If the Barrens are harsh, Masren is unspeakable.
This is a land of twisted, rotting trees, stunted growth, weird variations, strange plants and animals, and an unseen, potentially deadly contagion.
There are still some villages, close to the borders – and possibly other areas of habitation hidden deep within the land. But babies conceived here – like the offspring of any animal touched by the Blight – are very rarely born without any mark or sign of it. Villages in Masren are guarded, wary of strangers (although often willing to help adventurers for whatever they can get from them). They hug patches of slightly healthier land, watching the soil and the skies for incursions from Blighted creatures and the haunts of those long lost to the Blight itself. Old age is rare – most of its inhabitants (and visitors) die from drinking polluted waters, through contamination from something carrying the blight, or from attacks by creatures (and plants) twisted by it. Venturing into Masen is fraught with danger – nothing can be trusted, no matter how innocent it looks. Yet people do attempt incursions – drawn by rumours of magic and treasures in the long abandoned cities and palaces, or perhaps seeking rare ingredients, lost libraries, unusual spell components – or even the bones of those who may have ventured there years before.
Those that venture deep into the Kingdom risk strange diseases, unpredictable magical effects, and the poison of the Blight itself. Long exposure to high levels of the Blight withers flesh, weakens bone, corrupts the living and – in some cases, kills the soul and turns the remains into those undead. Ghosts haunt the ruins in Masren, along with ghouls and spectres, feeding on both dead and living flesh.
Even powerful mages venture their with great caution and don’t stay long.
Although some summoners can profit from sending summoned creatures into the Masren waste to retrieve items and valuable spell components, most are wary of doing so – there is a strong rumour that the fall of the Posmera Council began with something being retrieved from Masren that should have been left well alone.