Carian Gate

The lifeline of the Northern Heartland. The road that connects two nations. Tomb of the Red King. Truly a remarkable list of achievements for a path of dirt cutting through a wall of rock.

— Amelian "the Elder"

A jarring cut in the seemingly endless mass of grey stone that are the Mountains of Ice, the Carian Gate is a stretch of dirt and dust 5 kilometers wide. From the flat plains west of Chaironea the pass rises until it reaches half the height of the mountains around. Then it descends softly before opening north into the wide grasslands of Helenia.
To those seeking the beauty of nature, the Gate will bring only disappointment. It is a boring sight, walls of grey to either side and a dusty road leading north. There is always a slight breeze blowing south. Winds from the Far North are channelled into the narrow passage. While this guarantees a cooling breeze during the height of Calidan, it can at times result in sudden storms.
Due to their strategic importance, the pass has been fortified extensively. Fortresses at both ends, nets of traps and watchtowers, during times of war the pass becomes an unbreakable castle. Additionally, a regiment of five thousand soldiers is stationed within the pass.

Court and Tomb

Serpent Queen

During the Time of Twilight, the pass was home to the Etedani. A savage tribe ruled by Witch Queens they constantly warred with the Heartland's city-states. The most infamous, known as the Serpent Queen, sacked Chaironea and sacrificed several thousand of its citizens to her dark gods. In ancient folklore, the pass became known as the Serpent Queen's Court. The Etedani were destroyed by the Sikirians during the early years of the Dawn Age.

Red King

When the Ferans invaded in the 9th century DA, they were unable to permanently establish themselves within the Heartlands. One of the more famous attempts was made by Vendrik Adraga, the Red King who had destroyed a hundred Vardanian tribes. Marching through the pass he was surprised by a blizzard. Both he and his army of over fifty-thousand froze to death, their remains found only a millennium later.

Deep under the pass there are caves and caverns. There the Serpent Queen still holds court and sends her hunters to fetch children for her banquets.

— Vardanian Tale

Type

Mountain Pass

by Glenn Porter

Snow and Dust
The Gate is known to occasionally unleash storms of devastating might upon the northern Heartlands. Depending on the season these can either be dust storms or blizzards, both destructive in their own right.
Archivars from the Library in Chaironea have set up a system to try and predict such events. In the best case to give the citizens of Chaironea time to prepare. However, success is not a given and the storms have claimed thousands of lives over the centuries.

by Pawel Hordyniak