The Whisper Dells

Warning: This article extensively deals with some sensitive topics. Content Warnings for: explicit mention of Suicidal Ideation, Mental Health Struggles and implicit mention of death, suicide, loss of family members.

Tucked away at the foot of the northern tail of the Razorcrest Mountains, lies no-mans-land. Further north the biting cold, bitter snow and ravenous Bruín, the worldshaker bears, make travel dangerous and prolonged survival near impossible. But even where bears rarely venture and weather is slightly less freezing, the lands are dangerous still.

To the far west of the livable lands of Noria, tucked beneath the towering heights of the mountain ranges, sit a series of dells and valleys, which are collectively known as the Whisper Dells. The Aduëlian natives do not go there even though the forests in the dells are full and the game is plentiful. They speak of an eternal Ghost wandering the ranges. One that is white and pale like the snow she emerges from. Some rumor she is elvish, like the winged ones from the old stories or the wild ones far to the south.
What all agree on is that she is to blame for the whispers. They fuel her power, people say, sustaining her life across the ages and many have fallen prey to her machinations. No one goes into the Whisper Dells, no one in the right mind at least. Eventually, the whispers will get you.

The Whispers

When you enter the Whisper Dells at first you may not even realise why people avoid going here. Sure, the fir thickets are dark, and yes perhaps the looming mountains peeking down on you may even seem threatening, but this far north not much would be hospitable anyways. And in a place that sees snow almost the entire year round, the muffled quiet of the landscape may even seem peaceful.
But when you stay in the Dells for longer you find how wrong you were. You are not welcome, not truly. After a day or two you start hearing things. Some ambient noise, still muffled by the snow, can be heard by the more perceptive. It may sound familiar or comforting on some level. Over time, usually a few days, the sounds become clearer and you begin to realise that there are voices, almost inaudible, lurking in the dells, just beyond the edge of your focus.
And they, what ever the beings speaking to you are, know your darkest thoughts and secrets. Things you thought you had long left behind you, emotions you hate about yourselves, insecurities you hide by a front of bravado. They know you. At first you may think you are mishearing things, but eventually there is no doubting what they are saying. Have you lost someone dear, family, friends or lovers? The whispers will be theirs.
Unending they tempt you, taunt you and lure you in deeper. Try to drown them out and you find that the snow still very much eats the noise you emit. Try to sleep and you will find that their voices keep you awake. Finally when you start to cave, their demands begin echoing through the dells and valleys. Join us

Who is this mysterious pale wanderer
and is she to blame for the Dells?

The pale white figure lurking in the northern mountains is none other than Keorin, Lady of the Road, one of the twelve original proto-elves. The snow-white elf is the third child of the orc-god Tai'San, and has taken to calling the mountains of Noria her home over the last two millennia.
She has nothing to do with the phenomenon of the Whisper Dells, but her proximity makes her the obvious scapegoat for the Aduëlians. A far more likely reason for the Dells existence reaches far further back into history than Keorins arrival to this region. During the era of heroics, about fourty millennia ago, relations between the northern elvish kingdoms and dwarvish outposts had deteriorated and the Blood War began. When the war ended in a pyrrhic victory for the dwarves elvish existence in the north of Noria had ceased Only the recently founded Dorralia, City of Storms, was spared because of the Blood Pact of Circalion and Dorralia Golrok.
Whatever Mellhedhrén & Fuínmarr witchcraft had created the Dells during this time, it has lasted to this day in perhaps the longest and most cruel case of scorched earth of Norian history.

At last the true aim of the voices is revealed. They call for you to join them, to leave this world and finally be rid of the pain and hate and misery they see in your soul.

Join us!

Few who enter the Whisper Dells ever leave them and because of this some of the Aduëlian groups have begun a grim tradition. When someone feels their life has run its course and they can no longer contribute to the good of their family, they may decide to pack supplies for the trek and pay the Dells a visit. Most commonly elders choose this path, but tragically young people sometimes also fall victim to the whispers.
Despite the aura of death that hangs over the dells, the few people who went there and lived to talk about their experiences never seem to see any bodies. Perhaps the snow just covers them immediately. It's not like they can get up and walk away, right?
Right?