Razor Valley

Razor Valley is a small region of Ciphan through which part of the Selesteine-Shasterian border runs. During the Partitioning, rather than formally decide where in the Valley the border runs, the Guild of Mapmakers simply smudged the border line in that region. This has become standard cartographic convention, because neither country particularly wants the place. Consequently, Razor Valley is a legal gray area where neither Selesteine nor Shastrian law clearly applies, much like international waters were before the Hegemony of Whales claimed all of the oceans as sovereign territory. It is telling that "extradition from Razor Valley" is a turn of phrase indicating something that requires too much effort to be worth the little, if any, benefit it provides.

The region remains sparsely populated because of its unique flora and fauna. Its name comes from the ubiquitous razorgrass, so named because its blades are literally swords. The evolutionary reasons for this are not well understood. Perhaps the most well-known animal native to Razor Valley is the marionette crow, which uses its spindly tentacles to safely handle the exploding fruit that grow on the region's flaming trees. Other animals, like the death cow, simply evolved robust enough constitutions that they can eat whatever plants in the region they want, whether they be swords, on fire, or both. The inexplicability of the Razor Valley biome has led to numerous comparisons with the climate of Barcu, but ecologists have been unable thus far to find any connection between the two. Grantham's Law is often invoked, but Razor Valley clearly falls outside of its scope. Some have attempted to bridge this gap by claiming that the ecology of the Valley is aquatic, and the water is just missing.

Despite the unforgiving environment, Razor Valley is nevertheless the home of a small population. Settlements in Razor Valley are either highly mobile or highly defensible. Those who opt for mobility, like many of the criminal groups hiding out in the area, must remain on the move constantly in order to avoid roving murders of marionette crows or the death cow Moolossus, who is inexplicably ten meters tall and always furious. Normally these groups are wiped out within a year due to inexperience. Those who opt for defense, like Razor Valley Bunker-University, make use of a veritable Flandrean number of deterrents and defense mechanisms. Entrance to and egress from these settlements is generally a laborious process that can take around a full day. Some attempts were made to dig tunnels for easier travel between settlements and in and out of the region. These soon became infested by spidermoles. The project has been tabled until sufficient defenses can be drawn up.