Atrareia

At best, Atrareia is a morbid caricature of what a world should look like. At worst, it is a death sentence to the anyone who was not born here.

Geography

The rare gift of lunar light exaggerates the harshness of the lands. Atrareia hosts torrential waves of mountain peaks, cut mercilessly into the stone by the elements. The earth is cracked and cut deep by canyons and ravines, whose depths appear infinite. And, yet, there are trees -- twisted and seemingly lifeless. Trees of deadened trunks and long-reaching, gnarled branches whisper quietly in the dead of the moonless night, unnaturally alive and tireless. Atrareia possesses a single inland sea, its waters abyssally dark. Whether it is home to any creature at all, not many would be able to answer.

Ecosystem

Beneath the surface is a vast network of roughly hewn tunnels and underground chambers. Most inhabitants who have learned to survive this harsh place have done so by staying away from the surface. Almost all organisms possess some measure of ability to see in the dark. Even so, there is a great dependence on bioluminescence in order to navigate the vast cave systems, although this can be both a survival tactic and an unwitting mark of prey.

History

Atrareia is one of several pocket dimensions stitched together in an abyssal plane called the Dark Realms. While not inherently evil, these realms are known to be avoided by most travelers across the veil between worlds. The Dark Realms tend to be inhospitable places that rarely see sunlight, and they are homes to a range of creatures typically deemed dangerous to regular mortal kind.
The Midnight Vale is the first known home of a powerful creature referred to as the Faceless One. Her origins are shrouded in mystery, but for a while, it was known that all this creature sought was power and total control over other realms and worlds. Her hunger grew, and so did her cunning and cruelty. Countless lives were ended at her whim. When it suited her, she used deceptive tactics to forge unbreakable agreements and enslave worlds.
Thousands of years ago, she was defeated at last by a massive uprising against her tyranny. She was dragged back to Atrareia, but it would be her prison, not her home. Not much is known about what happened to the Faceless One after her downfall. Some say that her return to Atrareia, after the infinite crimes committed by her bloodied hands, is the reason that the land is harsh and unforgiving. Some are certain that she withered into dust, alone and shunned by the few who shared the realm with her. Others still believe that her spirit wanders the lands, that her ghostly voice shakes the ground and carries the howling wind.

Alternative Name(s)

The Hollow Lands, The Midnight Vale

Type

Dimensional, Pocket

Related Ethnicities

• Duskborn

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Rite of the Umbral Dagger

Inhabiting Species

• Glowworm