The Heabe

The heabe is a vast and uniform dry seasonal grassland. During wet season, the water table runs high, but during dry season it leaks towards the lower parts of the heabe. It’s inhabited by the Ens who follow the water to graze their animals and hunt. The Ens communities are harassed by the hegemonic Aredvic tribes, who dominate trade across the steppe with their chariots. They trade from between Dithas, Vugaix, Gordolmonre, Darie, Terlaye, and Ralean on highly lucrative routes.

Geography and climate

The Heabe is a steppe in the desert of Barogate’s Wastes. It receives little rainwater, but it has a seasonally high water table and wide rivers. The rivers originate in Gordolmonre to the west. Gordolmonre has a special shape in that its westmost peaks are shorter than its eastmost peaks, but its eastmost peaks are more harsh and the rock softer. meaning that water that falls between the peaks generally seeps eastwards instead of westwards.

The clouds that are high enough to penetrate Gordolmonre’s second peak generally occur during the summer, and deposit large amounts of water into Gordolmonre’s aquifer caves, which then seep down into the Heabe’s groundwater. The Heabe’s rivers start incredibly thinly and then widen gradually as the rivers become the best route for groundwater. Water gradually traverses across the Heabe from west to east in about the time it takes for the next bout of rainfall to occur in Gordolmonre. This cyclic movement of water has cultivated a migratory tradition for the native tribes. They move from west to east throughout the year following the groundwater, until before the start of the next cycle they must make their major migration back to the westmost points of the Heabe.

This migratory cycle is slowly being abandoned as these tribes have begun to create their own water stores and deep wells. This trend of permanent settling is still quite rare in the Heabe, but tribes are gradually transitioning to this easier way of living.

The height of the heabe varies from 1000m to sea level. The rivers run in deep dirt canyons from 50m deep.hat map chooses to display the entirety of Gordolmonre and The Heabe.

Vugaix transition area

The transitional area between the Heabe and Vugaix is characterised by the general transition from grassland, to a few small mushrooms growing on the ground, from a couple taller species beginning their presence, followed by a light forest and later a dense forest of mushroom trees. It is the controlled territory of the Hezan Aredvics, who enforce their niche of exclusive rights to trade and deal with mushrooms and fungal material from the forest across the Heabe.

Regions of Note

Fauna

Character Animal: Ox

The Steppe Oxen Herds are a common sight in the Heabe’s vast grazelands. These specific species aren’t afraid of confrontation, often banding together when faced with danger facing predators head-on and sometimes becoming the predator and aggressing themselves. They are to be given a wide breadth as the Heabe’s ox know their capabilities.

Name Origin

The Heabe is positioned at the eastern side of DeMoch’s western mountains. A grassy area, with the few rivers that flow east feeding the few lands of bush and grass that exist there. Daklyn interpreted this area as a luscious steppe. The name comes from the Ghzish word ‘Beyond’ - literally “Haebi”.