(Art credit: Jim Musil)

The Vyzum Wastes (वायज़ुम मरुस्थल) are a dry desert full of sun-baked dirt and untamed terrain. Less sandy than the northern Kav’orra Desert, dry soil and towering sandstone mounts expand across the horizon. Known for its reddish-hues especially during sunsets, the Wastes are covered with cacti and tumbleweeds reminiscent of the real-life “wild-west”. The Vyzum is inhospitable for civilization, but has surprisingly become one of the most industrialized regions of Eqos in part due to their many lunarian immigrants. The desert is almost completely controlled by the modern Vyzumi Republic, a merchant republic that is a part of the Calamity Covenant. The Vyzum was controlled for nearly a century by the Kasaaqi Hukumat via a vassal state called the Toofani Raj. After their independence nearly a century ago, the Vyzum reformed into the oligarchic republic we see today. The only part of the Vyzum that the Hukumat still controls is a small town known as Traintown where their rail-line connects from Dibayad.

Scattered colonies and old tribes are dotted across this difficult environment. Every community has a unique tale to tell, molded by the struggles and victories of surviving in this desolate region mixed with stories of their homelands. Many of these colonies were created by immigrants from Aurial who settled the desert for new opportunities, fleeing from their war-torn continent during the great war two centuries ago. Most of these immigrants have Lunar origins, although a lot of them also hail from modern-day Fioska, Zietaria, and Crimsonia. There are still native tribes within the Vyzum Wastes with both central-asian and african influences. With a profound respect for the environment and its mysteries, they have mastered the art of survival and most of them have integrated with the immigrants to form a new vyzumi culture. Their tribes, tucked away in alcoves of canyons or nested behind rocky outcrops, are full of age-old customs and stories. One such story tells of a great monster called the “Tarrasque” that rampaged through this land and created the desert, now slumbering underneath it. The Vyzum Wastes remain a place where survival demands respect for the harsh beauty and untamed wilderness of this desert. The line between industrialized civilization and untamed frontier blurs here amidst the winds that sweep across the driest place on Abmarah.

The southern half of the Vyzum Wastes near the Ashen Coast is completely different to the northern half, as it is almost completely enveloped in ash from the five volcanoes it houses called the Five Brothers. It has frequent ash-storms, and only a few hardy settlements such as the city of Varkunast. This ashen desert houses a unique herb known as the “Blood Cactus”, which is said to be infused with Varkayan’s magic. This southern Vyzum is more inspired by arabian culture and folklore, and is controlled by the Varhamsat Khadumate, another state within the Calamity Covenant on the southern coast of Eqos.