The Muirise Barrows
Geography
The Muirise Barrows are to be found in The Muirise Barrows in the south of the Sutherland region off the coast of the western ocean that the Alvenites call The Shimmering Seas or the Shimmer for short.For many generations, the Barrows Hills were supposed to be haunted and not many returned from poking around the 'Holes' - the names given to the covert, deadly apertures to the chambers.
Purpose
The Barrows are a series of mausoleum chambers for a long lost civilization that settled on the coast of the Shimmering Seas millennia ago. Antiquarians and Historians are not sure if the burial site was one of the Ancestors, or from another maritime culture also coexisting with the first humans to arrive in Alven.
Architecture
The Barrows are a huge complex of underground chambers and ornate archways that go spiraling down the center of the earth. The construction of the Barrows amounts to a labyrinth of walls and stones.
Because of the bad repair of the structures, they also have not been explored in full. Only the most superficial levels have been studied by Historians and Antiquarians of The Archive.
The Barrows have only been under the Archives' scrutiny for the last fifty years, but much has been written about them since their discovery.The complex is said to comprise of a known nine 'Holes'. These openings go very deep into the ground and are surmounted by a huge stone cupola.
The cupolas cannot be seen from above as they are covered by grass and shrubs. Only the openings at the apex of the building will betray their presence. Once you lower yourself inside the cupola, you enter the first level of the chamber: a wide promenade that circles a deep hole.
Inside the cupola, ornate arched galleries spiral down to unknown depth. Narrow stairs bring you down to the deeper levels and can be accessed from the promenade. Unfortunately, millennia have damaged the stone masonry so much so that the deeper galleries are not accessible.
Quite a few historians and adventurers have lost their lives attempting the journey downwards. Thus, it is not known how deep the Holes are, and what is still to be discovered in the bottom chambers.
From the few galleries that have been discovered and explored, we know that an endless series of doors open up to countless funeral chambers from the galleries. A few of these doors have been opened and have revealed the funeral chambers dug into the ground.
Some of these chambers are small and bare, others are much larger and ornate.
The Muirise Artefacts
The artifacts retrieved from the ongoing perilous search of the Holes have been brought back to Highfort and are displayed in The Lyceum. The objects have created much interest throughout Sutherland.
For a modest fee, clansmen and their family can enter the Lyceum and admire the cleverness and artistic prowess of the Ancestors. The craze for everything 'Muirise' has even led to patterns, designs, and runes to be used by craftsman and decorators in the fashionable homes of the wealthy Alvenites.
It is a shame that there is no clear indication of what most of these objects were used for. It goes without saying that many Antiquarians have spilled a good amount of ink formulating a few theories on the subject.
History of the Discovery
For centuries, the Holes were known to the local population, but no one would have predicted what they hid. Local clansmen tended to avoid the Muir Hills because of their treacherous nature, and clearly never ventured near them if they could help it.
The Muir Hills were supposed to be haunted by a daemon race of revengeful bogles. and many men or women who ventured into the hills never returned home. This is a story that could be easily explained by the hidden nature of the barrow.
The entrance to a barrow is very small and insignificant. It is often hidden among the vegetation, and it will be very easy for an unsuspecting person to fall to their death in a matter of seconds if they stepped into the aperture.
The 'discovery' of the Holes is due to a local young Archivist who, spurred by his interest in all things 'Ancestors', decided to investigate the old legends and the Holes. He managed to find his first barrow without falling straight to the bottom, and with the use of a rope, lowered himself into the stone cupola of the chamber.
Amazed by what he saw, he informed his mentor in Highfort of his discovery, and in due course, the Archive sanctioned a small group of Antiquarians to begin exploring the site.
It was not long before a few artifacts of notable age were brought back to the surface. It is even rumored that one of these artifacts could have been an ancient Rod of Power. If this is the case, it could explain why the Archive is still keen to explore the Barrows despite increasing dangers to the scientific teams. The Archive might think there might be more magical objects to be found.
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