Seconded as a question. I'd gotten the impression it was the magical version of a nuclear wasteland, but then again, it's been thousands of years since then, so it might be habitable again. And, as one of my FC mates pointed out, in 3.4's Sophia questline, Urianger has a strange commentary on the words of the thralls:
"'Twas a Meracydian dialect[...]though one that beareth scant resemblance to any spoken in recent times." This seems to imply that either there are people living in Meracydia, or that ancient Meracydian languages still exist and are spoken today.
