Great Blight

From A Wheel of Time Wiki

A corruption of the land north of the Borderlands, the Great Blight sometimes expands and retreats, depending on the current strength of the Dark One. It is home to many dangerous flora and fauna, one example being the Stick, a small creature resembling a stick. Its bite is deadly, and the only known cure is amputation of the bitten area. In this area everything is dying, if not dead, or deadly.

It is also site of the ruins of Malkier, overlooking which Rand and his friends camped with a Ward Moiraine put up to prevent them from being seen.