This part of the hot center is a field of geothermal activity, including geysirs, steam vents, mud pots, and mineral-rich hot pools. Named for the two adjacent and large prismatic thermal pools whose fluorescent organisms have colored them like iridescent irises that glare from the the unstable, hot earth. One massive geysir erupts daily (but never at a predictable time), gushing countless gallons of scalding hot water from the Rift’s heart. A sulphurous odor clings to this area, and the brittle soil is volatile, often breaking into new hot pools or exploding with hot steam.

Fringing along the western part of the central Rift is a small, young forest. It appears even more out of place than the other conglomeration of lands throughout the Rift, because these woods glow with a soft, gentle, healthy light. This radiance comes from thousands of incandescent, small larvae and their adult luminous moth counterparts. Walking through these woods is dreamlike, and some opt to never leave.

At night on the rocky slopes one can follow a sinister, red glow, eventually leading to a round hole. Some five-ten yards down sits a lake, but instead of water it is made of lava. The surface is partially cooled, giving the lake a rather cracked look: bright red slashes through the purple surface. The surrounding slopes are littered with fiery gems and glowing silver dust, making it a beautiful, albeit dangerous, place.

Seemingly extending for miles in every direction, the Aldrnari Expanse is a gently sloping meadow of grass dotted with perennial flowers, each blade rustling gently when a warm breeze blows through, as if waving at an old friend. A brilliant shade of bluish green almost year-round, the grass grows thick and lush in the rich soil, reaching knee-length in most places. Every now and then is a large, weather-worn rock formation, tall enough to provide ample shade if one shelters in its shadow. A narrow brook slices through the Expanse’s center, crystal clear and babbling cheerfully. Lilac-blossomed watermint, known for its medicinal properties, grows in abundance near the water’s edge.