The Ashlands

The divide between North and South is often marked no more clearly than by the natural barrier of the Grey Mountains, but it was not always seen as a place in-between. In days long since passed, there was said to be one great mountain which towered higher than any other on the continent. Now all that is left of it is an arcing range called the Ring of Rhuin , not even a complete circle of peaks still standing from that shattered summit. It is said that from this desolation came the ashes which covered the mountains, giving them their grey pallor and name. Occasionally travelers will happen upon hexagonal columns of volcanic stone carved with runes and arranged in gates or henges. None have ever been deciphered, though some symbols are rumored to be star maps. However, no one knows their true purpose of these relics which explorers claim date back to when the mountain was whole. The crater at the heart of the Ring of Rhuin is said to contain many of these artifacts. Some days a pan flute can be heard on the breeze, and then the wind stirs the ashes and dust. When this happens, the runes on the stones are said to glow a fiery orange as horns and chanting from those ancient days can be heard in the distance. They can be heard coming in host and horde, walking as men but with the strength and bearing of beasts, their cloven hooves churning upon the slopes. Beware though, any who would stalk the crater, for they have taken the unwary. When the dust settles, not a trace of victim or monster remain. All are said to be taken beyond the veil of smoke, into the Ashlands. There the beasts still worship their god of a long dead mountain, and sing of the glory they beheld, and a paradise lost, a paradise that haunts and drives them, a paradise they live and die for, and for which they would give any life, even yours. Few outside the Grey Mountains have heard of the Ashlands, fewer still have heard of the old dead mountain. Even within the Grey Mountains, the Ring of Rhuin is a remote and rumored site, and none who have seen the Ashlands have ever returned. So know you now, what stain marks those peaks. They are covered in ashes and in blood.