The Deep Below
Beyond the safety of the walls Manzaberranzan, lies a whole wild world, mostly unexplored and mostly untamed.
The deep below refers not to one single region or biome. It generally encompasses all the countless caverns, coves, and chasms which extend indefinitely in all directions. It is in many ways its own separate world, composed not solely of daedalic tunnels, but also of its own forests, jungles, valleys, rivers, deserts and even open seas.
How such a rich and varied ecosystem sustains itself so far away from the nurturing light of sun and moon is a question which puzzled the scholars of above and below for centuries. Most agree that the very region as a whole is connected to the world beyond, and the deeper one ventures, the more likely they are to stumble into things unknown seeping into our reality. Some believe the whole of the deep below to be an extension of the Goddess herself.
Such a theory seems corroborated by the changes occurred in the environment in relatively recent times. While the deep below remains generally hostile and extremely difficult to navigate, the things which dwell beneath have become less overtly aggressive, more elusive, more curious.
To ensure the safety of the few beaten paths and even fewer paved roads, regular patrols of scantily clad and armed-to-the-teeth soldiers are needed. Occasional “attacks” by the local fauna are more of a nuisance than a real danger, and soldiers from Manzaberranzan are encouraged to deal with them according to the Goddess’s creed, which abhors violence and fosters open-mindedness.
