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The Great Slab is a very large structure in the northern rim of Dessanedi.

Background[ | ]

The Great Slab is a huge construct that rises from the blue-green earth ijn a hulking block of metal, synth, and organics. It lies at the southernmost edge of the Fifth Stretch of the Wandering Walk. Rising more than 3,000 ft. in to the air, straight up on all sides, and covering more than 9 square miles, the Great Slab can be seen for long distances and is often used as a point of reference on maps. A reddish-black oil continually runs down the sides, making the construct impossible to climb. Nothing grows along its slick walls and few, if any, creatures live near the sides of the Great Slab.

However, the top is a different matter - the surface of the slab is actually an ecosystem of it own. Carved out of the enormous flat top is a blind valley, a deep and narrow crevasse that runs north and south, with an abrupt ending on both sides. A closer look at the valley reveals that it seems to have been dug out of the surface of the slab, as one might accidentally gouge a table. Littered along the gash - which is called the Driftless Valley - giant, half-buried boulders reflect light, even when there doesn't appear to be any. Due to its isolation, the valley hosts creatures found nowhere else in the Ninth World, with genetic mutations that combine two or more creatures into one.

Those who have attempted to climb the Great Slab have been thwarted by the slick slides, apparent bad luck, or some other impediment that's hindered and eventually stopped their progress. Thus, the slab's diverse ecosystem hand potential treasures remain unknown to most people of the Ninth World.[1]

Miscellaneous[ | ]

The Wandering Walk is a pilgrimage route through the Ninth World. No one knows the exact length of the Wander, nor can anyone seem to point to its exact beginning or end.

There are many who speculate that the Wander is actually a closed circle that encloses the whole of the Ninth World and that some, especially those with enhancements or otherworldly attributes, have been trekking its eternal loop since before recorded time.

References[ | ]

  1. Cook, Monte, et al. “The Beyond.” Numenera Discovery, Monte Cook Games, LLP, 2018, pp. 182. Numenera. ISBN 978-1-939979-77-3
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