The Savage Land

The Savage Land

History

The Savage Land is a tropical region surrounded by volcanoes deep in Antarctica, created over 200 million years ago by the alien Nuwali as one of several planetary "game preserves" at the behest of the other-dimensional, nigh-omnipotent godlike aliens known as the Beyonders (not to be confused with the Beyonder of the Secret Wars). The Nuwali stocked the Land with Earthly life of the era, most notably dinosaurs; as Earth's flora and fauna changed over succeeding millions of years, they supplemented their preserve with prehistoric mammals and early hominids, or "Man-Apes". When Earth's continents shifted circa 50 million BC, the Nuwali augmented the Land's volcanoes to preserve its tropical status. Following the Nuwali's departure in 200,000 BC, little is known of the Land's history for over a hundred millennia, although a faction of superhuman Eternals dwelled there at least briefly, leaving a temple complex behind. Circa 18,500 BC, it was colonized by humans of Atlantis, who exported prehistoric life throughout their empire while importing unicorns and other mystic creatures. Atlantean scientists extended the tropical effect, creating a recreation/commerce center called "Pangea", which is Atlantean for "paradise". They genetically altered Man-Apes into humanoid versions of birds, monkeys, fish, and other animals. The beast-people, put to work as laborers, became dissatisfied with servitude and, following Pangea's automation, rebelled in the First Pangean War and were allowed to colonize unpopulated areas rendered habitable by the Nuwali effect.

In 18,000 BC, alien and mystic conflicts resulted in the Great Cataclysm, sinking Atlantis and ending its empire, but the Land and Pangea were protected from inundation by surrounding mountains. The Beyonders, having observed their preserve over the millennia, sent Fortisquian operatives, later called the Caretakers of Arcturus, to repair its environmental system, but nonetheless, over half the population perished. Some survivors clung to Atlantean culture in cities like Lemura and Sylanda; others forgot their origins, becoming ancestors of the Swamp Men and other tribes. The animal-people developed their own societies, sometimes, as with the Aerians and Pterons, resorting to war. Every thousand years or so, high priests needlessly conducted human sacrifices to "protect" the Land. Circa 3000 BC two godlike aliens briefly made the Land their home, and at some point Sagittarians stored a Planet-Destroyer there with a gigantic robot, Umbu, to guard it. In the mid-13th century, exiled sorcerer Khor took up residence. In the 1380s, another sorcerer, Belasco, also found his way to the Land, supposedly in conflict with poet Dante Alighieri. Less than two centuries later, an unnamed Englishman was washed ashore and became the embodiment of the god Garokk, worshipped since pre-Cataclysm days.

In the 1770s, Captain James Cook became the first human explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle, but apparently neither he nor most subsequent explorers discovered the Savage Land. In the mid-19th century, the Atlanteans - that is, the underwater race whose culture was based on Atlantis's remains - relocated to Antarctica, as did Lemurian rebels called the Ancients. Mysterious beings such as Torg and the Ice King also made their home in the region. Vague reports of underground realms and surviving dinosaurs appeared in the work of such authors as Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne, suggesting rumors of the Land were spreading. By 1915, human expeditions had discovered "Antarctic Vibranium", the destructive metal also called "Anti-Metal", but the greater deposits within the Land remained unknown. Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler claimed Antarctica in 1940, and a year later, a British destroyer and a Nazi u-boat vanished into the Land, fighting a private war for decades; the u-boat in question may have attacked the Antarctic expedition of Elton Morrow. At some point the Nazis constructed a base within the Land whose goals and fate are unrevealed, but its work may have moved to a nearby island. Following the war, scientist Montgomery Ford, armed with a laser prototype, found his way to the Land, and rumors circulated that high-ranking Nazis had fled to Antarctica. Indeed, unverified reports claim when explorer Admiral Richard Byrd launched expeditions to the South Pole in 1947 and 1956, he discovered the Savage Land, perhaps even clashing with Hitler's so-called "Last Battalion", although this claim seems dubious. Meanwhile, spatial warps occasionally brought ships and planes into the Land, where survivors joined the populace.

Over twenty years ago, British nobleman Robert Plunder, searching for Vibranium, found his way into the Savage Land. Back in England, Plunder was threatened by those who coveted his secret, and he returned to the Land with his nine-year-old son Kevin, who was orphaned when Robert was slain by the Man-Ape Maa-Gor. Kevin survived, thanks to the timely intervention of the orphaned sabretooth tiger later known as Zabu. Perhaps enhanced by the Land's mysterious "Place of Mists”, Kevin grew to adulthood in the Savage Land becoming the adventurer known as Ka-Zar.

Conservational Status

The United Nations considers the Savage Land an international wildlife preserve and forbids any commercial exploitation of its resources.

Geographic Coordinates

Antarctica, approximately 69º 30’ S, 68º 30’ W

Points of Interest

These are the known locations in the Savage Land:

Savage Land Races

There are many types of races in the Savage Land and Pangea. The Nuwali transported primitive man now known as the Man-Apes, which unlike the rest of the world thrived until the 21st century. The next arrivals were the Ancient Atlanteans who added the region as part of their empire. They used the Nuwali technology to mutate the Man-Apes into various Beast-Men to perform certain tasks. These slaves rebelled after the Great Cataclysm and made Pangea their home. Many Atlanteans remained and their decedents became the various human tribes, with some clinging to the old ways and technology but most forget and resort to more primitive hunter-gatherer societies. Among the Savage Land races are:

 Savage Land Map

Savage Land Map1