Mhaldor Isle

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Revision as of 07:10, 14 January 2007 by Delphinus (talk | contribs) (Gruu'n Chasm)
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Mhaldor Isle is an island off the west coast of Sapience, beyond the windswept Northern Vashnars. The isle was created when the gods Phaestus, Lupus, and Aegis cast a Vashnarian mountain upon the traitorous Sartan for His defilement of Valnurana. The mountain twisted and reformed under the influence of Sartan's divine essence, forming an island. For this reason, Mhaldor Isle is often colloquially referred to as Sartan's Island. A low, barren isthmus connects the isle to the main continent, and a short distance to the south lies the volcanic island of Harae.

The landscape of Mhaldor Isle has been raped and ravaged by the ever-present red fog. Forests of skeletal trees dot the land, overlooking pits of bubbling tar and the scarred, cracked waste known as the Scablands. Upon the west coast of the island, facing out onto the Sapphire Ocean, is the broad, craggy Claw Cove, while toward the east end, the deep Gruu'n Chasm splits the land in two. Warped and tainted by the essence of Sartan, the very foundation of the island is stained a deep, bloody red. Within the crimson bowels of the earth lie the halls of Blackrock, and below that, the caverns of Delmarin.

Two mountains dominate the horizon: Mount Mhaldor and Deadman's Peak. Crowning the former like a diadem of thorns is the city of Mhaldor, the religious and political capital of all that is Evil. The road to Mhaldor itself is dotted with gibbets and crosses, upon which hang the desiccated corpses of those who would cross the City of Evil. Within Deadman's Peak dwells the dread Leviathan.

Due to the presence of the red fog, few plants grow upon the island, however amenable the environment might ordinarily be. The most obvious exception to this would be the carnivorous lycopods, though hardier poison ivy and poison oak have also managed to survive in the generally herbicidal atmosphere.