Thornlands

Thornlands
Magic Map Color		#4A3E26

As explorers have travelled deeper into the Twilight Highlands, they encountered a thick, spiny wall of foliage, which proved completely impervious to all attempts to cut through it or burn it to gain access to the Final Plateau beyond. Even more disturbingly, where this growth was seemingly cut through, it would merely grow back almost instantaneously, impaling one luckless adventurer who grew too impatient with his lack of progress. As such, this natural, yet unnatural, barrier was dubbed the Thornlands.

As the name suggests, here can be found a thick growth of Thorns growing, which itself is curious given the ground consists of the diamond hard Deadrock. Combined with the unbreakable, fast growing nature of the thorns suggests magical forces at work. Perhaps a powerful artefact that summons magical flames could be the key to defeating this obstacle for good.

Occasional clumps of leaves can be seen nestled amongst the thorns, along with Thorn Roses here and there. A few explorers have noted minor structures such as Wells and remarkably, Druid Huts entangled in the spiny growths, again suggesting that some mysterious force is responsible for the thorns' supercharged growth.

Progression

Like the rest of the Twilight Highlands and the Final Plateau, the Thornlands will be affected by a toxic rainstorm, making it extremely hazardous to even be near the thorns, let alone attempt to penetrate them. Defeating the Hydra, Ur-Ghast and Snow Queen will dispel the rainstorm, but the thorns themselves are another problem.

As hinted above, only the powerful Lamp of Cinders can burn the Thorns, preventing their rapid regeneration. To do so, an adventurer must acquire a Giant's Pickaxe from its former owner in the clouds above, then descend into the Troll Caves and break open the obsidian vault which contains the Lamp. Only then can a path be burned through, granting access to the Final Plateau and the Final Castle beyond.

History

Version	Details
2.0.3	Added Thornlands.