Erebus

Erebus, also called the Underworld, is a vast network of caverns, tunnels and chambers below the surface of Vala. According to myth, Erebus was first carved out by the dragons and the dhurj as a prison for the Walking Bones. Later, Erebus was enlarged by the giants and their dwarf students with the aid of massive 'living machines' called formori. The Azlan also dug into the Underworld, building secret holds where they could conduct magical experiments and hoard treasures away from jealous rivals. 
The Underworld is not just barren stone and dirt, though. The first beings to inhabit Erebus were gnomes, born from Druna. Gnomes, the green men, cultivated vast, fungal gardens beneath the earth, and new forms of life flourished among these gardens. The gnomes were soon joined by the dhurj, who dug tunnels through Erebus and built giant hive cities within it huge chambers. Worg infiltrated Erebus during the Morning War, and broods underground with his rotting minions. Urabog too has her nests amid the dark, her ettercap spiderkin skittering about in search of sacrifices for their terrible goddess. Logha, brother of Kanlin, fled into Erebus after his duplicity was revealed. He spawned the race of goblins who would go on to found many dark kingdoms below the ground. Erebus is also home to gorgons and ulrakhs, the rockmen. Indeed, the Underworld teems with strange and secret life. Vakki, kobolds, dens of wererats, basilisks and genie strongholds can all be found below. Then there are many twisted and mutant creatures, the results of ancient experiments, or incursions from other worlds. Some of the most bizarre Underworld creatures are singular and unique, which is fortunate for the surface world. 
There would be little reason to venture into Erebus, save for its great mineral wealth. Orichalc and glowstones are found in abundance, along with all manner of other riches, born out of the subterranean trolls that dream in the darkness. Erebus is also where noxite is found, and the concentration of so much dragonsblood sends winds of wild, chaotic magic coursing through the Underworld. This 'dragonsbreath' has a number of effects, mostly unpleasant, though the worst is no doubt the transmission of glimmerscale. Unfortunate souls who fled into Erebus to escape past cataclysms have been warped by dragonsbreath into horrible troglodytes, and they squirm and skulk amid the shadows, seeking out prey. Lemures, the mad spirits of Azlan, haunt the Underworld's passages as well, and there are very few safe routes by which to navigate the dark. Dwarves and Voij control a few cities below the ground, but between these refuges are vast mazes of tunnels and caverns inhabited by every imaginable horror. Few enter Erebus lightly, though when the moons are dark, horrors crawl up from underground, through one of the many forgotten entrances to Erebus. Gallia and other major powers sometimes send expeditions into Erebus to clear out monsters and set up outposts for subterranean trade, but these are often precarious ventures. Erebus is its own world, and its alien inhabitants do not appreciate interlopers. Even the Voij and dwarves, the most at home underground, do not feel fully at home in the dragon vaults.
Category:Regions