Haatar-Baen

The Bleak Steppes of Haatar-Baen, also known as simply Haatar-Baen, was a region of treeless tundra in Vaasa. The area was almost completely uninhabited as of the late 15 century DR.

Geography
Haatar-Baen was a cold, flat plain that sat at the base of the West Galena Mountains on the southern edge of Vaasa. Dead Man's Walk, the main east–west road through Vaasa, skirted its northern edges, and the trail through Gramble's Climb passed into Haatar-Baen before turning south into the mountains toward the Moonsea. The Granite Tower sat in the mountains overlooking the steppe.

Flora & Fauna
The only things that grew in Haatar-Baen were short grasses, all of which were poisonous. In fact, any plant that grew in the steppe, whether natural or cultivated, would be poisonous because of contamination in the soil.

Nevertheless, Haatar-Baen was known to be the home of big game animals. It also hosted two competing apex predators: roving clans of leucrotta and a strange species of large, black cats whose eyes and maws glowed emerald green when they attacked their prey.

History
Owing to the poisonous soil, the Bleak Steppes of Haatar-Baen were never the site of much settlement. However, prior to the raising of the Granite Tower in, the steppe would have been home to the Moor Eagle tribe of nomadic barbarians. By the late 15 century DR, the descendants of the Moor Eagles' chieftain, Bodvar the Black, still watched over Haatar-Baen from the Granite Tower that their ancestor arranged to construct.

Inhabitants

 * Darlisan, an expert hunter, tracker, and guide who was active in the region in the late 15 century DR
 * Scions of the Granite Tower, descendants of Bodvar the Black who were charged with defending the Granite Tower in the nearby mountains