Marus Seru

This region is named after Seru, the great general of the Combine Era who is revered by the population – or at least given lip service. Also given his name, the Inquisitor fortress of Sanctus Seru lies just to the south.

The landscape of this region is quite extreme, with smooth expanses of surface rock, sheer escarpments and deep crevices, all under the harsh actinic glare of the sun. This landscape was formed as the moon made close passage to the sun, a millennial event, with temperatures nearly a thousand degrees hotter than what exists now.

The life found in this harsh environment is varied, but all the native creatures have evolved to survive ever-present light and constant extreme heat. Both flora and fauna have evolved to exploit the abundance of solar energy. Semi-sentient sunflowers, for instance, have developed the unique ability to focus the sun's rays on a target for either defense or attack.

Also unique to this region is the lightcrawler – a centipede creature of varying size that moves at a most unnatural speed, posing a significant threat to all it comes across.

Beyond the indigenous inhabitants of Marus Seru there are the Recuso, or the Refused, exiled citizens of Sanctus Seru who have refused to submit to The Question but were not deemed worthy of punishment by death. A hardy few have managed to survive in these harsh lands, banding together from time to time for protection. Desperate souls all, they will not hesitate to attack an adventurer when low on supplies – though a few will react more congenially and converse with travelers that approach them.