Feirgotha Plateau

During its tumultuous history, the Feirgotha Plateau has been known by several names. Ancient texts sometimes refer to the frigid landscape as the Vastness, a moniker it earned because of its seemingly endless expanses of cold, alpine desert. The desolate wasteland experiences its most frigid temperatures closest to the escarpments surrounding the plateau whose elevation ranges between 5,000 feet at its nadir near Toh Kristael and 15,000 feet along the sheer, vertical cliffs surrounding the mesa. The nearly impassible rock walls, cliffs, and the pervasive threat of an avalanche make for an extremely challenging climb up the escarpments. Indeed, attempting to scale any of the escarpments demands tremendous mountaineering skill and experience. Fortunately, three mountain passes grant access to the elevated mesa. Pelivar Pass enters the plateau on the west, Baen’s Pass provides access on the east, and to the south are the entrances to the Southern Pass and the Cobalt Pass. Those who reach the plateau encounter frigid tundra at its highest elevations and a cool alpine desert in its most hospitable spots. Strange rock formations abound throughout the Feirgotha Plateau. Some ascribe the creations to natural processes, though most scholars believe them to be ruined vestiges of past civilizations or feeble attempts at artwork by primitive cultures or creatures. The most likely candidate for these pieces is the Kingdom of Arcady. However, several of these odd structures serve as the entrance to subterranean tunnels burrowing into the ground into manmade and natural abscesses beneath the ground.
During its brief halcyon days 2,000 years ago, the legendary wizard Aka Bakar transformed the Feirgotha Plateau into a vibrant, flourishing civilization known as the Kingdom of Arcady. Eighty years after its founding, hordes of orcs and hobgoblins swarmed onto the Feirgotha Plateau. Although they failed to conquer the nascent kingdom, their aggression and the acts of its deranged ruler plunged the realm into anarchy and chaos. Nearly all of the surviving residents abandoned the plateau and fled to neighboring regions, which once again returned the plateau to its former anonymity. By default, the Feirgotha Plateau fell under the sway of Clan Craenog, which monitors the activities in the wasteland from several outposts scattered across the sprawling landscape. Burvaadun, the most noteworthy of these defense installations, sits close to the Southern Pass and the presumably abandoned Library of Arcady, which is said to have been built by Thanopsis the Learned during the kingdom’s heyday. Foran Rockfeller, the garrison’s competent leader, commands a force of 40 troops largely composed of misfits and others who fell out of favor with Clan Craenog’s most influential members. They closely monitor activities in the region, especially the library’s rumored resurgence.
Although it has experienced a few renaissances throughout its existence, the Feirgotha Plateau, like its neighboring counterparts, today stands barren and nearly uninhabited. A few remnants of the orc and hobgoblin armies who marched against Arcady still linger in the harsh domain. Meanwhile, Clan Craenog periodically dispatches organized patrols to the area to seek out and destroy any burgeoning humanoid settlements attempting to take root in the parched soil, including those of their hated foes, the humans. The Feirgotha Plateau has a well-earned reputation for being inhospitable, yet there are some havens of life amid the pervading desolation. The handful of oases scattered across the wasteland boast clean, refreshing waters and palm trees during the condensed summer months. Naturally, the former inhabitants also sought out these refuges, where they sometimes left an indelible mark on these isolated lands in terms of discarded relics or abandoned sites.

Type

Plateau