The Alpine Rift

Most of the rest of the Alps is covered in some form of greenery, be it bush or tree, but nature knows well to stay away from this place.  Not even the mountain rats come up here - the crater is as bare an area as any to be found in Mythia.  The walls are completely smooth, as though the edge of some giant's soup bowl.  The Rift is in the exact centre, two orbs circling each other at varying speeds, dark and opaque but with no shadow.  The environment tells you to leave.  And unless you're a madman like we are, you do exactly that.

Rider captain Triiaja, 300.

Geography

The Alpine Rift is situated in the middle of a moderately deep crater in between the peaks Tagan and Duiran of the Alps.  These slope gently downwards before becoming flat around the slightly raised crater lip.  The terrain around it is covered in low scrub, most larger greenery having been destroyed by the Alpine Fires, and boulders and smaller stone fragments dislodged from the peaks on either side.  However, the scrub thins rapidly as it comes nearer the Rift and then disappears entirely about 5 metres out from the crater lip.  The area that the Rift is in would be ideal as a mountain pass were it not for its presence.  The crater itself has the lip rise slightly from the surrounding terrain before descending moderately steeply to the bottom approximately 30 metres below.  The sides of the crater are perfectly smooth and it is a perfect circle.

History

The Alpine Rift is thought to have been created in the late pre-century, and there are numerous accounts with the marks of being from this time of disturbances in the Alps. Reports vary as to what the nature of these disturbances actually were - some pieces say explosions, others jets of bright light.  Around the year 10 the Rift was discovered and those from nearby towns were put on guard to its existence.
The Alpine Rift has long been one of the most active and violent Rifts, and some scholars argue that its creator must have been exceptionally powerful due to this.  The Rider troops assigned to this Rift typically try to move on as quickly as possible, and indeed in 310 the official roster was changed so that each troop spent less time at the Alpsrift.  The Rift has had many spikes in activity over the years, the most famous being The War of the Alpsrift in 433.  After this the activity around the Alpsrift was subdued for a few decades before it returned to its typical active state.

Alternative Name(s)

Alpsrift

Type

Crater / Crater Lake / Caldera