Mount Nirka

Mount Nirka and its sister Mount Nyid were extinct volcanos that used to lie within the land of Arak, Mount Nyid at its centre and Mount Nirka on its northern frontier with Darkon. They and their land were subsumed by Darkon as part of the Great Upheaval in 740 BC. The mountains rumbled back to life in 750 BC at the moment of the Requiem - the destruction of Il-Aluk, the decapitation of Darkon, and the 'birth' of Necropolis - whether in celebration or sympathy. The peaks used to stand be side by side, but they appear to have grown apart on the most recent map, with Mount Nyid anchoring the southeastern Mountains of Misery and Mount Nirka anchoring the northwestern Mountains of Misery. Mount Nirka soars to a breathtaking of height of 7960 ft, easily surpassing Mount Baratak. It is the source of the Amnis Lacrimarum ("River of Tears"), which traverses Keening before joining the Corvus River well to the west in back in Darkon. It is also the source of infamous Lake Temporus, from which springs the innocuous Tempe River. The northeastern foothills of Mount Nirka are described (wrongly it would appear) as the source of the Khourx River (unless they are also the source of the Foaming River).

All life on Mount Nirka, save its northern flank, and indeed all life across the face of Arak was eradicated in 588 BC by a sandstorm without precedent that scoured the land clean in an event recorded as the Scourge of Arak. As of 735 BC, the only trees to be found on Mount Nirka were on its northern flank. At suitable elevations hardy grasses, spike plants, and low scurbs were making some inroad. But, on the whole, the landscape remained one of windswept desolation. Fauna consisted of spiders and prodigious insects.

The best proof that the surface Mount Nirka and its envirions were inhabited by intelligenct races prior to 588 BC are the mine tunnels and shafts that remain to this day. Dwarves in Tempe Falls and gnomes in Mayvin can also be found whose fathers went to work those mines over a century and a half ago. Those that returned to Darkon did so with stories of a strange temporal fugues in the depths. A miner might spend a week underground only to return to the surface and discover that a month had passed. From these same drawfs and gnome come tales of the native inhabitant of Arak. These Arakians were humans who herded of sheep and goated but were also themselves miners. They warned the dwarves and gnomes not to dig too deep. Equally, they tired to impress upon their guests from the north their abject fear of the night when the sneeuane feallagh ("gossamer folk") would swarm from the kingdom of Niurin Scaa ("Shadow Nether") to devour the souls of mortal men. The dwarves began to believe in the existence of these beings whom they took to be a race of Dark Elves. Their kingdom deep underground was of course unharmed by scouring of the surface, but the races of the surface upon whom they entertained themselves were no more. Kin came to investigate, as did looters and treasure seekers. Few if any of them who failed to quit the land before nightall were ever heard from again. Accepted wisdom became that anyone who dared spend the night within the frontiers of Arak would be carried off before dawn by the Dark Elves. Mount Nirka and its environs were shunned.

		Ravenloft Gazetteer
		Ravenloft Third Edition - p116 Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium I - p242 Domains of Dread - p34 Van Richten's Guide to The Created - p51 Realm of Terror - p61 Ravenloft Gazetteer - p87-88
		Realm of Terror - poster map