An inescapable prison, surrounded by a blood-red forest enchanted by murderous Dryads.
Kazarak is a black hole; its red forest is its event horizon. Outsiders know one great truth of Kazarak: nothing that enters will leave.
And yet, the metaphor is not absolute. Light leaves. Those trapped inside the Red Ring can be seen, milling about in the citadel, growing crops, and living lives that appear almost normal. These are but glimpses, of course. Glimpses from the few airships that dare fly near (but never directly over!) the prison-city. Glimpses, even, from oceangoing ships: the Red Ring is a cathedralesque forest devoid of undergrowth, and so views from the shore offer shuttered glimpses of the vast clearing within. It looks like such a simple thing to walk through that narrow band of forest that separates the interior from the beach. And yet…
Notable structures: Council Hall, Mayor’s Shack, High Planners’ Hut, HouseHold Tower (formerly Kazarak Prison proper), Farmers’ Palace, Peacewatchers’ Guild, Kazarak Museum (Scavengers’ Guild), Independents’ Citadel, South Field Tower, Red Skull Spire, Poolhouse, Tomb of the Warlords, Cavehouse.
Districts & features: Planners’ Row, The Bungalows, the HouseHolds (all one giant tower; formerly world’s largest prison, before all of Kazarak became an enchanted prison of sorts), Farmers’ Row, the Inner Greens, Peacewatchers’ Row, Scavengers’ Row, Independent City (not politically controlled by the main city of Kazarak), The Rubbleyards (ruins & abandoned warcamps leftover from when the warlords were overthrown), the Outer Greens (encompasses over half of the island of Kazarak; dense row crops), the pigpens (literal pens full of pigs), and of course the Blood Forest.
Blood Forest: a ring of very tall trees with red leaves that never fall. The forest has no undergrowth and is somewhat thin, so the beach & ocean can be seen through the “bars” - but never accessed. Nobody gets LOST in the forest per se; it’s perfectly simple to navigate. But minutes or even seconds after entering the forest, you simply won’t be seen or heard from ever again.
Delicious, healthy fruit falls from the trees all year round - it’s typically very bruised from the long fall, but otherwise good for eating. (The flavor is intensely, almost comically sweet and fruity - like a fruit candy. The fruit is rich in vitamin C and other essential nutrients - but no protein.) Harvesting the fruit is difficult - some stray fruit bounces into safe areas, and fruit on the forest’s inner edge can be gathered safely with nets on very long poles. But fruit from just the inner edge of the forest isn’t enough to satisfy Kazarak’s population, especially because it isn’t a protein source.
On rare occasion, dryads can be glimpsed from a distance in Kazarak’s Blood Forest. They are Kazarak’s ever-present - yet nearly invisible - guards. They do not communicate except through stealthy murder of all who try to escape. Bodies are never returned - but personal effects can sometimes be recovered. Very powerful entities have attempted to escape through the forest and failed. Significant damage to a tree will also result in near-instant death and/or disappearance. Elder dragons, armies, powerful liches, giants, enormous siege engines, and even demigods have all fallen to the Blood Forest and its silent dryad guardians.
The only parlay the citizens of Kazarak have ever managed with the dryads of the Blood Forest was via a foreign dryad trapped with them in Kazarak. This dryad prisoner was treated with deference and allowed to wander the Blood Forest and beach - but was told that she would be hunted down and killed should she try to leave the island. She mentioned that the dryads of the Blood Forest were powerful and unusual; technically dryads, but not like any she’d known. Some enchantment powers them. They harbor no ill will toward any of Kazarak’s inhabitants (save those who attempt to harm their trees) but they have no concept of mercy - they simply do their jobs, and do them perfectly. Compared to other dryads they are humorless, and seem to lack personality and culture - but they can at least hold a conversation.