Zagros Mountains

*Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light...**This article is about The Dark Pictures Anthology's third installment,* ***House of Ashes***
***.***

## Zagros Mountains

### **Appearances**

*Man of Medan* (Mentioned)
*House of Ashes*
*Switchback VR*

### **Inhabitants**

**2231 BC**
Balathu
Kurum
Naram-Sin of Akkad
Gutian Woman
**Present time**
Shepherds
Vampires
The Ancient One
Balathu (Determinant)
Kurum (Determinant)

### **Visited By**

**1940s**
Randolph Hodgson
Mary Hodgson
Agnes Bradshaw
Sherman Crow
Aline Journeau
Arthur Pulman
Ellis van Huyten
**2003**
Rachel King
Eric Edmund King
Jason Kolchek
Nicolas Kay
Salim Othman
Dar Basri
José Gomez
Clarice Stokes
Nathan Merwin
Iraqi Soldiers
Marines
Killjoy Two
Marie Vinay
Yves Paugam

The **Zagros Mountains** are a mountain range located on the Iran-Iraq border. The area serves as the main location in which key events of *The Dark Pictures Anthology*'s third installment, *House of Ashes*, take place.

## Overview

The Zagros Mountains extend for 990 miles between Iran, northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. The mountain area in which the events of the game take place is located on the Iran-Iraq border. The area is deserted and sandy, with a climate that is extremely dry and hot. For these reasons, flora is almost completely absent in this region, with the exception of small desert trees. Over several millennia, a vast underground network of caves some 4,000 feet deep formed under the Zagros Mountains.

## History

### Millions of Years Ago

Millennia before the events of the game, a huge space ship inhabited by bat-like aliens infected with parasites crashed in the Zagros Mountains. The collision was so powerful that the ship went almost 4,000 feet underground. Over the following millennia, it gradually sank into the ground until it was completely buried.

### 2231 BC

During the reign of the Akkadian Empire, King Naram-Sin built a temple to the gods inadvertently right above the burial site of the spaceship. At that time, the Akkadians were at war with the Gutians, and during one of the bloody battles, they unintentionally awakened the vampires. Because of a solar eclipse, the vampires managed to escape to the surface and massacre both sides before returning underground. Subsequently, the temple, just like the ship, was buried underground.

### 19th - 20th centuries

In 19th and 20th centuries, the Police Department of Iraq received numerous reports of missing livestock and people in the Zagros Mountains. They all mentioned a moonless night and unknown clicking noises. Nevertheless, investigations went nowhere and the incidents were considered as cases of packs of wild dogs or a serial killer.

### 1940s

In September 1945, the British antiquarian Agnes Bradshaw learned about the Vampires and decided to conduct an expedition led by spouses Randolph and Mary Hodgson, hiding it as a search for the tomb of Alexander the Great. Gathering a team in October 1946, the Hodgson expedition broke into the Sumerian temple and found the alien ship. The following two months, the team explored the ship until they learned the truth about vampires. In an attempt to save humanity from the threat from underground, the expedition attempted to destroy the temple and bury the creatures for good, only to be slaughtered before they could carry out their plan in January 1947.

## Events of House of Ashes

### 2231 BC

The Zagros Mountains first appear in the 2231 BC prologue, recounting the battle between the Akkadians and the Guthians and their subsequent massacre by the vampires. Although Akkadian Balathu and Gutian Kurum manage to survive the massacre on the surface, they are caught up and killed by vampires as the two attempt to escape through the catacombs. As later revealed in the game, one of the two was infected and turned into a vampire while the other was preserved in a special liquid, remaining alive to the present day.

### 2003

In 2003, the American Unit travels to the Zagros Mountains searching for Saddam Hussein's weapons, which are supposedly hidden in an underground complex (in reality, it was the equipment of the archaeologists that emitted the signal and attracted their attention). Upon arrival at their destination however, the Americans clash with the Iraqi patrol when an earthquake occurs, dragging both sides underground.

Throughout the night, the Americans and Iraqis try to make their way back to the surface while opposing the vampires, forcing the once enemies to join forces. Unfortunately, only four Americans Rachel, Eric, Jason, Nick and one Iraqi Salim succeed, while the others are either killed by the vampires or turned into ones. Asolar eclipse begins and the group fights off the horde of vampires one last time, trying to hold out for a few minutes before the eclipse ends. With the eclipse over, the vampires retreat and the remaining protagonists are picked up by air support.

## Layout

### 0 FT.

Surface. It is completely empty with the only location is a small shepherd's farm located deep in the mountains. The farm is built right above the caverns, resulting in the ground being very thin and fragile in this area.

### 50 - 160 FT.

An extensive closed network of underground sand caverns and chasms. Vampires can very often be found wandering in the caverns at the border with the surface. The temple of Naram-Sin is buried at this depth, with some parts of the temple to be found in separate big caverns. Following the Hodgson Expedition, their camp can be found in the throne room.

### 150 - 370 FT.

Large network of catacombs, closed off from the rest of the caverns. Located directly beneath the temple, the Akkadian Empire used them to house prisoners and offer sacrifices to the gods. The catacombs are ornamented with numerous statues of Sumerian demons, among them Pazuzu.

### 630 FT.

Caves with waterfalls. Since the only way to reach this depth located in the catacombs, very few people came down here. There is nothing special about the caves except a large chasm leading several thousand feet underground.

### 3430 - 3900 FT.

A colossal space ship that crashed on Earth several million years ago. Having survived the crash, the remaining aliens, turned into vampires, have established a nest here, with their cocoons can be found throughout the ship.

## Trivia

* Since *House of Ashes* takes place underground, the game gives depth information along with time and location.
* In *Switchback VR*, the area under the Zagros Mountains is called the Forsaken Ruins.