The Bleak

Once a forest, the Bleak is now a flat, featureless, almost totally waterless plain. Since the Bleak is surrounded by rivers, the reason the area is so devoid of water is not known. Alchemists have observed that it is as if any water to enter the area is immediately drawn too far underground for it to be accessed by either plant or animal life. As a result, few examples of life exist here, with the exception of the giant flightless dung beetles. These beetles have nine square acres of usable flat back space, upon which the local inhabitants of the Bleak have built small towns. These beetles excrete water, which the townspeople use to sustain themselves and the crops which they grow in the thin layer of filth covering the beetles. In return, they provide their waste to the beetle, which it consumes for nourishment in a disgusting but essential monthly ritual.

The other interesting feature of the Bleak is the field of giant windmills. There are several miles of them, and each one has a long, rubber cord running to a giant, ancient obsidian stone in the center of the field. The reason for this is a mystery.