XENKUR
FAMOUS LOCATIONS

Originally penned by the famous Elven Sage Wra'Ynae'dae in his original language.
Translated into the common tongue by Conanus in the City of Shadestar.

Xenkur has many locations that are "famous." Locations that are well known to inhabitants whether they live south of the Firestorm Mountains or North of the Blackwater River. These are places every Xenkurian knows.

·   The Wastelands
    The Wastelands, also known as The Great Waste or the Gray Waste, is a massive chunk of land in the southwest corner of Xenkur. 
Originally, before the Devastation, the Wasteland was the birthplace of humankind. Humans, Dwarves, and Elves all lived in peace. Ibrenavell, the capital city at the time was where a man could rub elbows with the gods themselves. 
    Both man and god worked side by side creating some of the most elaborate architecture. The written word was created in Ibrenavell as well as every other major accomplishment. Soon after the city was built, the gods gave nine gifts to the tribes of man. The king of each clan received one of these gifts so that everyone could rule equally.
    But this paradise would not last. During the time of the Broken Throne, prophets foretold of a great Devastation that would wipe out all that man and god had created. At first, the prophets were charged with heresy until that one day when fire rained from the sky. The devastation was so complete it turned a once lush land into what is now the Wasteland. A barren dust-choked land of brutally hot days and bitterly cold nights.
    Now very little roams the Wastelands save for a few bands of humans who eek out a living and Gnoll raiders who pillage anything and everyone. Ibrenavell, the Lost City is still believed to be somewhere under the shifting dunes of the Wasteland. Many attempts have been made to find it. Most of the expeditions never returned.   

·   The Great Forest 
    The Great Forest is massive; it is how the forest got its name. No one knows for sure the size of the forest. You can ride north or south for three days before leaving the trees. No maintained roads head east or west, but if a road existed, a person could spend a fortnight in the forest before seeing the prairie again.
      Residents of the forest claim every species of tree that grows in Xenkur grows in the Great Forest. Whatever you believe or don't believe the forest is impressive. In the summer, the leaves are full. Every color shows from red to green to blue. For example, the forest is full of the Boxrush Fellenwort with their bright blue leaves and white bark. 
      Apart from the color of the trees and that Tinker Town lay within the borders of the trees, little else is known about the Great Forest. Of course, rumors and folktales swirl around it like an eddy.
      There was the tale of Ebber Castle. It supposedly lies in the eastern part of the forest. A Lich commands the castle and it is full of magic.  And the rumor that Azure Elves survived the extinction event and now live in the forest. Perhaps the most famous story is the Gnomish tale of the 'Living Tree'. The story goes that one single tree, the Tinker Gnomes call it 'Gemspark,' lives at the heart of the forest, and it is from that tree that all the forest grew. The tree is guarded by a Druid and its magic keeps a person alive for all eternity.
 
·  Blackwater River
    The Blackwater River runs east from Wilde Lake through the Moonlight Mountains and onto the eastern plains. A major trade route and water byway for western people traveling east to safer lands. The northern banks are patrolled by the Knights of the Rose as the city of Winterrock is not far from the rivers banks. The southern banks of the river but up against the Wastelands and are not patrolled. Those on the river always moar watercraft on the northern banks for no one is sure what could crawl out of the gray wastes.
    The great battle of the Orcan Nations was fought here against the Knights of the Rose in the years 4-7 A.D. A second uprising lead by King Dregu of the Orcan Blood Clan fought on the rivers banks only a few years past. Things are peaceful now on the river though I have little doubt they will remain that way. 

·   The Scar
·   The Firestorm Mountains
·   The Moonlight Mountains
·   The Violet Mountains