The Scorch

The Scorch is the given name for what was originally Earth's equator. It is the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. When solar flares ravaged the planet, it was destroyed, leaving a burnt, cobbled landscape, and dead husks of the architecture that once thrived. The Scorch is mainly a barren desert, with red, rocky terrain, and natural land formations, some of which are still fertile. The landscape is dotted by small craters caused by the devastating lightning storms that are a common occurrence in the area. Abandoned Cities still stand, albeit heavily charred from the Sun; some showing signs of civil use after the Flares and before the virus. The cities in the Scorch are now predominately used either as Crank Palaces, or as the place they are taken to after their mental state progresses past the Gone, or complete insanity.