YAYYYY ASHFALL WASTE WORLDBUILDING TIME okay okay let me think-

So for one, I think that the name is kind of misleading. It's actually not a wasteland by nature - the volcanic soil is super fertile, so there are a ton of native plants, and there are plenty of animals that have adapted to thrive in a fiery environment. Salamanders, fiendcats, black witch butterflies, magma runners, et cetera. There are even a few species of lava-dwelling fish, which don't have many natural predators and make up 99% of inland Coatl diets. I like to imagine that the Flamecaller designed them to fill that really specific niche so they wouldn't have as much competition. Like koalas. But I digress.

The southern half of the Ashfall Waste (Molten Scar, Flintlock Fumaroles, Emberglow Hearth) is less industrialized than the northern half and still has a boatload of natural resources. Most of the dragons there live in smaller, independent clans near prey-rich bodies of lava, and they have no trouble getting the food they need from their surroundings. Dragons in general tend to be more self-sufficient than a human would be if you dropped one into the wilderness, since they're superpowered reptiles that can eat raw meat and grass and stuff.

(That's one of my favorite parts of dragon stories. Like it will always be so amusing to me that arc 2 of WoF had this very prestigious school with classrooms and guidance counselors and library cards and then the cafeteria was just a giant open-air cave where they let the kids fly around chasing live cows and mauling them with their teeth because they're dragons.)

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I like to think that parts of the Ashfall Waste - specifically, these empty stretches between the pools of lava - actually get really cold at night. Desert-style. The air's too dry to retain its temperature, so while the days are scorching hot, all that heat dissipates as soon as the sun goes down.

Most of the subregions noted on the World Map are located near volcanoes or industrial sites that generate their own heat 24/7 (and plenty of smog to help trap it in the atmosphere), which is why so many Fire clans settle down around them, but visitors often stick to the 'badlands' so they can take advantage of the cooler nights. After all, when you're in the elemental domain of Fire magic, finding ways to keep warm is much easier than finding ways to cool off! It's not uncommon to come across mixed-element or beastfolk-inclusive clans in the outskirts of the Waste that have become completely nocturnal over the years, fending off the chilly midnight air with Flamerest Embers or simple Fire spells.

During the day, these clans typically shelter underground; burrows provide safety and comfortable insulation against the heat. The only problem is that digging in the Ashfall Waste can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. One wrong move and your whole lair might collapse into a pocket of magma or a Hydra nest! As a result, items enchanted by Earth dragons (or Earth dragons offering their services) to help detect subterranean hazards are a precious commodity among Ashfall pioneers. Tunneling breeds like Sandsurges and Tundras are also highly sought-out as construction workers by dragons who struggle to dig burrows on their own, with Sandsurges being an especially common sight thanks to the close proximity of the Shifting Expanse.