The Nightfen
The Nightfen
The Nightfen is a low wetland in the south-central Vale. There is no open water. The ground stays soaked from slow seepage below the surface, but it gives little to drink. Fog hangs low most days and limits sight to short distances.
Ground and Movement
The land is black peat, slick mud, and dense reeds. Shallow pools form, foul quickly, then vanish into the ground. Old raised paths cross the worst areas, but many are broken or half sunk. Most safe routes were built before the Drying and are now unreliable.
Fresh water is rare. What little exists is hidden, guarded, or fought over. Some sources are sealed and trapped to kill thieves. Others are blocked by thick growth that must be cut away to reach anything usable.
Climate and Sickness
Mornings are cold and damp. Midday heat settles in still pockets. This shift breeds swarms of biting insects that spread fever. Anything left on the ground rots fast. Sickness appears in sudden patches. Animals often carry it without dying.
Control and Authority
The Southern Shield claims the Nightfen but does not fully control it. Armed wardens hold the edges and a few stable paths. Their stated role is containment and order. In practice, they decide who moves, who is stopped, and who is left to die.
Warden posts are raised platforms with warning boards and burn pits. Wardens seize supplies, break camps, and force people out of the fen. Families marked as unsafe are barred from travel.
People and Survival
Few live in the Nightfen by choice. Most enter to work, hide, or steal. Small clusters of huts sit on higher ground, built on brush and scrap wood. People survive on fungus, insects, eels, and anything that can be dried fast. Tools rust quickly. Leather rots. Rope fails unless kept clean and dry.
Some families live on the move, shifting between caches and half-sunk shelters. They avoid fires and patrols. When caught, they are treated as criminals.
Work and Goods
The Nightfen yields little, and all of it is dangerous to gather:
Peat for fuel
Reeds for cord and mats
Resin and tar from rot-stumps
Dried fungus for food and crude medicine
Eels, insects, and mudfish
Most work is done by poor crews under guard. Many never see most of what they harvest.
Daily Risk
Everything breaks faster here. People carry oil, ash, and spare cord because wet air ruins gear. Camps are raised off the ground when possible. Anyone who sleeps on bare peat wakes sick, bitten, or worse.
Death and Disposal
Burial is difficult. Shallow pits flood and collapse. Bodies rot fast. Most dead are burned. Ash is packed and sealed when time allows. In bad periods, names are lost and bodies are destroyed in bulk to stop panic.
Travel and Smuggling
Most lawful travel avoids the Nightfen. Those who cross do so with guards and accept losses. Smugglers use fog and broken ground to move supplies and people. Patrols respond with traps and night hunts, but the fen always offers another place to hide.
Common Beliefs
People who know the Nightfen believe this:
Clean-looking water is often deadly
Silence from insects means something large is near
Broken paths can be decay or a warning
Trust nothing that looks easy
Notable Features
Sealed Water Sources: Guarded or trapped, often fought over
Old Raised Paths: Unstable routes linking edge forts and work sites
Burn Pits: Sites where bodies, gear, and beasts are destroyed
Cordon Lines: Stakes and markers that define where movement ends