The Hearth: A Loving Land
The Hearth is vast -- Scoria have yet to full map its boundaries -- and contains all known real-world biomes as well as many fantasy ones. You may set your Scoria's homes and adventures in any natural environment you choose, including the fantastical, though the Hearth lacks large, developed cities, and settlements must be agreed on between players, due to the lack of NPC's and background characters in Hearth : Home (see: Scoria lore).
The Hearth is magically linked to the Kindler and to every Scoria that lives in it; the land itself actively tries to keep the Scoria happy and healthy, though typically in subtle ways. Natural phenomena such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions will almost never directly harm Scoria, for example, although they may destroy homes and possessions. A Scoria lost in the wilderness will find paths to food, water, shelter, and settlements opening up before them. Scoria may even learn to control the environment around them, an art called Tending (see: Scoria lore, Tending hub).
Active volcanoes and other geothermal features are more prevalent in the Hearth than on Earth; geysers, hot springs, and volcanic vents are common. Due to the Hearth's benevolence, volcanic eruptions almost never actually harm Scoria -- lava itself will flow away from them, even uphill -- but they may damage objects and inconvenience Scoria.
The Hearth is magically linked to the Kindler and to every Scoria that lives in it; the land itself actively tries to keep the Scoria happy and healthy, though typically in subtle ways. Natural phenomena such as tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions will almost never directly harm Scoria, for example, although they may destroy homes and possessions. A Scoria lost in the wilderness will find paths to food, water, shelter, and settlements opening up before them. Scoria may even learn to control the environment around them, an art called Tending (see: Scoria lore, Tending hub).
Active volcanoes and other geothermal features are more prevalent in the Hearth than on Earth; geysers, hot springs, and volcanic vents are common. Due to the Hearth's benevolence, volcanic eruptions almost never actually harm Scoria -- lava itself will flow away from them, even uphill -- but they may damage objects and inconvenience Scoria.
Locations in the Hearth
This is a list of established locations within the Hearth, with their written or visual descriptions. If you are interested in adding a location to the list, please let an admin know. Locations for this list should be landmarks or heavily-trafficked areas (e.g. a business, a settlement, a place of worship). Typically, a Scoria's individual home will not qualify as an established location, unless it is particularly noteworthy.
The Kiln: The Kindler's primary residence in the Hearth; while they do wander their world, they spend most of their time in the Kiln, though they often spend time in an inaccessible workspace within the main body of the Kiln rock. The Kiln is where the Kindler crafts new Scoria, and most Scoria created as adults awaken for the first time here, although Scoria created as eggs may hatch elsewhere. Physically, the Kiln is a large, rounded, swirling formation of pale orange rock streaked with many colors. The Kiln sits in a sandy valley in an arid scrub-land region. From the Kiln, one can see the shallow slopes of the canyons that lead into its valley; they are not hazardous to climb. This rock formation overhangs and undercuts itself, and underneath the rock is a shady, cavernous space where Scoria awaken and where they may come when they wish to communicate with the Kindler -- the Kindler is not always present here, but if Scoria wait here for a few hours, they almost always appear.