Taluktokbundok (ta.luk.ˈtok.bun.ˈdok)

"It's rather uncanny, this spike jutting up out of the landscape."
— Miyagi Yumeko

Taluktokbundok is the highest point on the island of Balugo. It is known for its strikingly regular shape, with steep sides and a sharp point. It is an almost perfect cone, and some observers have speculated that the shape is not entirely natural. The smooth rock slopes give little purchase to plants, which increases the overall impression of artificiality. It is as if some giant had driven a spike into the ground so that only the tip remained visible.

Notable Spirits

The skies around and above Taluktokbundok are said to be home to a group of diwati who rule the clouds and winds, known as the Kidlatalà. They are normally invisible, but when they strike they briefly appear as bolts of red, serpentine lightning. They guard the summit of Taluktokbundok from any who might seek to climb it, and will drive climbers from the mountain with high winds and bolts of lightning. It is uncertain exactly why they do this, but they have so far prevented anyone from ever reaching the mountaintop.

Geography

Taluktokbundok is located in a group of mountains in northern Balugo, where the southeastern and southwestern peninsulas join. It stands out from the other mountains for its smooth, steep, bare sides and its sharp peak. It is rumored that there are tunnels or caves below the mountain, although their locations are hidden and protected by the Kidlatalà. The mountain is inhospitable to life - it has no cracks or ledges where plants can take root, and few animals will choose to brave the Kidlatalà in order to scale it.

Location under

Balugo

Geographic Details

Location: Southwestern Region
Latitude: 12.94 degrees North
Longitude: 24.50 degrees West
Elevation: 2,244 ft

Ideal Shapes

There is one other place in the world where unusually regular shapes are located: the mountains of Ypsilós in the Kaphtor Islands. There, a school of philosophy known as Imikýklio has spent centuries contemplating the world as an expression of pure mathematics, which has led to an Egregoric pressure on the landscape, reshaping several geographical features into regular geometrical shapes. While there is no indication that students of Imikýklio have established themselves on Balugo, the similarity in shape has forged an Association between the two places and has extended the Egregoric pressure across the Great Ring, focusing on Taluktokbundok.

This article is a stub, and will eventually be updated with more complete information. Let me know in the comments if you would like me to prioritize it!

This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.