Concept: land of flame

Word of mouth has been for the longest time that magma norns were engineered to live in volcanic environments, yet considering the heat, thirst and radioactivity of the albian volcano, such a theory leaves me wanting.

Of course real volcanic lands are superbly fertile. Many different real species are specialised for such a biome, despite the dryness, risks and toxins. 

Fair then, a fire based environment, but with habitable biome, water and a decisive lack of concentrated toxins. Does anything like this exist in nature? Redwood forests and taiga, ironically, come to mind. The renewal of forests through forest fires is well documented. In fact, certain tree seeds like redwoods require high heat to germinate. Eucalyptus trees are very wildfire prone, and animals like kites are known to purposefully spread them to flush out prey.

Turning this up for effect and visibility in a metaroom or story would give fast growing coniferous trees and bushes, resinous and oily. Quickly growing their seed clusters and pinecones before the spark strikes once more, resetting much of the metaroom. Trees would survive the flames and live to replenish the forest floor with flammable needles.

The animals would need to find creative ways to resist the flames. In nature animals like newts and toads burrow to escape the flames. Insects and spiders could float up on the hot updraft, escaping high into the air. Tortoises might crawl into their shell, a strategy that could be used in fanciful effect ingame.

The heat and steam of this fiery cycle would produce a great amount of moisture, which would eventually rain down in nitric showers, dousing the last flames and renewing the ecosystem. Most of the plants and critters not built for this metaroom and cycle would be destroyed by the “flame” agent. Heat would increase to the utmost, oxygen levels decreased in all creatures present.

Adaptations the creatures in such a place would need could be a short hibernation, extreme heat tolerance, a severe need to go down once the temperature rises, to crawl beneath the earth. Perhaps the eggs too could only be hatched after flames damage the shell, ensuring hatchlings grow up in a lush time befire the fire returns. Dense shelled grendels might simply tank through the immolation, using the calamity to prey upon hiding critters caught in the wildfire.