Knur Slagming

Purple Dragon

Knur Slagming, is Giant for Hollow Predator. It is a grassy plain of the Inirthak sector of Grashakh. The most notable feature of the plain are hundreds of holes scattered across the landscape. In the Third Dragon Wake, some of the larger holes that pierce deep beneath Knur Slagming served as the egress point for purple dragons. These dragons of the Underdark, driven by the Dragon Wake frenzy, flew up from the dark reaches of Imgangreth and raided the surface. For a time, they were a threat to Inirthak's denizens.

In the Second Epoch, the Githirmil began claiming this open plain under the flag of the Orchish Empire. To them, it looked like a virgin area that had never seen settlement by axe and spade. They were soon to learn that the area was untamed and unoccupied by peoples because it was the plate for things below. The holes in Knur Slagming dive deep into the Underdark with most opening up over the Cthorgo sea. At night, creatures of the Underdark like giant bats, vampires, stirges, sometimes a purple dragon, and all manner of other flying creatures come up through these shafts seeking out the night's meal.

The holes dotting Knur Slagming vary in size, with the smallest 10' across and largest up to a half a mile in rough diameter. Geologists say that these holes are not natural and look to have been the product of tunneling by purple worms or other Underdark burrower. They are puzzled as why something would dig holes from the surface, and end over an Underdark sea. These holes go by a number of names, with Pelor's Eyelids being the most used. The Githirmil have their own word for them - Gruumsh's Spittoons.

Athurrâm

Sadar-Nizar

Athurrâm is a desert of northern Halmarth and southern Skegjold. It is an unnatural place, having suffering desertification as a result of strong magical emanations coming off the Cube of Infinity. Athurrâm is like other areas of eastern Cinazan, islands and coastal regions turned to deserts from magical energy pouring off the Cube. In the Second Epoch, the destructive energies were diverted away from the area in what became known as the Voruth Anharr Project.

Athurrâm is home to tribes of scorpionfolk which before the disaster that befell the area were centaurs. Those that remained too long in the area during its desertification became Cube Tainted. This caused their equine lower body to be replaced with that of a scorpion and their upper body, though still humanoid, became covered in chitin. The scorpionfolk proved to be more useful and obedient than when they were centaurs, so they became common targets for slave traders. Normally only the young are taken, with their primary market being the holds of the Khazarkar Empire. These young scorpionfolk slaves are raised in military crèches and often become elite guards for government officials or sent to special units of the Athirbêni. Some scorpionfolk tribes participate in this slave trade, selling captured young off as slaves.

The scorpionfolk of Athurrâm are a nomadic people. They are uncivilized and barbaric and not a product of divine creation. They came about in Second Epoch when magical emanations from the Cube of Infinity warped the native creatures of Athurrâm into something entirely different. The area's centaurs became scorpionfolk which worked out well since the grasslands they once roamed had become a bleak desert.

Unknown Abomination

On an expedition into the Tribe Steppes, an adventurer made a sketch of something they only briefly saw before it disappeared into the steppe.  Could this creature be some abomination created by a Theegan and Jara copulation?  If so, it would probably have had to be forced upon them by magic or the doings of a harpy or other such foul creature.  No Jara would willingly mate with a Theegan, seeing them and all other non-Jara as nothing more than prey.  While a Theegan would never lower itself, even the most depraved, to intermingle with a race they despise and fear, one cursed by Krak-Oth and spawned of horse cultists who were once Theegans.

Vul Lom

Water Nymph of Vul Lom

Vul Lom is the largest lake of Krein Jusk. Much of it is an otherworldly liquid that came from the Abyss. As far as sustenance, it is equal to water, but it is darker and heavier. The lake is very deep, with its waters seemingly held in place in tunnels and caverns in the Underdark, defying the normal laws of water dynamics where liquids normally settle to the lowest level. In some areas, the dark blue liquid may cover a section of an area like a wall of water held in place by an unknown force. More intelligent creatures around these areas have grown accustomed to this and swimming through these walls of water to reach the dry connecting area on the others side. This strange property of the liquid to hold in place and not fill an area has led to the spread of aboleth and the kuo-toa across a wide area of Yol Skerah and Vul Sahsir. The Underdark part of the lake is much bigger and generally referred to by the Abyssal word Eki'khas, which has the same basic meaning as the Draconic word Vul Lom, or Dark Water.

On the surface, rains, and the water coming down from Fusvok Mahrol float atop the dark Abyssal waters. The depth of the natural water varies by season, but typically ranges from 40' to 60' of natural water atop the alien waters.

Vul Lom is thought to have been created from a rift between Bal-Kriav and some plane of the Abyss. In the Demon Spawn War, Orcus controlled large tracts of the Aerie of Dragons. Little is known of what happened in this area, but some historians believe that a rival demon prince, perhaps Demogorgon, might have tried to interrupt Orcus's advance west by opening a rift and then sending demons in to attack his lightly defended areas in the rear.

