The Sargrass Plains

1. Straights of Gal'afree
2. River Hook
3. Skyhook City
4. Gray Tooth Mountains
5. White Winy Island
6. Forest of Faith
7. Crystal Mountains
8. The Twins
9. Druid's Folly
10. Dark Waste
11. Wall of Glorin
12. Jagnar-Vinus
13. Plactik Sea
14. Dragon's Teeth
15. Starlight Deep

Notes on the Plains

(Written by Willow: A Plainstrider)
[21 October 2002]

South of Skyhook is one of the most deadly and beautiful places in the Southern Continent: The Sargrass Plains. Many come from great distances just to see it. Some call it the Cursed Plains, the Grass Waste, or the Living Sea. To me it is simply home. This beautiful and deadly desert gets its name from the grasslands that dominate the land. Imagine standing before a field of grain on a windy day. It looks solid and thick: almost as if you could walk on it. This is what The Plains looks like from the Southern Docks of Skyhook. There the grass looks like a sea of green, blue, purple, gold and silver. A man brave enough to try and step out onto the grass would fall right through, even though it has the illusion of solidity. Throughout the plains the grass grows 10 to 30 feet tall and for most is next to impossible to navigate at ground level. However, there are other ways through and around the grasses. Nothing grows on The Plains except the grass. Nothing lives except the animals strong enough to kill and survive. The animal life of the plains, while unique and amazing, is limited to just a few species: those strong enough to adapt to the harsh environment. Then, of course, there are the peoples of The Plains. These cultures are all brave and strong. Among those who make the plains their home are: Traders, Striders, Foundlings, Tall Men, Climbers, Monks, Barons, Raiders, and of course the mysterious Manfri. All these cut a living from the cloth of the plains and add to its majestic tapestry. I love The Plains. It is my home, my life, and more.

The Grass:

There are at least 48 different cataloged types of grasses. Some are extremely rare, while others are as plentiful as air. Almost all grass types have their uses, and all of them share the same basic properties. Sargrasses are dry. They conduct static electricity. They repel the Wood of the Druid Tree.

Some of the specific types of grass are:

Purple Grass: This is a thick leafed species growing up to 4 to 12 feet high. It is used to make a brilliant red, blue, and purple dye.

Glass Grass: This is a thick and yellow grass when water is present. However, it becomes sharp and brittle when it dries out. In this dry state, it can shatter and cut like glass. Dried roots can be collected, pulverized and distilled into one of the finest liqueurs in the Wold.

Steel Grass: This is a thin bladed green grass that is easily woven into buildings and armor shapes. When it is treated with a paste made by the Manfi, it becomes extremely rigid and strong. The Manfri are known for wearing armor that can turn a tempered sword, made from this grass.

Wheat Grass: This is a wheat-like grass with seedpods that can be ground and made into bread.

The Animals:

The animal life, upon the plains, is an extremely limited circle. Other than the insects, which are not as easy to catalogue, these are some of the beasts that make their home in the Sargrass Plains.

Blind (or Prairie) Swallow: This is a sightless bird. It seems to be about the only bird that lives within The Plains. This bird has no eyes and is very tasty when eaten and roasted.

Prairie Pig: This is a slug, about the size of a large dog, which again serves as another tasty roasted meal.

Baccke (Bounder): This animal looks like an insane cross between a frog and a bulldog. It is about the size of a large horse. It has a huge mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and always seems to be grinning.

Great Ranthom: This is a huge grazing animal about the size of a large Orca Whale. It has no teeth. Instead, it has something like an open scoop for a mouth, with the bottom edge being razor sharp. This animal has huge forelegs, but where the back legs should be there is a strange rolling appendage. This animal is rumored to never stop moving from the day it is born until it dies. The raiders like to travel in the wake of these creatures. Doing so allows one to traverse The Plains at ground level, which normally is extremely difficult.

Rapke: This beast is a large animal that looks like a cross between a horse and a raptor like dinosaur. The animal is about as large as a small elephant.

Sarg Moth: Little is known about this animal. It looks like a cross between a purple worm and a bat, or dragon. It is sometimes seen near dusk gliding over the deep plains, but it is very rarely seen at any other time.

