Hellcatch Valley

The Hellcatch Valley is a badlands region of harsh, dusty canyons near the center of Marquet.

Description
Because of its location, the Hellcatch acts as a hub between the mountain ranges, connecting the Rumedam Desert and Panagrip Sands to the northeast, Aeshanadoor to the southeast, the Taloned Highlands to the southwest, and the Oderan Wilds to the northwest within the Serpentwind Peaks.

The Hellcatch Valley was heavily impacted by the Calamity. There is a 300-foot drop from the lush jungles of the Oderan Wilds where the land fell, wiping out the vegetation in the formerly fertile valley and creating a pockmarked and ravine-carved landscape surrounded by broken mountains. It is covered in nearly mile-wide sinkholes and unexpectedly collapsing and refilling tunnels.

The weather within the valley, with frequent high winds and dust storms, can be problematic for skyship travel, and the air trade routes therefore go around it rather than straight through. Some portions of the Hellcatch Valley, such as Bassuras, experience monsoons. Despite this, there are roads and bridges across the ravines for overland travel.

Though it appears desolate, the Hellcatch is home to many animals and birds. There are also hardy green desert plants, which Birdie Calloway pointed out to Fearne as they crossed one of the bridges over the valley's gorges, which fill with temporary rivers during the seasonal monsoons.

Society
Although the Bassur Republic centered in Gujjar-Serai nominally governs the entire area, the Hellcatch Valley is inhabited by multiple roving groups of scavengers known as "Crawler gangs" or "Crawlers", who live outside the centralized law. The various gangs, and independent cities and villages of the Hellcatch Valley compete with each other for territory and dominance, sometimes violently. The gangs ride massive constructs known as crawlers, with wide wheels covered in scaled spikes, to travel rapidly across the dust-encrusted plains..

The Hellcatch Valley is home to Paragon's Call, a group of mercenaries well known for their involvement in the conflict between the Stratos Throne and the Court of the Lambent Path.

Locations

 * Bassuras
 * Dead Man's Crater
 * The Drowned City
 * Gujjar-Serai (the Green City), seat of the Bassur Republic
 * Kanak Gulf
 * King's Fall, seat of the Order of the Red Raja
 * Loonpur
 * Nadigarh
 * Rajarma
 * The Rift, a 300 foot cliffside marking the borders between the Valley and the Oderan Wilds.
 * Troll Ferry

Flora and fauna

 * Skiraths
 * Dusttras
 * Desert birds - fast-moving creatures that are used as a mounts by smaller individuals.
 * Vultures
 * Kagaronks

Behind the scenes
Each region of Marquet was a joint worldbuilding effort between Matt and his collaborators. Bashir Gaus was the main contributor to the Hellcatch Valley region.