TASMANIA
Few lands in Oceanyka are as infamous, as deadly, or as steeped in blood as Tasmania. Though its coasts are home to verdant farmlands and scattered fishing villages, the island’s heart is a cursed, inhospitable domain known simply as the Hellscape. Towering at over 5,000 metres, the Tasmanian Highlands are a nightmarish realm of eternal volcanic fury. Rivers of molten rock carve paths through the frostbitten peaks, geysers erupt unpredictably with scalding steam, and toxic clouds of sulphur and ash drift ominously, occasionally towards the inhabited lowlands. At the range’s highest point—Mount Ossa, looming at 6,531 metres—the land is so treacherous that even the hardiest of mountaineers fear to tread. And yet, beneath this infernal wasteland lies a prize coveted by the bold and the foolish: an unfathomable wealth of minerals, from gold and uranium to iron so pure that the ancient Ferozen wielded it in battle long before they even discovered bronze.
Tasmania’s human history is no less turbulent. For thousands of years, it was a land of scarcity and endless tribal wars, where the Ferozen clans clashed over every scrap of farmland and game animal. These brutal conflicts culminated in the Ferozen Invasion, when desperate warlords turned their gaze northward, leading a grand armada across the Bass Strait to conquer the mainland. Though the modern Tasmanian clans remain as fierce and warlike as their ancestors, their ambitions have shifted inward; today, they are locked in an unending cycle of blood feuds, skirmishes, and territorial struggles, bound by honour but divided by necessity.
Even in the age of colonisation, Tasmania remained a land apart. While the rest of Oceanyka fell under the crushing weight of British imperialism, Tasmania’s isolated position and violent resistance ensured that it was never fully subdued. Unlike the mainland, where British rule reshaped entire societies, Tasmania retained much of its ancient culture, laws, and traditions. In fact, Tasmania's primarily language is Kurglagare, or "Tongue of the Volcano", the most ancient of Ferozen dialects. When Oceanyka finally won its independence, the Ferozen clans accepted the authority of The Oceanykan Federation, but only in the loosest possible sense. Thanks to The Oceanykan Constitution, they have been granted the ultimate freedom—to govern themselves, fight their wars, and live as they always have. For outsiders, this makes Tasmania a land of contradictions: legally a part of the Federation, yet culturally and politically an untamed frontier.
The island's economic potential is undeniable, but few have the courage to harness it. Foreign corporations and smugglers occasionally set their sights on Tasmania’s vast resources, yet they are met with deep suspicion, if not outright hostility. The Tasmanian people—fiercely independent, mistrustful of outsiders, and hardened by generations of survival—do not take kindly to foreign influence. And while Yokre (Hobart), the island’s sole significant city, serves as a tenuous bridge to the outside world, the rest of Tasmania remains a lawless, untamed expanse where life is cheap and danger is omnipresent.
To set foot in Tasmania is to gamble with one’s life. The land itself is a relentless adversary, where nature conspires to kill those who do not tread carefully. The beasts of the rainforest grow to monstrous sizes, venomous creatures lurk in every shadow, and the constant threat of volcanic upheaval makes even the ground beneath one’s feet a fickle ally. Yet, for those who dare, Tasmania offers both legend and legacy—a land of untapped riches, ancient feuds, and warriors who have never known peace. It is a realm where strength is law, and the only certainty is that the Hellscape always claims its due.