From the surface of the lake to a depth of several hundred feet dwell water nymphs. These vile creatures are carnivores and prey as much on each other as others. Some are powerful spell-casters with minions dominated through witchery or otherwise "convinced" to do their biddings. The Water Nymphs of Vul Lom are alien to Bal-Kriav. They were brought over to this world when the rift was opened to the Abyss. They are outsiders, yet do not have the traits of a demon, though their temperament would make you think otherwise.

Beldileck

Abhômaipeth Mothership - made from Beldileck

Beldileck was a primordial aberration that fought in the Dawn War. His body was a contorted orb atop eleven crab-like legs. It was dotted with many eyes and mouths and looked like a cross between a gibbering mouther and a beholder. All of his attacks and defenses were powered by the arcane, drawing power from the Web of Magic.

After being promoted to primordial lord, he was assigned control over a moon that was then simply called Orb 398. With limited Powers of Creation, he created the beholder race as a security force that would be mobile, highly alert, and unhindered by the rugged conditions of the mini-world assigned to him. Beldileck was assigned to this moon because he had been tainted with Law from an encounter with the then archangel Athena. As such, he was not completely trusted on the battlefield because his plans often forced too much Order on armies dominated by those of chaotic tendencies. When he created the beholders, they ended up having even more Law in them than their creator. After a thousand years of servitude to Beldileck, they began to rebel. A century of fighting between those loyal to him and the rebels ended when Beldileck's great mass was petrified by scores of beholders working in unison.

In the Second Epoch, Abhômaipeth military scientists began un-petrifying parts of Beldileck. They dried these parts and then used them to make the hulls of their largest void ships - the Abhômaipeth Motherships.

Polyxo

Polyxo

Polyxo was born in the God Era to Arcana and Kord. She was the first daughter of these two who were then but archangels.

In the God Era, Polyxo rose to be an astral deva. Since her skills were more suited for the lab than war, she found herself posted north of Cthorgo with the Tholanbar military unit. This was a battalion sized force of Turkûn-Khâl and auxiliaries tasked with building an outpost and then keeping watch for demon incursions. It was a dull post, one seeing little action, sometimes years would go by without demon sightings. During this time, Polyxo turned to dabbling in creation, something she lacked the skill in, but was able to make for with some life energy given to her by her mother Ioun. Her mother, also not a Creationist, wanted to figure out why some were so eager to get this stuff. Polyxo used the life energy given to her to create several new life forms. Each of these were most suited for the Underdark and intended for various duties. The most sentient of these lifeforms are the myconids. This plant-like race was made in collaboration with Silvanus. The myconid were made to spread vegetation and create fungal forests in the Underdark. Her other two notable creations were the carrion crawler and the ochre jelly, both to serve as "vultures of the underworld".

She experimented with soul energy at a place she helped design, the stronghold Quelmollendë. She intended to make a variant of the dwarves that was more accustomed to living in the deeper areas of the Underdark. Her experiments using soul energy to create new life forms were only a partial success. This was because the souls she used were destined for the Abyss. Normally, these souls would be the chattel of the plane, and rise as lemures or some other petty fiend. Polyxo re-purposed these chaotic evil souls, using them to create new life forms. For most of those created in this manner, the outcome was something degenerate, mutated, twisted, or prone to insanity. The Derro race were one of these.

After the Demon Spawn War, Polyxo became a Solar to her mother Ioun. Polyxo's skill at using life energy and soul energy is such that along with her magic items she is equivalent to a Tier 3 Creationist.

Yennog

Leptyr Marauders

Yennog was built in the Lith-Crillion Era by a gnoll shaman that had been turned into a werewolf. He was revered among the gnoll tribes as something blessed by Yeenoghu. The truth though was that the shaman was turned by the will of nature, bitten by a wolf carrying the Curse of Lyncathropy. Various gnoll tribes built Yennog in concert with frequent fighting over who would be building the most important part of the place.

Yennog is a fortress built in the shape of a howling wolf. Either by accident or design, the structure produces a natural, yet unnerving howl. This sound can be heard ten miles away and is constant; thanks to the perpetual winds generated by the Primordial Storm.

Yennog has never fallen to enemy attack. The place has spiritual significance to the gnolls with them stopping any internal fighting and joining forces to combat whatever threatens the place. Those gnolls that have a deep spiritual interest in the place become special guards called the Leptyr Marauders (Leptyr being a reference to the moon). As part of an ancient rite, subjects give up part of themselves to become werewolves. This ritual is the Pack Rite which has since its start, always been performed by gnoll shamans. Since the First Epoch, the Pack Rite has been administered by the Shamanic Conclave of Drugnod.

Yennog is also a training place for warriors. The training is savage with a high combat mortality rate. The class tactic Yennog Savage came out of the bloody training pits of this place.