mountains

Southern Player RZ: Annaz Mines: Finding the abandoned mines was certainly a boon to your efforts. Crystals, high-quality iron and other valuable resources are plentiful here, presenting a perfect beginning to a budding war machine. However one must be wary of competition – you might not be the only one interested in claiming their wealth.

LH RZ: Annaz Pass: This strategically important pass in the middle of the island has been the location of countless battles, with the earliest recorded skirmish happening over two millennia ago. Not only is the pass an excellent choke point to protect either side of the mountain, but it's also brimming with untapped resources and salvage from conflicts both ancient and new.

Whispering Wind Plains

WF HQ: The Forest Court: Native inhabitants of the island followed a pagan religion that held forests as sacred, with gods themselves holding court in their hearts. The first missionaries of the Church of the Flayed god arriving on the island weren't particularly impressed by these native rites. Nowadays only the name of these old forests remains, with the massive woods either burned or chopped down to build the armada of the Iron Thorn Ministry.

Copperwind Plateau

WF RZ: Shrine of St. Alma: The death of St. Alma is a widely celebrated event of the Church of the Flayed god, commemorating the sacrifice of the saint that ended a decades-long schism within the church. What most don't know is that as her last words Alma begged the High Flayer for her life, saying that she could still be useful to the church. The High Flayer agreed to only one of these things.

Wisp Dancers' Swamp

Shockray Coast: The east coast of the island, though pleasant and ideal for tourism, has been completely uninhabited and fenced off for the past century with the officials of the Empire blaming a large-scale industrial accident as the reason. A popular conspiracy theory claims that a Scarlet Dawn mothership crashed on the beach during the first war, and sightings of odd lights and black-and-green UFOs are common among the denizens of the nearby plains.

LH HQ: Shockray Peninsula: In public knowledge this remote area is an industrial zone, filled with nondescript factories and similar uninteresting sights. In truth the peninsula is a secret research facility of the Thirteen Sages, with the surrounding waters being an ideal testing ground for their hover technology. Though assaulting the heavily dug-in Hoods will certainly be a challenge, a daring conqueror could gain access to all manner of knowledge and resources left behind by the rogue scientists.