Chernobyl
In ancient times, a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl melted down, exposing huge swaths of Eurasia to radioactivity. The area remains dangerous even four hundred years later.
Three communities — the Red Guard, the White Guard, and the Black Guard, hold the edges of the exclusion zone. They speak of a feared witch or monster who dwells within, near the sarcophagus itself, whom they call Grandmother Death.