Brökúrró Ú Caves
Rahlúic: Brökúrró Ú /ʙœːkhurːouː uː/
The Brökúrró Ú Caves are one of the largest in all of Borgalor, second only to the cave system beneath the Qug Mountains in central Jælondis, and by far the largest ones on the continent of Örkraz. Located in the karst region of southern Örkraz, they are considered a -if not the most- sacred site in many native orcish cultures and even among certain communities in other parts of Borgalor, and are visited by pilgrims throughout the year to honour and receive blessing from the ancestors.
The Brökúrró Ú Caves are one of the largest in all of Borgalor, second only to the cave system beneath the Qug Mountains in central Jælondis, and by far the largest ones on the continent of Örkraz. Located in the karst region of southern Örkraz, they are considered a -if not the most- sacred site in many native orcish cultures and even among certain communities in other parts of Borgalor, and are visited by pilgrims throughout the year to honour and receive blessing from the ancestors.
Geography
Within the caves are chambers and tunnels containing entire underground river systems, lakes large enough to be considered freshwater seas, stalagmite 'forests' and fields of glowing magic crystals and pseudoflora. Rare fauna -including many species of bats- and pseudofauna are found there as well, many of which are endemic to certain parts of the cave system, while more mundane plants grow in certain sinkholes.
Only a relatively small portion of the caves have been explored, both due to difficulties traversing certain regions and the fact that some are considered domains of the ancestors and thus closed off to travelers.
Only a relatively small portion of the caves have been explored, both due to difficulties traversing certain regions and the fact that some are considered domains of the ancestors and thus closed off to travelers.
History
The people of the karst region, in particular the Hlörans, believe Brökúrró Ú to be the place where souls travel to in order to reach the afterlife and -in some traditions- return to the surface to be reborn. The country of Hlörröm has long been the center of the mysteries that take place in the caves, which traditionally includes summoning the dead so that they can observe and even partake in ritual dances and songs in their honour, though this practice has come under increased scrutiny in the last few decades due to necromancy of any kind becoming taboo throughout Borgalor.
Because of this, the actual summoning rituals now take place deeper within the caves and are closed to foreigners.
Because of this, the actual summoning rituals now take place deeper within the caves and are closed to foreigners.
Tourism
Outside of Hlörröm, a handful of places in the caves that are considered off lesser significance have been opened to tourists for diving and guided tours, provided that they show respect to the environment and give small offerings of sugar to the ancestors before leaving.
Type
Cave System
Location under
The notion of tourism in fantasy worlds is nice to explore. In Sharitarn (my main setting) it was not initially present. The book I was trying to write (in the end, failed) had the difficulty to travel on Sharitarn among its core themes. Latter (likely by influence of World Anvil) I included some small balneary villages next to Lutianen State City, and later a large touristic industry revolving around a Xar-Scar region (in Sharitarn those are areas where magical energy in the environment is so 'dirty' that is impossible to do magic, basically regions with no magic in a high-magic world). My impression is that would be better if we had a little more information, and/or description here. Perhaps a description of a typical touristic travel, in the lines of those advertisements touristic companies make. Perhaps a very brief description of some guide who works in the region. Or alert against those mercenary fellows who take additional money from naive tourists to show them what they are forbidden to see (because, goes without saying, some people WILL do that. And some bad tourists will pay for the illegal service). I think is hard to balance the "how much I include in this entrance?" element. I am aware that some of my entrances have too much information. While others don't have enough. My feeling is that, in this particular case, you inclined yourself a bit more than ideal to the second. It is a nice text, and I mean no disrespect. Still, it could have a little more text, in my opinion.
You are right, this article is a bit short, mostly because it was written for Summer Camp, and I felt the need to hurry up due to the time limit. The focus on the cave system itself was to fit the prompt, though I might expand on the article later on and take your suggestions into consideration.
Thank you for the kind comment!