Map of the Stargazer Plateau
"You will never find a clearer view of the stars, and, with it, the wisdom of the void" -Mamutok Astronomer
The Stargazer Plateau is an enormous tundra that stretches across the entire the southern pole of Soi inhabited by the Mamutok.
The Stargazer Plateau is devoid of any and all landmarks, making it nearly impossible to navigate except for those with a great understand of astronomy or higher math orienteering.
Climate/Geography
The Plateau, due to being so near the south pole of the planet of Soi, is constantly a frigid temperature inhospitable to most life.The landscape consists of flat plateaus or rolling hills as far as the eye can see in any direction. No natural landmarks exist in this landscape within the borders. They experience several months of complete darkness in winter, and several months of sunlight in summer. The city of Axis at the Geographic South Pole only experiences one sunrise and one sunset per year. Auroras paint the sky during the long nights.
Air Storms
The Stargazer plateau is known for sudden, violent windstorms that are capable of tearing down fortified structures. The Mamutok tribes have developed systems of predicting these windstorms and avoid them completely or stay low to the ground and avoid the dangerously high wind gusts.
Permafrost layer
Beneath the surface of the Plateau, is a layer of permanently-frozen water infused into the soil called the permafrost layer. Most animals and people that live in this area get their water from this layer.
Ecology
"Nothing grows here, nothing. I have watched every crop we have planted wither and die, and my army along with it. The windstorms tear down our walls and giant, winged creatures carry away our animals in the night. This expedition is cursed." -Tallet Commander attempting to conquer a part of the plateau
The entire plateau is covered in sandgrass, a rough, tall grass that is incredibly nutritious to the large mammoths that the tribal peoples of the land ride, but nearly indigestible to most other creatures. Few other plants or animals live in this vast expanse of land. This, combined with the low temperatures and frequent wind storms make it an incredibly hostile land.
Notable life
- Sandgrass- This is the most common form of plant life in the landmass. The grass covers the entire surface of the Stargazer Plateau. The grass has a very rough, coarse texture akin to a sharpening stone and can grow up to two meters in height. The mammoths and Platybelodons of the land are some of the few creatures that can eat and digest the plant, but derive great nutritional value from it. It is intolerant of warmer climates.
- Mammoths- Enormous, shaggy, mammalian creatures that travel in large herds, on average the beasts stand four meters high and weigh 7200 kg. Their most prominent features aside from their size are their two massive tusks and prehensile trunks. They are nearly impossible to capture and domesticate. The mammoth riders of the plains have somehow domesticated them and use them for travel, as well as their pelts, meat, cheese, and other by-products.
- Platybelodons- A cousin species of the mammoth, their distinguishing feature is their prehensile trunks ending in shovel mouthed bills. The Mamutok call them the shovel-mammoths.
- Fur plants- These are a family of air plants that grow in the furs of the mammoths, feeding off of the salt and dead skin that flakes off of their bodies. Their consumption of the dead skin and body soil prevents the buildup of parasites, forming a symbiotic relationship. Some of these plants are edible or have medicinal purposes.
- Burrowmoles- A family of large rodents that live in the soil just below the permafrost layer, they eat the lichens, fungi, and insects that live under the ground and form enormous underground colonies. They go above-ground to sun themselves and get fresh air during the day. Their teeth never stop growing and they must chew to wear them down.
- Chewswarms- These are massive swarms of flying insects that eat sandgrass pods. They occasionally leave the plateau in great migrations to eat entire harvests outside of the borders. According to both the Mamutok and Ashed, they are very nutritious.
- Giant Condors- A species of enormous birds capable of picking up goats or people, they live in ground-level nests, often preying on burrowmoles.
People
"If in a thousand years every other civilization fell, if the world was consumed by war, the Mamutok tribes will still be here I have no doubt." -Kushani trader in regards to the people of the plateau
The Mamutok that live in this area have become incredibly acclimated to the cold, growing edible crops on the backs of their mammoths and learning to navigate the impossible territory by the stars and curvature of Soi itself. The nights are often cloudless and the stars fully visible.
Various civilizations have attempted to conquer and tame this land, all without success, save for the nomadic Mamutok tribes of the Stargazer.