The harsh lands of the oblasts of Kislev.
The oblast is a broad, empty, frozen steppe land that makes up most of the territory of Kislev. It is punctuated by small settlements, rivers, and raiding bands of Northmen Chaos Marauders called kyazak in Kislevarin that glorify the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. To most outsiders, the oblast is a soul-killing region devoid of anything of value. To Kislevites, however, it IS Kislev. Kislev is land, and land is Kislev.[1a]
The oblast is full of dangers not only from the harsh climate of the Motherland, but from the men and creatures that inhabit it. Depressions in the oblast are where raiders meet to shelter their horses from the ice and winds.[2a] Rare groupings of bushes and trees on the oblast, known as stajins, are perfect for ambushers to gather and lie in wait for prey.[2b]
Adventurers, merchants and travellers in Kislev must deal with the oblast at some point, even if they deal with it by travelling through it as quickly as possible to get to somewhere more interesting. The oblast is not divided into formal regions, and all areas have a lot in common. However, most Kislevites informally divide the entirety of their oblast lands into four rough regions, the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Oblasts, plus the Troll Country in the northwest.[1a]
Kislevites tend to think the Troll Country is smaller than most cartographers do, but Kislevites are more tolerant of monsters and frigid landscapes than the scholars of tamer lands.[1a]