The People:

There are a number of strange people that live on the plains. Here are those who are best known to me.

Monks: The Monks believe that the grass is a blight upon the land created by an evil force. Their purpose is to drive the grass from the plains and make the land pure and good once again. The only way to do this is to plant and nurture Druid Trees. Planting and raising such trees is the life purpose of the Monks. They also practice the discipline of silent singing that is the only known way to pass safely through the crystal range that splits the plains in two.

Climbers: An ultra-religious people, they exile themselves to the plains and build underground habitats. Above ground, they build huge incredible beehive-like structures, always building them higher and larger, until finally they get so unwieldy that they collapse in upon themselves. The survivors of these disasters move to a new place and begin again. Some believe that they do this to get closer to the gods, others because they are building the ultimate temple. The climbers do not say, but both of these theories seem unlikely to me.

Foundlings: Scattered through out the plains, are a number of villages run by the Monks. These small villages raise crops and trade goods to help support the Monks. Because the populations of most of these villages are made up of exiles and found people, they rarely last long or stay in one place. The only exception to this is the Foundling City of Rattledam. It is hidden and has never been shown on any map. Those that place it on maps soon find their maps mysteriously destroyed or stolen. However, many trade captains know where it is and should you find it you will know it by its low grass dome, looking much like a small Climber beehive, except much wider and flatter.

Traders: Out of the wood from the Druid Trees some have learned to fashion boats. These amazing vessels float upon the grass as if it were water. They carry goods and people over the plains. Some run pleasure barges through the plains for sightseers and religious pilgrims. The Traders are a strange and brave folk. Every sailor knows that to fall overboard into the sea you simply must know how to swim. To fall overboard in The Plains requires a new skill: the ability to not land on your head.

Plainswalkers: Known also as striders and walkers, we are a loosely grouped semi-society that walk the plains in search of ... something. It is different for each of us. Some of us walk using stilts, while others sail on small pieces of druidwood. I search for truth and the center of things. Each of us is clearly marked as a Strider by the gray eyes and white hair that change over time due to some sort of connection we make to this place.

Raiders: The Raiders are random groups of people who scavenge a living out from the plains, through trade and theft. Most raider camps consist of men who wish to live without laws or according to bizarre laws of their own.

Barons: The Barons are held together by their loyalty and fear of a being known as The Shadow King. The Shadow King has been revealed to be Marteaus, God of Disease. The Barons, however, continue to worship him in the guise of the Shadow King. This they do openly and without fear.

Tall Men: These Tall Men are not spoken of except by us, the Striders. They are the ultimate assassins. They are trained somewhere within the Crystal Mountains. This training changes them. Mutates them into ... something else. They are absolutely silent, sure, unfaltering. They are the perfect assassins, and until recently they have never failed in an assassination attempt. They are tall and treelike with arms that reach to almost to the ground. A Tall man standing straight up looks more like a thick blade of grass or pole. The striders have sworn to kill any we find on sight, and they tend to return the favor. The Crones of the Downs have said that the end to our mutual conflict has no foreseeable end.

Manfri

The Crystal Range:

Not much can be said about this strange and beautiful place. It is a mountain range that horizontally splits our homeland from the west to the east and is made entirely of crystals. Diamond, quartz, amethyst, and emerald are some of the most common of the crystal types. All known crystals can be found within the range. Even the animal life of the area is made from crystal. This is the most deadly place within the Sargrass Plains. The crystals, which grow from the roots of the mountains, erupt violently when the vibrations of loud sound or shock disturb them. They then begin to vibrate, eventually exploding into sharp shrapnel which can flay a man in moments. There is no safety here except in the presence of the Monks. Their chanting seems to create a silent spell that allows freedom of movement and travel through the range.

Plains Travel:

The grasses control all water on The Plains, and unless you know which kind will not poison you during which month of the year, stealing water from the grass is a suicidal idea. Instead, you should take water and food with you. It is hot. Try not to sweat or spill water on the grasses. The life of The Plains is very sensitive to the presence of water, and spilled water has been the death of many travelers due to predators which arrive quickly and in amazing numbers. Stay out of the direct sun when you can. Better yet, unless the call of The Plains is so strong upon you that you cannot ignore it, stay home.