Region · 2 o'clock on the Dial

Gurhal

The ember highlands. Here, mountains are ancestors and lava is their blood.

the Ember Highlands

Geography

Black basalt highlands stretch northeast of the Arena. The valleys hold hexagonal stone columns, lava streams and hot springs. The forests have turned grey with ash. The Gurhal Arm is one of the six rivers born from the Arena. This river meets the lava and turns to steam. People call it the Steam Arm. Sleeping mountains lie along the ridges. People call them Heartmountains. Ughrak is one of them. Since 1241 AS it has carried a wound in its slope.

Climate

A hot climate. Ash rains from the sky. The nights glow orange with embers.

Culture

The Crimson Clans. They make their war paint from red earth and blood. They have no writing. They sing their lineages from memory. Whoever reads the names of the dead is sacred. No one touches them. The clans settle disputes with Blood Oath duels.

Governance

There is no central rule. When danger comes, the clan heads gather at the Hearth Moot. The Moot's decision holds for one season.

Faith

The Mountain Ancestors. Mountains are sleeping ancestors, and lava is their blood. Ember-stone is a spark fallen from an ancestor's heart. Dem is time in solid form in Devran. Taking Dem from the Arena betrays the ancestors. Embers come from the mountain, not from the Arena.

Economy

Ember-stone, obsidian, healing hot springs and barter. Ember-stone is a dense Dem crystal. Smugglers sell ember-stone to Tavellin in secret.

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