Standing Stones of Arathi

The Standing Stones of Arathi are mysterious stones that were erected in patterns and formations throughout the Arathi Highlands long before recorded history.
Archaeologists debate their origins to this day. Some claim that they were raised by Humans, though others believe that they predate even the first men.
What is known is that elementals often congregate amongst the stones. Whoever built the stones either worshiped the elementals or sought their power.
==Fornmaorhorgr (Ancient Man's Shrines)==
The fornmaorhorgr is a broad category of megaliths in the Highlands, being specifically those erected by men during the pre-Imperial period. They are generally not magical, though some have been found to have once been imbued with some kind of powers.
===Fornmestmaorhorgr===
The Fornmestmaorhorgr is the largest and most impressive man-made megalith structure in the Arathi Highlands. Consisting of three great granite slabs leaning against each other, hauled from the mountains into a naturally occurring valley, the site is believed to have been one of the centres of pre-Monotheistic pagan worship.
It is also a site of great significance to the history of man. It was here, beneath the narrow sky-hole of the Fornmestmaorhorgr, that Thoradin took up his Crown at the conclusion of the Six Years of Unification.
===Leidass===
The leidass, or 'road-spirits', are shrines placed along the main roads of the Arathi Highlands. These shrines have been interpreted differently over the ages - as pagan worship sites with each host to its own petty deity, as shrines to the spirit of travel itself, as shrines to a saint - but the central idea remains the same: the leidass watch the road for weary travellers, and either protect them (if propitiated) or trick them.
Originally, the leidass were offered sacrifices of wine, food, or iron nails, but the increasing influence of the Church of the Holy Light led to the replacement of these sacrifices with compensatory rites: humming a tune when passing, or patting the stone but offering it nothing else. If the leidass mind, they haven't said so - they are, afterall, just stones.
==Forngasthorgr (Ancient Spirit's Shrines)==
The forngasthorgr are an equally broad category. They are, broadly speaking, all the megaliths that are home to elemental spirits. Often, these sites pre-date human habitation, though more than a few of the many lesser shrines were originally built by human hands.
These sites are largely considered taboo by the native peoples of the Highlands. The elementals wandering among them enforce that taboo with often deadly force. 
Category:Arathi Highlands
Category:Human Paganism