Tovag Baragu

Tovag Baragu, known as the Stone Circles, is a massive and enigmatic structure in the Dry Steppes, consisting of five concentric rings of towering white stone pillars. Scholars speculate that it is a remnant of powerful Baklunish magic or even a prehuman artifact, as it appears untouched by time and sometimes reveals glimpses of other realms or eras.

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More than one scholar has remarked that while the devastation wrought by the Baklunish mages upon the Suloise lingers in the form of the Sea of Dust, the Invoked Devastation unleashed by the Suel upon the Baklunish must have been even more thorough. A thousand years later, ruined Suel cities still dot the desolate wastes of their former empire, yet the Dry Steppes, though far more habitable, seem to bear no trace of the great Baklunish cities that once flourished there. An exception to this, and a profound mystery, is Tovag Baragu, known in the East as the Stone Circles—a colossal and enigmatic structure standing near the salt lake Udrukankar, at the very edge of the Flanaess.

Description

Tovag Baragu—which means "Navel of the Oerth" in the Baklunish tongue—is a vast site spanning over a mile in diameter, comprised of five concentric rings of towering, alabaster-white stone pillars. Each pillar stands 40 feet tall, eerily smooth and seemingly impervious to time, untouched by erosion despite the centuries. Some are fluted, but most are entirely featureless, standing in perfect alignment atop an immense circular platform of the same unidentifiable stone. The platform itself is immaculate, with no signs of tilting, cracking, or wear—an anomaly given that the land around it slopes westward toward Udrukankar. The western edge of the site descends in broad, shallow steps, abruptly ending in a sheer drop 20 to 30 feet above the salt flats. To the east, dust and vegetation encroach upon the platform’s borders, but do not cross onto its surface.

The origins of the monolithic stones remain an enigma. There are no known quarries within 200 miles that bear rock of this composition, and no record exists of their transport or construction. Perhaps they were barged down the great rivers that once flowed across the Steppes before the land was ruined. Stranger still is the site’s pristine condition, despite the cataclysm that obliterated so much of the Baklunish lands.

The local human and centaur nomads of the Dry Steppes regard Tovag Baragu as a sacred place, making an annual pilgrimage to the site where they hold great gatherings, trade, and marriages while their priests curse the Suel and call down further retribution upon their lands. This two-week festival is protected by an ancient truce—all who attend are forbidden from engaging in feuds or warfare while at the site or traveling to and from it. For the rest of the year, however, the place is shunned; it is said to be ill fortune to even glimpse it on the horizon.

Mystical Phenomena

Wanderers who stray between the stone circles often report disturbing distortions of reality. Objects glimpsed through the gaps between the pillars sometimes appear magnified, sharpened, or otherwise altered. With focus, some claim they can peer across vast distances, even to other worlds or times. Some common visions include:

• A great lakeside city, usually glimpsed beneath the cover of night.
• A verdant plain, teeming with strange beasts unseen in this age.
• Flickering images of otherworldly realms, which some claim belong to the Outer Planes.

These are not merely illusions—for on rare occasions, something crosses the threshold between the circles and the realms beyond. Travelers tell of bizarre creatures appearing near the site, their forms unfamiliar to even the most learned sages of the Flanaess. Fortunately, such rifts appear to be temporary and fleeting, though it remains uncertain whether one could be forced open—or held.

The Power Within

The nomads believe that Tovag Baragu influences the weather, an assertion supported by observation. During their yearly ceremonies, their storm-callers invoke winds and rains with astonishing potency, far beyond their natural ability. Whether the site itself amplifies magic or is a source of ancient, unguided power remains an unanswered question.

Many scholars speculate that Tovag Baragu is a remnant of forgotten Baklunish magic, perhaps an attempt to preserve knowledge or create a lasting conduit to other realms. Others whisper that it was never built by mortal hands at all—that it is a relic of some prehuman intelligence, a gateway to something far older and more terrifying than the Baklunish Empire itself.

Whatever the truth, one thing is certain: Tovag Baragu endures, untouched by time, whispering its secrets only to those brave or foolish enough to listen.