Mount Nirka
Mount Nirka and its sister Mount Nyid were extinct volcanos that lay 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 in sympathy. Activity thus far has been limited to localised tremors and sulfurous plumes of smoke. The risk run in exploring the many lava tubes, mine tunnel, and min shafts that riddle the two mountians has no doubt increased exponentially. The peaks used to stand side by side, but they appear to have grown apart, with Mount Nyid anchoring the southeastern Mountains of Misery and Mount Nirka anchoring the northwestern Mountains of Misery. Mount Nirka soars to a breathtaking 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. It is also the source of the 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 for its northern flank, and indeed all life across the face of Arak was eradicated in 588 BC by a sandstorm of unprecedent ferocity that scoured the land clean in an event recorded as the Scourge of Arak. A century and a half later the Mount Nirka and its environs remained a blated, rocky wasteland. Even today the only trees to be found on the mountain are on its northern flank. At lower elevations tenacious grasses, spike plants, and low scrubs have made some inroad. As for fauna mundane and monstrous, it consists cheifly of vast swarms of basts, spiders of all sizes, and ettercaps.
The indisputable proof that the surface of Mount Nirka and its environs were inhabited by intelligent races prior to 588 BC are the mine tunnels and mine shafts. There are dwarves in Tempe Falls and gnomes in Mayvin whose fathers left to work those mines over a century and a half ago after Darkon appeared on Arak's northern frontier. Miners returning to Darkon brought stories of strange temporal fugues in the depths. One might spend a week underground only to return to the surface and discover that a month had passed. Stories were also told of the native inhabitants of Arak. The Arakians were humans who herded sheep and goats, but were also themselves miners. They warned the dwarves and gnomes never to dig too deep. Equally, they tried to impress upon their northern guests their abject fear of the hours of the night when the sneeuane feallagh ("gossamer folk") would swarm up 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.
When the surface was scoured clean Niurin Scaa was untouched, but the sneeuane feallagh lost the surface dwellers who had long been their leading source of entertainment. Kin of dead came to investigate however, as did looters and treasure seekers. Those who tarried long were never left. As the flow of visitors to the blasted realm diminished, the proportion who were ever heard from again fell. Until it became universally accepted truth that anyone who dared spend the night within the frontiers of Arak would be carried off before dawn by the Dark Elves.
The relocation of the sneeuane feallagh and the Niurin Scaa ("Shadow Nether") to bottom of the Shadow Rift
devour the souls of mortal men. The dwarves began to believe in the existence of these bein
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Ravenloft Third Edition - p116 | |
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Realm of Terror - poster map |
