Sanctum Hollow

Overview

A rich, verdant valley surrounded on all sides by mountains with four, towering, ice-capped peaks. Sanctum Hollow is said to be the only sanctuary on the husk of a dead world. The Hollow was created when five great warriors, The Founders, protected the valley within this ring of mountains to avert a great calamity. The valley is home to fewer than a million people living within four clan territories - the Wolf Clan, the Bear Clan, the Crane Clan, and the Dragon Clan. A now defunct fifth clan, the Kirin Clan, still has some existing members but has been dispersed throughout the valley after they were driven from their village. There are also some criminals and outcasts roaming the valley, in addition to beasts both mundane and magical.

Landmarks and Geography

The most important landmarks are the four mountains bracketing The Hollow. Together they are known to the locals as the Ring of Heaven, locations of myth and mystery. The four Weaver Schools in the region have each claimed a peak as their home, and the secrets found within have given these organizations strong roots. To the north, Dire Wolf Peak is carpeted in silver and purple trees most of the year. The Silvermane School processes these trees into products to be sold, as well as the mystic elixirs they gift to their most prized students. They fiercely guard this precious commodity and it is said that even the wild wolves roaming the area report any interlopers to the local School. To the west, Bear Mountain shows off its distinct mineral composition with rust-red cliffs. It is the shortest of the four peaks where most of the mining takes place by the Golden Claw School. Rumor has it that they have been harassed by bandit activity lately which has purportedly disrupted their trade routes and caused their profits to suffer for it. To the south, rises Cranehome. The top of this mountain is broken, its peak shattered into a crater where water pools and later falls down the cliffs in a stream known as the Crane River. Storms are said to wrack these slopes year-round and the Crane Wind School maintains shelters for unlucky travelers caught outside. The storms also present an obstacle for anyone attempting to reach the fabled sacred pool at the top called “The Great Crane’s Tears''. To the east, The Drake Mount rises as the tallest of the four great peaks of the divine Ring of Heaven. It is blanketed in snow, and crowned in a ring of pale white light, called The Holy Dragon’s Nimbus, that circles the summit. This light appears at sundown and disappears at sunrise, so that part of the Hollow has never experienced a truly dark night. The Radiant Dragon School has claimed this peak, using the power of the Nimbus to gather light aura even on a moonless night. In the center, sits the Tranquil Basin, a large depression in the valley surrounded by waterfalls and rivers, full of lush vegetation. This area is treated with reverence by the Hollow’s inhabitants and is the neutral ground where many communal rituals, like the Threadbearer Test and the 7th Moon Tournament and Festival, take place. The historical caretakers of this were considered a smaller, fifth clan, but the Kirin Clan has since been dispersed following a tragic disaster that destroyed much of the Basin.