Turmoil

The churning boiling mass of overturning pebbles, stones, boulders, slabs, and mountains which makes up much of the sub-terranian land of TwinWorld.

Because of the continual updraft of air, much of the earth in TwinWorld behaves somewhat like quicksand (Lightning sand may be a better analogy). The air keeps particles suspended, so lighter particles float to the top and heavier ones sink. Because of the collisions of all these stones together, they are continually breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. A fine rain of dust continually arises from huge fields where the updrafts reach the surface. From these shafts issues forth the clatter of rock on rock, and the echo of the massive mountains grinding in the frigid depths.

Below the surface, where Turmoil is not stabilized by either roots, rocks anchored to Adamant, or Zarth craft, a continual shuddering upward collapse sweeps with unpredictable chaos in great patterns through the stone and soil. A group of rocks may find a stable arrangement, but it won't be long before more stone from below hurtles upwards and shatters the peace, or the ground on one side gives way to a rolling overturn. Destabilizations can sweep like fire through semi-stable rock formations, and traveling through Turmoil is considered the job of only the most daring Zarth explorers. Even when large pieces of stone bridge between the roots of Great Tree and Adamant, it won't be long before the creep of the Adamant drags the safe haven off into the upper regions, and all is thrown into chaos once again.

Composition

Since the Zarth are deep down, a good portion of the material in Turmoil could be discarded Zarth machines, artifacts, tools, and even abandoned buildings. The "shores" of the turmoil on the surface could be littered with this device detritus, lending a "fallen civilization" feel to the surface, with excellent in-world justification.

Also, I still really like this idea. The turmoil is a terrifying place. Ziggy 00:35, 29 January 2011 (UTC)