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“From the observation deck of our airship, Eden unfolds below like a living tapestry woven from equal parts wonder and terror. Snow-crowned peaks of distant mountains give way to the emerald expanse of the Hatari jungle, its canopy pulsing with bioluminescent life that seems to breathe in rhythm with some unknowable intelligence. Along the coastline, precarious settlements cling to existence between ravenous seas and the ever-encroaching green hell, their stilted homes and rusty fishing boats a testament to humanity's stubborn refusal to surrender. The Jangwa's parched dead zones stretch south like cracked, sun-bleached bones, while hidden within the jungle's depths lie the skeletal remains of drowned megacities, their secrets guarded by creatures born of nightmare and mutation. Master Marek warned me that some places change you, but nothing prepared me for how Eden would reshape not just my understanding of the world, but my very sense of what it means to be human in it - where the line between hunter and hunted, survivor and monster, blurs as completely as the mist rising from the jungle floor at dawn, forcing you to confront how thin the veil between the remnants of civilization and total savagery truly is.”
INX-394 "Inks," Apprentice Cartographer, Handelstaat Guild, Day 17 of The Green Fever, 125 AP
The lush coastline of Eden stretches like a jade necklace along the eastern shores of the continent of Afrikaan, a deceptively beautiful facade hiding untold dangers within.
Where once great megacities stood as beacons of harmony between technology and nature, now only crumbling ruins remain, slowly devoured by an insatiable jungle that seems to pulse with malevolent life.
The ruins of the "Dead Cities" draw in scores of scavengers every day, trying to make a living from the endless technological valuables that can still be found decades after the Great Collapse.
Most scavengers will try to make the most of the daylight and enter the cities early in the day.
A wise scavenger moves quietly and with great care.
The dead Cities are filled with mutants of many varieties, including the long-lived mutant super soldiers that have outlived the Reaping and the Purge.
Many inexperienced scavengers die on their very first city incursion.
Those scavengers that have lived long enough to learn the ways of the Dead Cities, make for the underground tunnels, which are a little less dangerous and full of technological loot.
A scavenger has found a functioning power core. If she can make it out alive and to the next settlement to sell it, she stands to make large sums of money!
In the age of Desolation, the coastline of Eden is a patchwork of precarious human settlements clinging to existence in the shadow of Dead Cities and the ever-encroaching Hatari jungle.
The markets of these settlements are bustling with activity: Scavengers sell precious items recovered from the Dead Cities, fishers sell their catch of the day and reef divers sell treasures from the depths of the coastal waters, ranging from mussels to mysterious technological devices from long forgotten sunken metropolises of an age gone by.
Every dawn, weathered fishing boats push out into the treacherous waters, their crews knowing full well that each voyage might be their last.
The fisherwomen cast their nets with trembling hands, eyes constantly scanning the waves for the telltale ripples that herald the approach of massive tentacled horrors from the depths.
The reef divers risk their lives every time they enter the turquoise waters off the coast pf Eden
While most divers use oxygen bottles, there are those that prefer to free dive without any hinderance, allowing them to enter hidden areas that are inaccessible to those that are more encumbered.
The waters are infested with a wide array of underwater creatures. While many of them are deadly predators, others are simply curious...
It is the jungle of Hatari that truly dominates the landscape of Eden, a vast expanse of green hell that defies all attempts at taming. By day, the canopy filters the sunlight into an eerie, emerald twilight. By night, the jungle comes alive with bioluminescence, every leaf and vine seeming to pulse with an inner light. The air is thick with spores and the calls of unseen creatures, each breath poses the risk of inhaling something that might rewrite one's very DNA.
Veteran hunters hire large amounts of hunters and beaters to go on a large jungle expeditions. Every survivor will get paid a fair share of the exploits of the hunt.
The hunters spread out, ready for the creatures of the jungle to be flushed out by the beaters.
The jungle is beaten with sticks and machetes, to flush the creatures of the jungle from their lairs.
A dangerous jungle creature has been cornered by the hunt.
Instead of retreating, the creature attacks the beaters...
... many of the beaters are mauled and slaughtered by the creature.
The hunters observe the carnage for a while - for every member of the expedition that dies, the share for the survivors increases!
Finally, the hunters take aim...
... and bring down the creature.
The master of the hunt and the few survivors of the expedition will fetch a good price for the precious meat, hide, and fangs of the slain beast.
The dead and wounded are left behind to appease the jungle, giving back for what is taken.
A few hours later, many of those that have been left behind begin to change...
In the Hatari, the cycle of life never ends.
To the south, the dry dead zones of the Jangwa stretch out in a stark contrast to the vibrant jungle. Here, the land is parched and cracked, the air shimmering with heat mirages.
Desert raiders brave these wastelands in search of untouched caches of pre-Collapse technology, their specially modified vehicles kicking up dust clouds visible for miles.
Competition among these scavengers is fierce, and deadly vehicular battles are a common occurrence.
Damaged vehicles are stripped for parts, their injured crews left to die. No quarter is asked among the desert raiders, and none is given.
When the fighting is finished, local scavengers move in...
...and strip the dying of the very last of their possessions.
Other scavengers prefer animal mounts to vehicles. These raiders call themselves the "Kifaru".
Most of the Kifaru move in small groups or tribes.
Like any other scavengers, the Kifaru are just as likely to fight each other as they are to share a precious meal.
The sun sets on the western reaches of the dead zone, marking the end of another day in Eden.
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